Superbike, we start again from Assen

Superbike, Assen

The Cathedral of Speed, a place that has hosted races that have made history. Ancient and modern, experienced riders and much younger ones; everyone who stops by the TT Circuit Assen is aware of how special this place is. A one-of-a-kind atmosphere in a place where there are so many memories associated with memorable duels, contacts, crashes, rivalries and celebrations; history has been made here for more than 30 years. The Pirelli Round in Holland of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship 2023 will be no exception. A big fight for the title, some top riders in trouble and other contenders ready to emerge in addition to small steps forward by the manufacturers but with a big jump in competitiveness: nothing will be lacking this weekend. Lots of unpredictability and one certainty: ‘it’s Assen’ and things like that happen here.

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) leads the world championship standings with a 37-point margin over Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK). Bautista last year won Race 2 and made his two wins his own in 2019.He will be leading again this year on the Ducati Panigale V4 R but Toprak was not far behind the Spaniard last year. Could this be the circuit for him on which to take his first win of the season in long-distance races? Four podiums in the last six races here (with Race 2 seeing a lot of bad luck in both years for the Turk who had to deal with crashes).

Third in the standings and still winless despite consistently finishing in the top five in all six races staged so far and with three podiums taken home: will Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) be able to get on the top step of the podium? He took his first podium with a third-place finish in Race 2 in 2021 followed by a second-place finish last year.The Lombard will be one to watch and we will certainly see him fighting for the podium. Could this also be the weekend of home idol Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who always goes the extra mile at his track? He has been on the podium with Honda and Yamaha in the past: will he be able to pull it off with BMW as well? Perhaps it will be a weekend to remember for Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing): fourth in the standings, on the Dutch track the Venetian has always done well (always in the top ten in WorldSBK).