Gordon Ritchie | April 22, 2018
2018 Assen WorldSBK and WorldSSP Sunday Results—Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) said he had the pace on Friday to win, but he started too far back to compete for a podium in the final laps.
2018 Assen WorldSBK and WorldSSP Sunday Results
Sykes came good on his early speed to take a dominant win at Assen.
Today, from pole under the reverse grid rules, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) showed stunning pace for all 21 laps and won by a massive 5.445 seconds from the modern-era Assen great, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team).
The Kawasaki 1-2 was only threatened for a time by the flying local Dutch rider, Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK) who finished 7.5 seconds from Sykes, and just too far from Rea to challenge him.
“The feeling is incredible and I have had a bit of the struggle at times, so what can I say but thank you to the team,” Sykes said. “This is a gentle reminder of where we have come from, which was priceless. A bit like the old Sykes is back. The bike was working good but suffered a bit with the front tire and the rear tire, but I controlled the race from my pit board. I have got that one off my back and hopefully, we can carry on.”
Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team Ducati) was fourth, after shadowing Sykes in the first half of the race, but succumbing to Rea and VDM in quick succession.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was really struggling for pace in the final laps but held on for a fifth place, over 18 seconds from Sykes on another warm day in the Assen sunshine.
Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had a close dice at the end, with Torres sixth and Melandri seventh.
Loris Baz (GULF ALTHEA BMW Racing Team) was eighth, leading a three-rider group home, from Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia).
PJ Jacobsen (TripleM Honda World Superbike Team) was the only Honda rider in the race after Jake Gagne’s injuries, and he was 1
WorldSSP: Cluzel Wins An Assen Classic
Cluzel (16) picked up a first win of the year in fine style at Assen.
A remarkable fourth round of the WorldSSP championship unfolded over 18-laps of the Assen circuit with one time leader Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) off the podium altogether and an MV on a podium for the first time this year. And those were not the most dramatic moments.
The race was won by fleeing Frenchman Jules Cluzel (NRT Yamaha) who took a lead he would not lose over the line from lap two to lap 18.
It was his first race win for over a year and it sent him into an emotional mode, especially after all his leg injuries worries in the past.
“I was waiting for that one,” said Cluzel. “I think I have been waiting for more than one year! We improved a lot since the last race in Aragon because we wanted that one. I have an incredible bike but I struggled a lot with the front tire at the end of the race, but I think everybody did. I am so, so happy.”
The story of the day was who finished second as Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) suddenly had to start the race from the back of the grid, and battled forward to finish second. Unsurprisingly, he set the new lap record on his way through, of 1:38.108, on lap 11.
The last place on the podium went to Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag) who has had plenty of speed but little luck in 2018 until today. His bike was the first non-Yamaha to get a top three in 2018.
De Rosa put in some hard passes, notably on fourth place man Mahias, with the top four across the line inside 0.341 seconds.
Pole man and Aragon race winner Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing Yamaha) finished fifth, 1.122 seconds back.
Such was the pace of the leading Yamaha and MV runners that Niki Tuuli (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) was sixth, but 17 seconds back, heading off the aggressive local ESS rider, Rob Hartog (Team Hartog Against Cancer Kawasaki).
On a good day for the NRT team in general, second rider Thomas Gradinger was eighth. Loris Cresson (Kallio Racing Yamaha) and Hannes Soomer (Racedays Honda) completed the top ten.
Another great ride from Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing Triumph) was penalized after he was adjudged to have been involved in a fast crash suffered by Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team). The Triumph rider was given a Ride Through Automatic time penalty, losing his strong top six place and being finally classified 15th, scoring one point.
In the points table, Mahias leads Krummenacher by just one, 71 to 70, with Cortese on 65 and Cluzel on 50 after his first win and one DNF in Thailand. Anthony West (EAB antwest Racing Kawasaki) missed the race in Thailand and is undergoing surgery in Spain to his fractured right forearm. Lachlan Epis retired with a technical problem.
WORLDSBK RACE ONE
- Jonathan Rea (Kaw)
- Mark van der Mark (Yam)
- Chaz Davies (Duc)
- Tom Sykes (Kaw)
- Xavi Fores (Duc)
WORLDSBK RACE TWO
- Tom Sykes (Kaw)
- Jonathan Rea (Kaw)
- Mark van der Mark (Yam)
- Xavi Fores (Duc)
- Chaz Davies (Duc)
WORLDSSP
- Jules Cluzel (Yam)
- Randy Krummenacher (Yam)
- Raffaele De Rosa (MV)
- Lucas Mahias (Yam)
- Luke Stapleford (Tri)
RESULTS: http://www.worldsbk.com/en/results%20statistics
