Alcoba places ninth in Superpole at Assen

There were sunny skies but low temperatures today at the TT Circuit Assen in The Netherlands, the stage for this weekend’s third round of the WorldSSP championship.

During the morning’s free practice, the Kawasaki WorldSSP rider Jeremy Alcoba set the ninth fastest time (1’37”866), the Spaniard working hard with his technicians to setup his Ninja SX-6R complete with 636 cc engine ahead of the afternoon’s Superpole.

In that subsequent qualifying session, Alcoba headed out late as a result of an unexpected electrical problem. The team’s technical staff quickly resolved the issue and, in the time remaining, Jeremy did well to improve on his earlier time (1’37”266) and again conclude ninth.

He will therefore line up on the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s 18-lap race.

TT Assen Circuit – The Netherlands

Supersport World Championship

Superpole: 1) Oncu (Yamaha) – 2) Booth-Amos (Triumph) – 3) Bendsneyder (MV Agusta) – 4) Debise (Ducati) – 5) Masia (Ducati) – 6) Manzi (Yamaha) ……… 9) Alcoba (Kawasaki)

Jeremy Alcoba: “It’s been a complicated day. We started well in free practice but then had an electrical problem in Superpole that caused me to lose a lot of time. In the end I was only able to complete four laps and achieve ninth place. The bike is not yet how we want it and we need to improve the setup for the race. We don’t know what our race pace is like, but I know I’ll need to make a good start so as not to lose contact with the leaders. Thanks to the team for all their hard work today.”

Kawasaki WorldSBK Team Gets Going At Assen

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) competed in two free practice sessions at the 4.542km long Assen circuit as the action got underway in the third round of the FIM Superbike World Championship.

Under cool weather and track conditions for the first free practice session Gerloff found a good feeling with his bike, having made a kind of breakthrough in his understanding of his machine at the previous round in Portugal.

He was an encouraging tenth after the first practice session.

Gerloff would go a little faster in FP2, which was held in warmer and sunnier conditions than the morning’s FP1 outing, but would end the day 17th overall.

The American rider felt he would be able to make even greater progress in FP2, but despite pushing as hard as he dared he was not able to set a fast enough lap time to keep him inside the front few places.

On Saturday 12 April there will be one more free practice session for Gerloff and his Italian-based team to work on a final pre-race machine set-up before Superpole Qualifying will determined each rider’s final Race One grid spot. Saturday will culminate with the first 21-lap race of the weekend.

A ten-lap Superpole Race and then a full distance Race Two will round out the competitive WorldSBK action on Sunday 13 April.

Garrett Gerloff: “In FP1 I wasn’t feeling so bad and I thought we had a good start to the day. I was trying my best in the second session but we just didn’t make any improvement, which is frustrating. We are trying to find more speed but it is just not coming so easily. We will look again tomorrow and try to find more pace.”

Alcoba places top ten in Assen’s Race 1

The first race making up the third WorldSSP championship round played out today at the TT Circuit di Assen in The Netherlands. Yesterday, after a free practice, the Kawasaki WorldSSP Team placed ninth in Superpole with its Spanish rider Jeremy Alcoba, thus scoring a spot on the third row of the grid for today’s race, which ran in cool, sunny conditions.

Jeremy made a good start, but the race was soon stopped with a red flag due to an incident. Once the race restarted, the Kawasaki WorldSSP rider found himself battling in the chasing group. He was able to cross the line tenth, the first of the four-cylinder bikes, at a track that has always been more favourable to the two- and three-cylinders.

With the points scored today, Alcoba now lies seventh in the championship standings, with a tally of 40.

Tomorrow he will be back out for the second and final race of this Dutch round.

TT Assen Circuit – The Netherlands
Supersport World Championship
Race 1: 1) Bendsneyder (MV Agusta) – 2) Manzi (Yamaha) -3) Oncu (Yamaha) – 4) Masia (Ducati) – 5) Booth Amos (Triumph) …… 10) Alcoba (Kawasaki)

Jeremy Alcoba: “The start of the race was not so good, and I lost many positions. I worked really hard to recover and battled with another rider which meant we lost contact with the second group. I finished at the top of the third group but over 12 laps, being 15 seconds off is too much. Each Saturday is like this, but we have improved each time between Saturday and Sunday, so I hope we can take a good step for Race Two. I hope to be able to fight for the top five. I am not happy about today, but I will try to do my best for tomorrow.”

