There were mixed results for Team HRC in the weekend’s first Superbike race at the Assen TT Circuit, rider Leon Haslam working hard to score more championship points while Alvaro Bautista unfortunately suffered a crash in the opening stages.

After using the morning’s final free practice to make some last adjustments to the set-up of their bikes, the riders were ready for the Superpole qualifying phase. The action-packed 15-minute session saw Haslam set some interesting lap times on race rubber, but less than expected with the qualifying tyre. Leon completed a strong lap in 1’34.467 to finish eighth, meaning a third row start for the Brit in the weekend’s first races. Alvaro set a 1’34.791 to place tenth, so a fourth row start for the Spaniard.

Race-1 got underway at 2pm local time, and in dry conditions. From tenth on the grid, Bautista made a strong start in an attempt to stick with the front group, but unfortunately, he never even got a chance to battle against his rivals, losing the front before the end of the opening lap on turn 8 and thus putting a premature end to his race. Haslam meanwhile moved up into seventh in the early stages, working hard to get into a rhythm that would allow him to stick with the chasing group. Not feeling particularly at ease with the front, the British rider was nevertheless able to cross the line in eighth place (the race was stopped with a red flag after 19 laps, two laps ahead of time, after another rider suffered a crash), scoring some important points in the process.

Alvaro Bautista 1

DNF

"Today in the Superpole I didn't feel good with the qualifying tyre and lapped slower than with the race tyre yesterday. In the race I started quite well and was with the group in front. I wanted to try and stay there, especially in the first laps where we usually suffer more, but perhaps I had a little too much faith and lost the front, unable to save the crash. It's a shame because every time I find the confidence to push a little more, I take a risk. We have to improve the feeling to understand where the limit is. I am very sorry for the team because they are working very hard, and I’m sorry for HRC because they are making a real effort with this project. But when I feel I can go faster, I want to at least try, if not I would feel frustrated. It is what it is, it’s a pity but fortunately we have two opportunities to improve tomorrow, so we remain positive and look forward to scoring a better result tomorrow”.

Leon Haslam 91

P8

“It was a bit of a frustrating race to be honest. During the practices I felt that I had good pace, making .34s on a used tyre, but come the race I was around 0.8 of a second slower. The feeling was not good with the front and I felt like I almost crashed on several occasions. So, in managing that, I couldn’t do more than eighth. But I’m disappointed as my expectations were much higher. We crossed the line anyway and will of course do our best to do more tomorrow”.

WorldSBK 2021
Race

Results Tissot Superpole

Sunny
Humidity
65%
Track Temp
32°C
Air Temp
22°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Rea Jonathan 1 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 1'33.842
2 Razgatlioglu Toprak 54 TUR PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 1'34.028 0.186
3 Redding Scott 45 GBR ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 1'34.053 0.211
4 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 1'34.067 0.225
5 Lowes Alex 22 GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 1'34.252 0.410
6 Folger Jonas 94 GER Bonovo MGM Racing BMW 1'34.336 0.494
7 Locatelli Andrea 55 ITA PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 1'34.375 0.533
8 Haslam Leon 91 GBR Team HRC Honda 1'34.467 0.625
9 van der Mark Michael 60 NDL BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 1'34.786 0.944
10 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA Team HRC Honda 1'34.791 0.949
11 Rabat Tito 53 SPA BARNI Racing Team Ducati 1'34.944 1.102
12 Bassani Alex 47 ITA Motocorsa Racing Ducati 1'34.944 1.102
13 Davies Chaz 7 GBR Team GOELEVEN Ducati 1'35.002 1.160
14 Vinales Isaac 32 SPA ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA Kawasaki 1'35.251 1.409
15 Mahias Lucas 44 FRA Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 1'35.335 1.493
16 Mercado Leandro 36 ARG MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 1'35.558 1.716
17 Mantovani Andrea 9 ITA Vince64 Kawasaki 1'36.059 2.217
18 Nozane Kohta 3 JPN GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 1'36.076 2.234
19 Cresson Loris 84 BEL TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki 1'37.156 3.314
20 Sykes Tom 66 GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 10'20.535 10'17.221
21 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha
WorldSBK 2021
Race

Results Race 1 (Laps 19 = 110,789 Km)

Sunny
Humidity
60%
Track Temp
37°C
Air Temp
25°C
Track Cond
red flag after 19 laps
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Rea Jonathan 1 GBR 25 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki
2 Redding Scott 45 GBR 20 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 3.312
3 Razgatlioglu Toprak 54 TUR 16 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 1 Sector 1 Sector
4 van der Mark Michael 60 NDL 13 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 1 Sector 1.264
5 Locatelli Andrea 55 ITA 11 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 1 Sector 1.661
6 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA 10 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 1 Sector 1.762
7 Sykes Tom 66 GBR 9 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 1 Sector 3.281
8 Haslam Leon 91 GBR 8 Team HRC Honda 1 Sector 3.763
9 Davies Chaz 7 GBR 7 Team GOELEVEN Ducati 1 Sector 4.099
10 Bassani Alex 47 ITA 6 Motocorsa Racing Ducati 1 Sector 0.187
11 Vinales Isaac 32 SPA 5 ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA Kawasaki 2 Sectors 1 Sector
12 Mercado Leandro 36 ARG 4 MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 2 Sectors 0.218
13 Cresson Loris 84 BEL 3 TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki 1 Lap 1 Lap
14 Mantovani Andrea 9 ITA 2 Vince64 Kawasaki 1 Lap 2 Sectors
15 Folger Jonas 94 GER DNF Bonovo MGM Racing BMW
16 Rabat Tito 53 SPA DNF BARNI Racing Team Ducati
17 Nozane Kohta 3 JPN DNF GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha
18 Mahias Lucas 44 FRA DNF Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki
19 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA DNF ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati
20 Lowes Alex 22 GBR DNF Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki
21 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA DNF Team HRC Honda