While yesterday’s World Superbike races at Assen were more than exciting to watch, especially Jonathan Rea’s will to win in race 1 in front of the his team’s home crowd and Carlos Checa pass on Max Biaggi in the penultimate lap in race 2, but in the end it was all about tire management (sounding more and more like MotoGP back in 2007 and 2008) and choosing which option to use.
Check out what the riders had to say and take a look at the two video highlights: Jonathan Rea (1st and 3rd)First and foremost, I’m really proud to give the famous Castrol Honda name the first victory on its comeback to this championship.
We spent all weekend developing the bike for the races, and that strategy paid off.
I got a good start but couldn’t decide whether to let Max past and let him dictate the pace.
In the end I made the right decision to stay in front and take the win.
We had to dig deep in race two because I got held up for a while and the front guys got away.
I was matching their lap times but we ran into some tyre problems later in the race.
I’m really happy with the weekend though, and really grateful to everyone who has helped to get me here – it’s been a long hard winter coming back from injury.
The team has worked really well and that’s exactly the right sort of confidence and momentum that we need to take to the next races.
I’m happy to be back where I belong, in the winners’ circle, and I look forward to trying to get more wins for the team.
Carlos Checa: (3rd and 1st)“The beginning of Race 1 was difficult; I didn’t have enough grip and so some of my rivals were able to get past me.
Then I really had to push to make up lost ground.
I tried to stay clam and maintain my rhythm and was able to get in front of the second group, but to reach Max and Johnny wsa just too difficult.
They already had an advantage because I had lost time getting past Laverty.
I happily accept the result however, a positive end that gives us important championship points.
Then for Race 2 we decided to change tyre and so, with the softer solution, I had more grip and could maintain a strong pace right from the start.
I wanted to push at the beginning and try to build a gap between me and Max but he stayed with me, putting me under pressure.
When I made a small mistake and he passed me in the final stages, I was able to see that he was having some tyre trouble.
I got back past him and took the win, a result that is surprising but fantastic.
At Monza we will try to defend our position as best we can, knowing that it will be a very tough track for us.
” Max Biaggi (2nd and 2nd)We reaped the maximum especially considering what we went through on Saturday.
Unfortunately we had to make a forced choice of tyres with our RSV4.
I would not have been able to use the softer tyres that Checa chose.
When I overtook him in Race 2 I pushed to the limit, but I just didn’t have the grip to hold onto first place.
The advantage of the two cylinders in being able to use softer tyres is important on a track like this one, besides the fact that I had a technical problem for the last 5 or 6 laps in Race 2.
In any case I have to thank my Team.
After the crash and at the end of Race 1 the work they did allowed me to use the first bike which I liked a lot better.
I’m happy with second place.
We still need to make up a lot of points, but we won’t let up.
Monza could be an important race from this point of view”.
Marco Melandri (4th and DNF)“I got a bad start in race one and seemed to be losing feeling in the rear of the bike.
By the time I had regained feeling and a good race pace it was too late to push for the podium.
In Race two the bike seemed to have a better set up and I managed to get a good start off the grid.
I closed in on the leading pack but after the first ten laps I started losing grip in the rear tyre.
I was keeping an eye on Rea and was planning to close in on him in the last laps but unfortunately without even realizing it, I lost the front and crashed out.
I’m very disappointed with this and hope it doesn’t happen again.
”Eugene Laverty (7th and 6th)“I was doing really well until mid way through race one when I started suffering from chatter and losing balance due to displacement in the rear tyre.
I struggled for the second half of the race and managed to finish in seventh position.
Race two was more consistent even if a little slower.
We made the wrong choice of tyres on the front but I’m still getting used to Superbike tyres and knowing what I need to use as the temperatures change.
This weekend has been productive, I’ve learned more in this round than I have so far this season.
”Troy Corser (6th and DNF)“The first race was not so bad, and I was pretty happy with that.
For the second race we just made a few adjustments to the rear shock and I think we improved the bike.
Then I unfortunately lost the front tyre going into a corner.
I am okay with no injuries, but it is a bit disappointing.
In the free practice all went okay, but in the race we had some issues with the tyre.
But we are now going to analyse that and to improve it for the next race.
”Michel Fabrizio (5th and 7th)Generally I am quite please with our performance today – especially considering that I had to start from the fourth row of the grid.
I didn’t make a good start in the first race, but managed to get into fourth by lap twelve.
It had taken some time to get past some of the riders, but I was fairly comfortable in fourth until a few laps from the end.
My front tyre was already moving about a lot by the time Melandri came past and although I tried to catch him again, the tyre wasn’t up to it, so I had to be satisfied with fifth instead.
I used the same tyres (soft front and rear) for race two, but this time, they began to go off after only six laps.
From then it was a real struggle to push hard enough to catch and pass Haslam and Laverty, but I kept trying right to end of the race.
At the finish, I was just one tenth of a second behind Laverty, so it was pretty close.
Although today was quite a good day for us, it would’ve been so much better if I had not have had the problem in Superpole yesterday.
I am convinced that if I had been on the first or second row of the grid today, I would’ve got on the podium for sure – and maybe have even won a race!Leon Camier (DNF and 4th) “This is the classic weekend where anything that can go wrong does! Some problems with the tyres, two breakdowns, the bike switching off and, above all, my two mistakes in Superpole ruined what could have been an important race.
In any case I’m happy with the fourth place in Race 2 where I was also able to make the fast lap.
I knew I had a good pace, I showed that in practice and warm-up.
I’m leaving Assen convinced that I can do well if I keep improving and luck stays on my side!”.
Ruben Xaus – 8th and 14thOf course, I can’t be satisfied when my team-mate is first and third and I am eighth and fourteenth.
