
WorldSBK: Round 2 – Assen – Who was where
World Superbikes are back for the second round of their 2022 season at the Cathedral of Speed. Razgatlioglu put his Yamaha on pole on the Saturday. The Turkish rider smashed the lap record and set a new lap record.
Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK:
Jonathan Rea:
The six time world champion stood on the top step of the podium in race one as he keeps his crown as the king of Assen. The number 65 did the double in Assen as he won the Superpole race on the Sunday morning. Coming into the final race of the weekend Rea was leading the championship. However, after race two Rea lost the lead as he crashed out of race two with a championship rival.
Alex Lowes:
Alex Lowes had a great qualifying as he positioned himself second place on the grid. However, race one and the superpole race saw Lowes not finish. Lowes had radiator issues in race one after a stone got flicked into his radiator. Into race two Lowes had a great comeback as he finished fourth place in the final race of the weekend.

Aruba.it Racing -Ducati:
Alvaro Bautista:
Bautista came to Assen leading the championship and qualified fifth on the grid. In race one Bautista had a very strong race and finished second place. However, the superpole race saw Bautista cross the line in second, but a controversial track limit saw him finish third. The final race of the weekend saw Bautista capitalize on Rea and Razgatlioglu’s crash as he won the race by 8.770 seconds.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi:
Rinaldi qualified for the Dutch round of the season in 12th place after a monster crash. In race one Rinaldi did not finish. However, the superpole race and race two went much better for the Italian. In the superpole race he finished eighth place and then seventh in race two.

Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK:
Toprak Razgatlioglu:
Razgatlioglu smashed everyone in qualifying as he set a new lap record and took pole by 0.478 seconds. Race one of the weekend saw the Turkish rider finish third place behind Rea and Bautista. The suerpole race saw Ratzgatlioglu in second place after Bautista got demoted. The Turkish riders weekend ended in disaster after himself and Rea collided in race two and crashed out of the race.
Andrea Locatelli:
The Italian youngster qualified fourth place on the grid and has been strong around Assen in the past. Race one and the superpole race saw Locatelli take fourth place in both races, just behind the top three riders. In race two Locatelli claimed a podium as he finished second place .

Team HRC:
Iker Lecuona:
The Spanish rider sat eighth on the grid and had strong pace all weekend long. In race one and the superpole race Lecuona took his Honda to fifth place in the opening races of the weekend. In the final race of the weekend Lecuona stood on the podium for the first time in his WorldSBK career as he finished third.
Xavi Vierge:
Vierge struggled this weekend with the direction changes as he broke some ribs in preseason. The Spaniard qualified in 14th place and struggled in the racing. In race one Vierge finished 11th, then 12th in the superpole race and 9th in race two.

Motocorsa Racing:
Axel Bassani:
Bassani has been rumored to ride for factory Ducati in the WorldSBK paddock in 2023, but his 2022 has started amazingly. The Italian rider qualified in ninth place and completed his Saturday with a tenth place finish in race one. The Sunday went even better for Bassani as he finished ninth and sixth in the suerpole race and race two.

Bonovo Action BMW:
Loris Baz:
The French rider was the top BMW rider in qualifying as he managed to secure seventh place on the grid. Baz had an amazing Saturday as he finished race one in sixth place as the top BMW. The Sunday started well for Baz in Assen as he finished sixth in superpole, but race two was disastrous. In race two Baz crashed out early on.
Eugene Laverty:
Laverty sadly did not take part at Assen after a heavy fall in practice on Friday.

GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team:
Garrett Gerloff:
The young American rider did well in Assen. On Saturday Gerloff qualified in sixth place on the grid and backed it up with a eighth place in race one. The superpole race saw Gerloff go one step better as he finished seventh place. The final race on Sunday went bad for Gerloff as he crashed out of the race.
Kohta Nozane:
The Japanese rider had a hard weekend again as he qualified sixteenth place. Nozane did not score points throughout the whole weekend. In race one Nozane finished 17th, in the superpole race he finished 14th and then he crashed out of race two.

BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:
Scott Redding:
Redding looked like he was on for a poor weekend again in Assen as he qualified in 13th place. Race one saw Redding crack the top ten as he finished in ninth place. The superpole race saw Redding finish in 11th place. Finally, Redding had a stellar race two as he finished fifth place, securing his best result for BMW.
Michael van der Mark:
The home hero returned to World Superbike racing after suffering an injury in preseason and had to miss Aragon. Van der Mark qualified in 15th place and ended his Saturday with a 13th place finish, not a bad day at the office. The Dutch rider had a good Sunday as well as he finished 15th and eighth place in the two races.

Team GoEleven:
Philipp Oettl:
The World Superbike rookie qualified in eleventh place around Assen and had a great showing in race one as he finished seventh place. The Sunday was up and down for Oettl as he finished tenth in the superpole race and then did not finish the second race.

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing:
Lucas Mahias:
The French rider went well in qualifying around Assen as he started from tenth place on the grid. Mahias just got points in race one as he finished 15th place in the race. The superpole race was slightly better for Mahias as he finished 13th place. The final race of the weekend had Mahias crack the top ten as he finished tenth overall.

Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team:
Roberto Tamburini:
The Italian rider qualified in twenty second place on the grid but his races were much better. In race one he made his way up to 14th place, he was 16th in the superpole and then finished 11th in race two.
Gil Motor-Sport Yamaha:
Christophe Ponsson:
The French rider had a poor qualifying around Assen as he had to start from 20th place on the grid. The races went much better as he made his way to 12th in race one, 19th in the suerpole race and 12th in race two.
Barni Spark Racing Team:
Luca Bernardi:
Bernardi did not set a lap time in qualifying as he had to start from 24th place on the grid. the WorldSBK rookie finished 18th, 20th and 14th place throughout the weekend of racing.
Team Pedercini Racing:
Leon Haslam:
After standing in last minute at Assen for the Pedercini Kawasaki team Haslam did not have an awful weekend. Haslam qualified in 17th place and looked like he could scrape points. In race one he finished 16th, in the superpole race he finished 17th place and then 13th in race two.

MIE Racing Honda Team:
Leandro Mercado:
The Argentine rider did not scored a point in Aragon and would be aiming for a point in Assen. The Honda rider started from 19th place and managed to get a point in one of the races. In race one he finished 19th, then 18th in the superpole race and finally 15th in race two.
Hafizh Syahrin:
The Malysian continued to struggle in WorldSBK after round two. Syahrin qualified in 21st place and finished 20th, 22nd and 17th throughout the three races.
Bmax Racing:
Gabriele Ruiu:
The wildcard rider put in a strong ride in qualifying as he positioned himself 18th on the grid. However, his races were not as good as he did not finish race one, he finished 21st in the superpole race and then 16th in race two.
Come and listen to us discuss World Superbikes more in depth on the Superbike Show on Wednesday at 7pm.
Images from WorldSBK.com