WorldSBK Assen: Rea celebrates 100 wins with Kawasaki

Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea left it to the final lap before solidifying his dominance at the Assen TT Circuit with his 17th WorldSBK victory at the Dutch track.

The celebrations continued for Team Green as Rea’s success completed his 100th win tally with the KRT squad. Aruba.it Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista and Pata Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu completing the parc ferme top three.

Razgatlioglu lined up on pole for the second time of the Assen weekend as the Superpole sprint prepared. Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes alongside and hoping for a more promising outcome after bad luck struck the 31-year-old during Saturday’s race and he was forced to retire from the top five. KRT teammate Rea rounded out the front row with another record-breaking victory in this sights.

After a brief delay due to a technical issue at the back of the grid for Gabriel Ruiu on the Bmax BMW, and an extra warm-up lap, the lights released for the now nine-lap dash. The reigning champion took the holeshot as the action fired up. Bautista through to second from the second row with Lowes maintaining his position ahead of Rea.

Andrea Locatelli held fifth on the second Pata Yamaha as Rea made his move through to third. Michael Rinaldi pushing the Ducati ahead of his countrymen for the fifth place battle with Iker Lecuona, Garrett Gerloff and Xavi Vierge behind.

Axel Bassani was the next to strike as he captured the last of the all-important top nine positions. Bonovo Action’s Loris Baz heading the factory BMW of Scott Redding in 11th and 12th.

Razgatlioglu maintained control as the race unfolded. Two-tenths the gap to the Aruba Ducati behind with the Spaniard making gains in the first half of the lap next time around. Rea held on to the duo ahead as Lowes began to fade in