Description 'The Cathedral' of motorcycle racing as it is known colloquially, Assen has an almost unrivalled history in motorsport, being the only venue to have held a round of the MotoGP™ World Championship every year since its creation in 1949. It has also been hosting WorldSBK races since 1992, and celebrated its 25th anniversary as a Superbike venue in 2016.
Assen is a big favourite with the riders given its prestige and race weekends are thoroughly enjoyed by the fans as they revel in the festival atmosphere.
Jonathan Rea has drawn level with Carl Fogarty for the most World Superbike race wins at Assen with his 12th victory at the iconic Dutch circuit with a masterful display against Michael van der Mark and Chaz Davies.
Rea grabbed the holeshot to set the initial pace before local hero van der Mark dived into the lead at the Gert Trimmer chicane in front of the home fans at the end of lap eight. The Pata Yamaha rider’s lead would only last for two laps as Rea measured his rival’s pace before repaying the favour with an identical overtake at the final chicane.
Rea, who has won the past seven consecutive World Superbike races at Assen, used his experience to pull out a time gap of around one second on the final three laps to keep clear of the pack and claim an historic victory.
Pata Yamaha’s van der Mark enjoyed a late tussle with Davies to hold on to second place to equal his and the team’s best result of the year. With Davies taking third place for Aruba.it Racing
1/Aruba.it Racing /241
2/Kawasaki Racing Team /215
3/Pata Yamaha /161
4/BARNI Racing Team /87
5/Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team /59
6/Milwaukee Aprilia /41
7/Kawasaki Puccetti Racing /39
8/Althea BMW Racing Team /36
9/MV Agusta Reparto Corse /29
10/Team Go Eleven /28
11/Oreclac Racing VerdNatura /24
12/Triple M Honda World Superbike Team /12
13/Team Pedercini /7