Yes, he won twice last year and has a great rhythm here and knows where the problems arise, but still I can’t be satisfied.
Race one was OK and we found a way but almost as soon as race two started the clouds came and the track temperature dropped.
We had tyre allocation problems here this weekend and we didn’t have the right set up to make the soft tyre last or the harder tyre work properly.
The A tyre was the good option for race one, even though the performance dropped off at the end.
In race two, the tyre was like it was at the end of race one, only after five laps.
So we fought hard to bring the bike home with a slightly better set-up.
Hopefully we will get more consistent track temperatures at Monza and other races.
Now I know the bike much better, the team is working well and the gap is closing to the riders at the front.
Leon Haslam (12th and 5th)“It’s been a tough weekend.
We have been encountering a few minor issues this weekend which have made lap by lap consistency difficult.
The situation obviously wasn’t helped by my crash in race 1.
The back of the bike came round on me unexpectedly and I was unable to stop myself from crashing.
I also got clipped by one of the other riders when I was on the floor, which meant I was a little sore for race 2.
Still I got a good start in the second race and managed to get up with the leaders, but sadly I was unable progress through the pack.
But we still managed to secure another top five finish, and I know we will go away from here, work hard back at the workshop and prepare well for Monza.
”Jakub Smrz (DNF and 9th) “Unfortunately the bad luck has affected my day, in race 1, after a slow start, I was still in close contact with the group of the head of the race, when unfortunately Haslam slipped in front me, forcing me to go off -track to avoid him.
This did not affected the behaviour of the bike and tires, that kept working well, but I found myself with delay.
I started a comeback that , thanks to my fast pace, could bring me close to the leaders , unfortunately in the rush to recover I made a mistake at the chicane undermining the work done, and unfortunately I also inadvertently caused the fall of my team-mate that was following me in this comeback .
During the fall I hurt my elbow, which anyway did not affected much in Game 2.
Unfortunately I made a bad start and during the first lap I was touched by Camier, leaving the best line and losing valuable positions.
I started a comeback that brought me up to ninth place, only a few tenths from the fifth position.
In race 2 I had to use the second bike and I needed a few laps to buy a good feeling because the settings were slightly different“Sylvain Guintoli (DNF and 10th)”I have to honestly say that I did not expect these results, not so much in terms of final position, but especially with regard to lap times.
Despite the physical problems, I shot in both races at times very close to those of the leaders.
Unfortunately, I didn ´t manage to qualify for a start in the front rows and then I was always in the middle of the group, but I’m sure that starting in a better position I would have been fighting for a top five placement.
Tomorrow I will go to check how does it look with my ankle and decide if surgery will be necessary to fix the problem, in any case I will work at my best and am sure that I will soon be fighting for the podium positions.
”Noriyuki Haga (DNF and 8th)“I feel disappointed for the team and my supporters.
I would have close with two better outcome.
Unfortunately, I still have few experience on this bike, mainly in race where we got problems with the grip during the final part.
I’m sure with all these infos we’ll aim to a better result in Monza.
”Maxime Berger (DNF and 13th)“Unfortunately, the first race was ruined by a clutch problem.
Immediately after the start I began to feel problems, but seemed to been resolved after some laps.
Then, suddenly the clutch stopped working completely and I was forced to pit.
Race two went much better, as I won my first points in World Superbike.
After the problems at Donington and Phillip Island, I finally finished the race in a positive way.
We decided to use a harder tire than the one used in race one.
Of course at first I struggled a little because I could not push as I wanted.
As soon as I realized that the tire had the right grip, I increased my pace finishing in thirteenth place.
A good moral injection for me and my team and I thank them all for all work done here in Holland.
” Ayrton Badovini (9th and 15th) “I’m partly satisfied with the weekend.
The bike started to work for me but there were some problems we couldn’t solve.
We lack grip at full tilt and that costs us a lot.
I still have to work so hard physically in order to get the best times.
I have to hold on very tight for the racing line through corners, and for the race distance this is a challenge.
I hope that for Monza we will have found a solution.
”Tom Sykes: (14th and 11th)“Race one was unfortunate because we went for a soft A rear tyre which we thought was going to work.
That did not pay off but in race two we chose the C tyre, a harder one, and probably the one that the majority of the field was on.
It is still early days yet for us and we know what we can do when we find the right settings.
I feel it is a question of getting better balance on the bike and having a bit more speed, but I think we will get both of them pretty soon.
”Joan Lascorz: (11th and 12th)“In the first race the bike was good at the start but then very quickly, lap six or seven maybe, I lost the best grip and I could not get it back.
In the first part of the second race I felt very low grip on a different tyre choice at the start but then it started to come in.
Things improved and there was a better balance of the bike at that time.
At least I could ride it better, so I picked up my pace and overtook a few people.
”Chris Vermeulen: (DNF and DNS) “I stopped just because of a lack of strength in my leg but we went out to try and complete the full races.
We still got some useful data in any case.
My leg just cramped up and I had to stop after a few laps.
My pace was not so bad and I was holding down a points scoring position but I just could not get to the end.
This is the first time I have been able to feel the bike really working, and I made some set-up changes because I was pushing at a decent level sometimes this weekend.
I am happy with what the team has done but we have a lot of work still to do, just because I am a long way behind my team-mates in learning the bike at present.
I think I should be ready for a full weekend of racing at Monza.
”Mark Aitchison (10th and 18th)“Race one was good for us and I am stoked to be inside the top ten for the first time.
I really started to enjoy myself.
A few guys crashed in race one but we will take the results while they are there.
I feel we are getting there with the bike settings now.
”