Points For Gerloff In Assen Race One

Garrett Gerloff and his Kawasaki WorldSBK Team took part in the opening race of the Assen FIM Superbike World Championship round, on Saturday 12 April, finishing 13th and scoring some more points in the process.

Before the opening race of the third round the WorldSBK championship the riders faced a final free practice session and then Superpole Qualifying, which determines each rider’s final grid position. Garrett ended up 17th, but would improve on his starting place by the end of the 21 lap race.

Kawasaki’s sole rider on the Ninja ZX-10RR this season, Gerloff secured 13th place in the welcome but unseasonably warm ambient conditions experienced so far in the north of the Netherlands. He feels there is still progress to be made with his overall machine set-up, thus he and his crew will now look at the data from Race One to find improvements for the two remaining races at Assen.

A ten-lap Superpole Race and then a full distance Race Two will now be faced by Garrett and all his rivals on Sunday 13 April. After two relatively warm and sunny days of action, weather forecasts predict wet conditions for the final day of racing at Assen.

Garrett Gerloff: “There were some positives from today. I did my best ever lap time in qualifying, by more than half a second. That was positive but it did not help me with my starting position. I tried my best in the opening race but still we need to improve. So, I am just going to have a good night’s sleep and see if we can find a solution for tomorrow because we need something. It may rain tomorrow and if it is raining, anything could happen.”

Alcoba seventh in Race 2 at Assen

The TT Assen Circuit in The Netherlands today staged the second and final race of the third WorldSSP championship round.

Competing for the Kawasaki WorldSSP Team, rider Jeremy Alcoba qualified ninth in Friday’s Superpole before placing top ten in Saturday’s race 1.

Today, in cool, cloudy conditions, the Spaniard was on track for Race 2. He didn’t make the fastest start and was lying twelfth through the opening stages. As the race went on, he was able to get into a rhythm and lap fast, climbing as far as seventh.

The next WorldSSP round will take place at Italy’s Cremona Circuit on 2-4 May.

TT Assen Circuit – The Netherlands

Supersport World Championship
Race 2: 1) Oncu (Yamaha) – 2) Manzi (Yamaha) – 3) Bendsneyder (MV Agusta) – 4) Debise (Ducati) – 5) Masia (Ducati) – 6) Schroetter (Ducati) – 7) Alcoba (Kawasaki)

Jeremy Alcoba: “I didn’t make the best start but then pushed hard to make up places. Once the frontrunners picked up the pace, I wasn’t able to stick with them and so tried to maintain a good position in the chasing group. We struggled particularly though the fast turns here, and I think it would have been hard to do more. I can’t wait to race at Cremona, a track where I think we can be more competitive.”

Gerloff Pushes On at Assen

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) took part in two final races at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands on Sunday 16 April – the first in wet conditions and the second being run during a return to the dry track surfaces that were in evidence on both previous days of action.

In the Superpole Race, held at 11.00 on Sunday, Gerloff finished 16th in what was an initially wet but gradually drying track. A dry line had appeared by the end of the ten-lap ‘sprint’ race.

The return of dry conditions for the final WorldSBK race, held over 21-laps like Saturday’s Race One, was welcomed by all. On his Ninja ZX-10RR Garrett Gerloff got away with a bunch of other riders, fighting for track position and the chance of more championship points.

After a drop in tyre grip Gerloff had to let his immediate rivals go and then managed his own race all the way to the flag, finishing 16th.

After adding the points he scored for 13th place in the opening race at Assen, Garrett is now ranked 17th overall, with 14 championship points.

Cremona will host the next round of the championship, between 2-4 May. It will be the first of two home rounds in Italy this season for the Kawasaki WorldSBK Team.

Garrett Gerloff: “At the end of the Assen weekend I can honestly say that it was better in the second race. At least in the beginning we were there fighting with around six guys in front of me. It was nice to be there for half the race but I have been struggling with front tyres all weekend. We used the harder compound SC2 and still destroyed it. In one lap I went from being there with them to being passed left and right. That is frustrating but it was nice to not have a lonely race and I am doing my best. I appreciate all the support and we will try again at the team’s home round in Cremona.”