Round three of the World Superbike championship is now more or less tucked away, and Max Biaggi despite a tough and opaque weekend came away from Assen with the lead in the standings and ahead of Carlos Checa by just one point.
Finishing fourth in Race 1 and making the completely wrong tire choice in Race 2, Checa may have conceded the provisional leadership to his rival, but he’s heading to Monza and the fastest circuit of the calendar in May without having to add any additional ballast to his already 6 kg heavier twin cylinder Ducati.
Since race 1 was wet and isn’t taken into account in the ‘event average’(with calculations done after three completed rounds) so it will be after the sixth round at Miller Motorsports Park that the handicap procedure will again be calculated.
Sylvain Guintoli (1st and 2nd):“We’ve been trying to catch that first victory for a while now.
Since the start of the season we have showed that we have pace, but the results haven’t come.
Finally I did it today.
For me it’s a fantastic feeling, this race was crazy with a lot of crashes and I nearly crashed as well.
It’s the first race since the accident to Joan and I want also to dedicate this win to him as well.
” For sure it’s a great weekend for us, again we started well.
I thought I had the double, it was going well and I could control the gap.
Then Johnny had a little extra and I was struggling and couldn’t follow.
It feels really good and I think I could get used to these results!”More rider quotes and Race 2 video highlights after the jump.
Jonathan Rea (DNF and 1st):I felt pretty confident with our strategy in race one and I was feeling quite comfortable when the rain arrived and stopped the race.
The rain caught out a few people in the second part, including me, and I was just pushing a little too hard when the rear broke away.
I’m so happy for the race two result though, especially for all the guys back at the workshop.
We know that the package isn’t where it should be but they continue to push 100%.
I’m so grateful for that, because nobody’s given up and we just try to make the bike better every race.
I felt I had a little more oomph this weekend – I’ve struggled to get a really happy feeling with the front forks but we’re getting them to work now.
The new one-bike rule also makes it difficult to develop the package, so to get a day here last week with two bikes was really useful.
It gives me more confidence and we’re now operating in a new area with the bike.
I’ve moved the bars and myself further back to get a bit more edge grip and I think the testament to all that is that we worked all weekend on a strategy with the harder rear.
Nobody considered this for the race but, if race one had stayed dry today, I was sitting comfortably, in a good position, ready to pounce at the end.
It’s really nice to give a little something back to the team, but we’ve still got work to do.
Davide Giugliano (2nd and 9th):“I’m very happy with how race 1 went of course as I didn’t really expect it today, after a very difficult weekend that has been conditioned by the weather from start to finish.
It wasn’t easy of course and the bike was sliding around a lot even on the straight.
Of course the conditions meant it was far from a relaxing race but, having said that, I felt fairly comfortable in the total wet after the restart.
I had to fight against Carlos towards the end and that wasn’t easy, as I was worried that I would make a mistake that might affect Carlos’ race too but thankfully it all went well.
I was able to take some good points in the second race also, and thanks to today’s results I’ve significantly improved my position in the overall standings so I go home very happy.
”Carlos Checa (3rd and 17th):“I’m more than satisfied with the result in Race 1, because conditions were already tricky in the first phase, let alone in the second! After the restart, there was little traction, little grip, and when I saw some of the others go down, I decided it was better to finish the race than risk a fall.
Considering the conditions, probably one of the worst SBK races I’ve ever ridden, we’re happy with third place.
Congratulations to Davide too who made a great race – he deserved the result.
In race 2 I made a mistake and take full responsibility for it.
I chose to go out on a rain tyre as I though rain would come but I was wrong.
I’m sorry I didn’t come straight back in to change it during the warm-up lap as, that way, I would have probably been able to close in the top ten but instead I waited and by then it was too late to be able to catch up.
We turn the page and look ahead.
”Eugene Laverty (5th and 3rd):“We worked really hard this weekend and after a difficult start I knew I could fight for the podium.
The two races were difficult, especially the restart in Race 1 in the driving rain and truly precarious grip conditions, but in the end we’re leaving Assen with more certainty and my first podium for Aprilia.
In Race 2 I had fun.
I battled from the first to the last lap for third place.
Now we’ll need to be good enough to continue on this path, earning important points for morale and the championship standings”.
Tom Sykes (DNF and 6th):“A tricky day but things could have been worse.
It is just the way racing goes because we have had good pace all weekend with the ZX-10R and that pole time was very good from yesterday and I was confident o build on that.
In race one we were able to do something from pole but unfortunately we had a small issue with the clip for the radiator hose.
In race two with many things to consider, we chose a different tyre in the rear, the hard one, and it looked like it cost us a lot of time and caused me a lot of issues.
At the end of the day we brought the bike and there are many positives to take away.
We have some very good circuits coming up for our bike.
”Max Biaggi (4th and 8th):“Despite our provisional leadership we can’t really be euphoric.
I struggled throughout the whole weekend and the two races were difficult as well.
When you’re aiming for the world championship you have to set your sights on the biggest prize.
Placings are important but the can’t become a constant.
In any case, we are leaving Holland with some heavy spoils in points, and considering the difficulties we had this weekend we can’t complain.
However, working to solve the problems that slowed us down is of utmost importance in order to come back and fight in the positions that count from here on out”.
Hiroshi Aoyama (12th and 13th):It’s been quite a difficult weekend for us and we were struggling to get rear grip.
We worked on it a lot but every time we found something better the conditions changed so we could not really improve the base feeling on the bike.
Race one was my first on Pirelli rain tyres so I went a little bit carefully and saw many riders start to crash.
At the end I finished 12th which was not too bad, starting from 21ston the grid.
In the second race we also started in damp conditions, so tyre choice was critical.
Carlos Checa gambled a bit with rain tyres and we also gambled a bit, choosing a cut slick, but in the end there was no more rain so it was really conditions for slicks and we couldn’t find good pace.
I’m a little bit sad for myself but, for the team, Johnny did a really good job, so I want to congratulate him.
Next time, I’d like to fight for the podium and celebrate with him!John Hopkins (DNF and 11th):“The conditions today were very difficult for all of us.
I got a decent start in race one, but got bottled in at the first turn and lost a few positions.
I began to make my way back up the field and was just getting in touch with the back of the lead group when the rain fell and the race was stopped.
Up until then, I had settled into a good rhythm and was feeling confident at the thought of mixing it with the leaders.
When the race began again in the wet, I just had no grip at all and, like many others, slipped off on the soaking track.
We basically made the wrong decision regarding tyre choice for race two and suffered because of that.
It was a gamble that didn’t work and I was sliding around, both front and rear, but was determined to bring the bike home and get some points.
” Leon Camier – DNF and 14th:“For race one, our settings were a bit of a gamble and my tyre was shredded by nine laps.
The race was then stopped a few laps later and we all went on full wets.
I have no idea why I crashed on the warm-up lap because I was hardly touching the throttle.
One minute I was OK and the next minute I was on my backside.
We didn’t know what tyres to use for race two because although the track was mostly dry, the clouds seemed to be on their way again.
I wasn’t feeling too confident, so went for what seemed the safe choice – intermediates – but our choice didn’t work out because the track dried.
The guys on slicks could lap so much quicker and I couldn’t do anything about it.
All I could do was ride as best I could, not crash and get to the finish line.
”
