An outstanding Jonathan Rea pulverized further records in Assen and is now the first Superbike rider to win 14 races on a track. Before this weekend, he and Carl Fogarty led the statistics in the “Cathedral of Speed” with 12 victories each.

Rea also dominates the sprint race on Sunday morning

After the start, only lying in position, Jonathan Rea didn’t wait long to work his way forward. Michael Ruben Rinaldi had the best start, but Saturday’s winner at the top didn’t let him go for a long time. Then the world championship leader got serious and took over the command. With his fourteenth victory in mind, he drove off his pursuers. Local hero Michael van der Mark fell in the first lap and a little later Alvaro Bautista was in the gravel for the second time this weekend. The Spaniard was able to continue after that, but was the last of the classified drivers. Scott Redding had no chance and was only fifth in the end. Behind Rea, it got even more dramatic on the last lap. One after the other, Toprak and “Loca” passed second placed Rinaldi, but were then relegated to the Ducati riders due to a clear violation of the “Track Limit” rules.

This time, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli were punished for crossing the green area, which the Turk cannot complain about. We published a picture after the second run of Misano, which also shows him committing an offence at the beginning of the race, although he went unpunished at the time.

Result of the 14th race of the season with victory number 7 for Rea

P, No, Rider, Bike, (Gap/next), km/h
1, 1, REA Jonathan, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, , , 283
2, 21, RINALDI Michael Ruben, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 3.542, 0.199, 287
3, 54, RAZGATLIOGLU Toprak, Yamaha YZF R1, 2.875, 2.875, 284 (TL-Penalty +1 Position)
4, 55, LOCATELLI Andrea, Yamaha YZF R1, 3.343, 0.468, 287 (TrackLimit-Penalty 1 Pos.)
5, 45, REDDING Scott, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 4.501, 0.959, 290
6, 22, LOWES Alex, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 5.215, 0.714, 286
7, 66, SYKES Tom, BMW M 1000 RR, 8.010, 2.795, 285
8, 31, GERLOFF Garrett, Yamaha YZF R1, 9.126, 1.116, 286
9, 7, DAVIES Chaz, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 11.891, 2.765, 289
10, 47, BASSANI Axel, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 12.103, 0.212, 288
11, 53, RABAT Tito, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 13.553, 1.450, 290
12, 91, HASLAM Leon, Honda CBR1000 RR-R, 15.585, 2.032, 287
13, 32, VINALES Isaac, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 20.175, 4.590, 280
14, 36, MERCADO Leandro, Honda CBR1000 RR-R, 23.075, 2.900, 283
15, 3, NOZANE Kohta, Yamaha YZF R1, 23.130, 0.055, 283
16, 9, MANTOVANI Andrea, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 28.596, 5.466, 280
17, 84, CRESSON Loris, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 43.204, 14.608, 274
18, 19, BAUTISTA Alvaro, Honda CBR1000 RR-R, > 1′, 25.063, 286
OT, 60, VAN DER MARK Michael, BMW M 1000 RR, , , 283

Das Aus für Michael van der Mark (BMW) in turn 12 already in the first lap – in front of a home crowd, of course, a particularly bitter pill for the man from Gouda, who had finished both races on the podium two years ago.

The first interviews after the sprint race
Toprak Razgatlioglu was fighting for a top position, but unfortunately he shortly noted that he had made a mistake on the last lap. With a scowl, he meant his transfer back one position after crossing the green marking in the finish chicane, as the photos show. He wanted to do better in the second race in the afternoon. Rinaldi as fourth at the finish was of course happy to have finished second after all. He noted that these are the (new) rules and that it is of course very gratifying for him to have taken another podium (even if only symbolically, the drivers stand next to each other for the photo and do not climb onto a podium). Jonathan Rea felt that his rhythm was a little better, as he noted with satisfaction. So he was able to pull away and clinch the 106th victory of his career with a perfectly functioning bike. Now he is looking forward to the afternoon with the last race, where there are again full points to be won in front of spectators.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX) with his mentor and manager Kenan Sofuoglu before the start of the Superpole Race – the smile on his face was completely gone after the race, just like the day before during the interview, and after another clear defeat against Kawasaki ace Jonathan Rea, it was understandable.

Does Jonathan Rea demoralize his opponents in the afternoon too?

This is the big question after the sprint race, because now its two toughest opponents look like boxers hanging on the ropes if you watch them closely. Before the weekend in the Netherlands, we warned against overestimating Toprak just because he is undisputedly in top form. His record in Assen was quite modest before the fifth round of this year’s championship, with three ninth places as the best result. In addition, the Turk has never had a consistently good season so far. As World Cup leader, he and some of his fans travelled to Assen with high expectations, but for the second time in a row the reigning world champion literally pulled his teeth out. According to the weather report, it should even have got wet, which Razgatlioglu could be more than satisfied with, but things turned out differently. But at the moment everything looks as if rain king Rea doesn’t need a wet track to demoralize his toughest opponents. That is why the Northern Irishman is the big favourite for the last race in the afternoon.

Alvaro Bautista (HRC Honda) for the second time after Saturday in the gravel bed – the double winner of 2019 not only disappointed himself bitterly, but of course his team, which for the third time in the fourteenth race of the season went without points.

Stand in the WSBK World Championship after the Superpole Race

P, Rider, Points
1 REA 218
2 RAZGATLIOGLU 206
3 REDDING 142
4 LOWES 118
5 GERLOFF 105
6 RINALDI 103
7 SYKES 101
8 VAN DER MARK 94
9 DAVIES 72
10 LOCATELLI 68
11 BAUTISTA 57
12 BASSANI 53
13 HASLAM 49
14 MAHIAS 36

TT Circuit of Assen

The subdivision of the four sectors is shown in black. The course has 12 right and 6 left turns and is 4.542 km long, with a start-finish straight that is only 300 m long.

WorldSBK Assen schedule

Unless otherwise mentioned, applies to all images (© WorldSBK).