Assen, round 2: Toprak takes historic BMW / World Superbike Championship victory

The starting grid for the second Superbike race at Assen had changed significantly from the Superpole race. Alvaro Bautista started from pole, along with Ducati teammate Nicolò Bulega and Kawasaki ace Alex Lowes. Jonathan Rea (Yamaha) started the race in fifth place, Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW) in ninth place. Philipp Öttl (19th) and Dominique Aegerter (20th) stood next to each other in the 7th row.

When the race started at 2pm it was 11 degrees, the pitch was not too warm. Rain was forecast at 2:20pm, but luckily there were only a few drops that didn’t affect the race. Despite the cold and sometimes bad weather, an amazing 56,734 visitors came to Assen.

From the first lap onwards it was a fierce battle at the front, and by lap 13 the top 7 were within a second of each other. The finals boiled down to a great battle between Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW), Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) and Remy Gardner (Yamaha), which the Turk won in a fierce final fight. It’s the first win for the 27-year-old and also for BMW in Assen!

Second place went to world champion Bautista, who heads home as the World Cup leader. Only the 39-year-old managed to reach the podium in every race.

Remy Gardner was happy with third place because it was his first podium in the Superbike category.

In the early stages, Jonathan Rea was also in front, but then the Yamaha rider had a problem and fell back. His two former teammates fell in a battle for position with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki). Only Rea was able to continue the race and finish in 19th place.

The best Honda driver was Xavi Vierge in tenth place, but just 0.1 seconds ahead of Petronas’ Tarran Mackenzie.

With a strong final round, Dominique Aegerter reached 7th place after only finishing 17th after the first round. Philipp Öttl managed to enter in 14th place.

Here’s how the race went:

Start: Bautista ahead of Bulega and Locatelli in the first corner. Then Rea, Gardner, van der Mark, Alex Lowes and Razgatlioglu. Aegerter 17, Öttl the 21st.

Lap 1: Bautista ahead, Locatelli pushes Bulega into 3rd place for Razgatlioglu. Honda Mackenzie’s top rider in 14th place at Fall Redding.

Round 2: Bautista, Locatelli and Gardner on the podium. Rea seventh behind van der Mark. Aegerter in 12th place.

Lap 3: Razgatlioglu passes Bulega in 4th place Rea is pushed to 8th by Iannone.

Lap 4: Bautista 0.3 seconds ahead of Gardner. Razgatlioglu took third place from Locatelli. Öttl on 17. Bassani crawls on the gravel.

Round 5: Top 5 within 1.1 seconds and almost identical times.

Lap 6: Bautista 0.4 seconds ahead of Razgatlioglu and Gardner. Rea is already 3.2 seconds back in 8th place, behind Alex and Sam Lowes. Aegerter eleven.

Stage 7: Razgatlioglu leads the chicane. Raining in some areas of the race.

Lap 8: Locatelli and Gardner battle for 3rd place with Iannone in 5th place.

Stage 9: Bautista back in the lead. Rea loses 8th place to Lowes.

Round 10: More flowing. Rea and Lowes fall. Iannone takes 4th place from Locatelli.

Lap 11: Bautista 0.3 seconds ahead of Razgatlioglu and Gardner. Iannone and Locatelli are fighting for fourth place while Rea continues the race in 20th place.

Lap 12: Gardner takes second from Razgatlioglu on an increasingly wet track and then passes Bautista. Aegerter in 9th place Vierge now the best Honda driver in 13th place.

Round 13: Top 7 teams now within one second. Ottl the 14th.

Lap 14: Gardner leads Locatelli and Bautista. Van der Mark is now ahead of Razgatlioglu in 4th place.

Lap 15: Locatelli confidently takes command, but Bautista takes the lead again on the straight.

Stage 16: The top three leave a bit – Bautista ahead of Razgatlioglu and Gardner. Iannone, van der Mark and Locatelli are fighting for 4th place.

Lap 17: Positions change at each corner. Razgatlioglu, Bautista and Gardner 1.2 seconds ahead of Iannone, van der Mark and Iannone.

Stage 18: Razgatlioglu 0.4 seconds ahead of Bautista and Gardner. Aegerter the ninth, Öttl the 14th.

Lap 19: Razgatlioglu continues to lead Bautista, with Gardner trailing 0.7 seconds behind. Iannone being in 4th place being safe.

Lap 20: Bautista is back on the back wheel of Razgatlioglu! Van der Mark falls behind Locatelli to 6th place.

Last lap: Razgatlioglu wins ahead of Bautista and Gardner.