Friday Practice

Tito Rabat fast in Assen practices despite the rain

The TT Circuit Assen in The Netherlands today hosted the first day of action making up round three of the 2024 WorldSBK championship. The weather was cold and cloudy as the first free practice got underway on a dry track. Rider Tito Rabat made the most of the session, working hard with his team to adapt his Ninja ZX-10RR KRT Factory Replica to the historic Dutch track. With a time of 1’37”214, the Spaniard finished in sixteenth place.

The second practice began on a dry track, but rain began to fall towards mid-session. Rabat was able to improve (1’36”834) and would have continued to do so had the track conditions not prevented it. The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider nevertheless placed a solid fifteenth at the end of the session.

TT Assen Circuit – The Netherlands
Superbike World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 3) Gardner (Yamaha) – 4) Rinaldi (Ducati) – 5) Rea (Yamaha) ……….15) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “We worked very well today, making the most of the time we had on a dry track. I’m quite pleased with what we’ve achieved, but we still need a few more tenths through some sectors. It was a positive day generally speaking, and we need to continue like this and hope the weather isn’t too unfavourable. A big thank you to the team for all their great work again today.”

A crash compromises Superpole for Can Oncu at Assen

Rain and low temperatures characterised day one of the third WorldSSP round, which began today at the TT Circuit Assen in The Netherlands.

Having recently undergone surgery on his right arm to resolve a compartmental syndrome problem, Can Oncu took to the track for a wet free practice. Despite the difficult conditions, the young Turkish rider was able to finish out front, first with a time of 1’44”419.

The Superpole, which serves to establish the grid for the weekend’s races, ran in the afternoon on a track that was still wet. A few minutes in, Oncu started to pick up the pace but unfortunately suffered a crash that prevented him from continuing with the session. The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider qualified twentieth as a result and will start tomorrow afternoon’s race from the fifth row of the grid. A very unfortunate outcome, considering just how fast Can was in morning practice.

TT Assen Circuit – The Netherlands
Supersport World Championship
Free practice: 1) Oncu (Kawasaki) – 2) Tuuli (Ducati) – 3) Vostatek (Triumph) – 4) Bayliss (Ducati) – 5) Edwards (Ducati) – 6) Van Straalen (Yamaha)

Superpole: 1) Manzi (Yamaha) – 2) Van Straalen (Yamaha) – 3) Huertas (Ducati) – 4) Schroetter (MV Agusta) – 5) Tuuli (Ducati) ……… 20) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu: “I immediately got into a good rhythm in practice and was the quickest on track. I would surely have done the same in Superpole, but unfortunately, I crashed early on, damaging the bike and the track marshals didn’t allow me to continue. Tomorrow I’ll start the race from the fifth row of the grid, which will be difficult of course, but I’m not losing hope. I like tough challenges and so I’ll do my best to make up as much ground as possible. Thanks to my team for all their help today.”

Saturday

Tito Rabat is forced to retire from WorldSBK Race One at Assen

Cloudy conditions and intermittent rain characterized day two of this third WorldSBK round at the Assen TT Circuit. In yesterday’s practices, Tito Rabat worked hard with his team to adapt his Ninja ZX-10RR KRT Factory Replica to the Dutch track.

This morning, he was back out for Superpole, which ran on a fully wet track. This was the first time the Spaniard was riding the Ninja in the wet, the rider placing twenty-second with a time of 1’48”996.

With this result, Tito lined up on the seventh row of the grid for the first of the weekend’s races, which took place on a wet track this afternoon, the rain only stopping a few minutes before the race start. On a track that gradually dried out, the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider was unable to find the right feeling with the tyres and bike and preferred to retire.

Tomorrow the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider will compete in the Superpole Race and the second and final Superbike race of this third WorldSBK round.

TT Circuit Assen
Superbike World Championship

Superpole: 1) Rea (Yamaha) – 2) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 3) Bulega (Ducati) – 4) Lowes (Ducati) – 5) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 6) Gardner (Yamaha) ……… 22) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 1 – 1) Spinelli (Ducati) – 2) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 3) Bautista – 4) Gardner (Yamaha) – 5) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 6) Rea (Yamaha) – 7) Van der Mark (BMW) ……… DNF) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “The difficult track conditions affected today’s Superpole and race. In qualifying, I tried to adapt to the rain tyres that I’d never used before with this bike. In the race we opted for slick tyres, which proved to be the right choice, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find good feeling with the bike on a track that went from wet to dry, and I preferred to retire. For tomorrow we hope the weather improves so that we can score better results. Big thanks to the team as they’ve so hard again today.”

In tricky conditions Can Oncu just misses out on points in Race One at Assen

Today brought more unstable weather at the TT Circuit Assen in The Netherlands, which is hosting round three of the Supersport World Championship this weekend. Rain conditioned Friday’s practice and Superpole, with Can Oncu unfortunately crashing during the qualifying session which left him in twentieth place.

As a result, the Turkish rider started today’s race from the fifth row of the grid. The rain stopped just before the race began, which meant the track was wet for the start. Oncu didn’t make the fastest start, also because he was navigating the wet surface with slick tyres. The tyre choice proved correct though, as the track soon began to dry. From mid-race on, Can was able to pick up the pace and start to make up positions, ultimately climbing to sixteenth and finishing the race just outside the points zone.

Oncu will return to the track tomorrow for the second and final race of this Dutch round.

TT Circuit Assen – The Netherlands
Race 1: 1) Huertas (Ducati) – 2) Manzi (Yamaha – 3) Debise (Yamaha) – 4) Van Straalen (Yamaha) – 5) Edwards (Ducati) – 6) Caricasulo (MV Agusta) …… 16) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu: “A very difficult race that was further complicated by my starting position and the track conditions, only partially dry. I never found the right feeling with the bike or tyres and couldn’t do more than sixteenth place in the end. Fortunately, we’ve collected a lot of data that can help us for tomorrow’s race, where I’ll do everything I can to score a better result.”

Sunday

Tito Rabat finishes in the points after a complicated WorldSBK weekend in Assen, while Can Oncu finishes 9th in WorldSSP

The third WorldSBK round has now concluded at the TT Circuit Assen in The Netherlands. Both the weather and track conditions made things difficult for Tito Rabat and his technical staff yesterday. In Superpole, the Spaniard placed twenty-second, while in Race 1 he was forced to retire.

The track was dry for today’s Superpole Race but unfortunately the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider was again unable to complete the race, struggling as a result of some electronics problems with his Ninja ZX-10RR KRT Factory Replica.

Race 2 got underway in the afternoon on a dry track but under grey skies. Despite some rain through certain sectors of the track, Tito maintained a strong pace from start to finish and climbed as high as fifteenth, to finish inside the points zone.

The next WorldSBK round will take place on 14-16 June at the Misano World Circuit in Italy.

TT Assen Circuit – The Netherlands
Superbike World Championship

Superpole Race: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Bulega (Ducati) – 3) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 4) Gardner (Yamaha) – 5) Rea (Yamaha) – 6) Locatelli (Yamaha) ……….. DNF) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 2 – 1) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 2) Bulega (Ducati) – 3) Gardner (Yamaha) – 4) Iannone (Ducati) – 5) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 6) Lowes (Ducati) ……… 15) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat: “The weekend started well, but then rain complicated things and put paid to our hard work, also because I’d never ridden this bike in the wet before. We started a long way back today, and our races were really tough, although I reached the points zone in Race 2. We got some new components here at Assen that we’ll continue to try during the tests we’ll do at Cremona in May so that we can be more competitive for the next Misano round. A big thank you to the team for all their hard work here in The Netherlands.”