WorldSBK Assen: Race preview

TT Circuit Assen celebrates 30 years of WorldSBK action this weekend as round two rolls into town.

1992 saw the Netherlands become the 18th country to welcome a relatively new and very exciting production-based motorcycle racing world championship. Doug Polen and Giancarlo Falappa shared wins, race one saw the top three covered by less than a second and Carl Fogarty’s love affair with the famous Dutch venue began with a podium. 15 of the 24 riders on the 2022 grid weren’t even born, yet they’ll be racing at this timeless circuit this weekend. It is of course the TT Circuit Assen, the ‘Cathedral of Speed’ and maybe for the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, the cathedral of dreams. 30 years since its inception onto the calendar, and due to missing out in 2020, the 30th WorldSBK round at the venue, a titanic Motul Dutch Round awaits.

It’d been 1022 days between Alvaro Bautista’s spells at the top of the Championship on the Aruba.it Ducati but after just three races back with the Panigale V4 R, the Spaniard is already leading the standings. Bautista’s double on Sunday at Aragon sees him come to a circuit where he was unbeatable in 2019 too - romping home to a double and winning the opening 11 races of the season. However, as seen at Aragon, it’s a lot closer now; can he fend off Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea, who won all three races in 2021? His teammate, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, took a podium in 2021 at Assen and had a solid first round; can he challenge for victory this time?

In the green corner, Rea took the opening honours of the 2022 season with race one win in a thrilling final corner battle with Bautista. After the duo’s closest fight for victory, Rea now comes to a circuit that he’s become synonymous with. An