WorldSBK Assen: Rea’s hat-trick hopes crushed by crash

After two true Jonathan Rea classic WorldSBK Assen wins on Saturday and in the Superpole race on Sunday morning, the six-time champion was heading for what he hoped would be a victorious triple at Assen by winning race two.

As everyone who had even heard about the race knows, the main talking point was a collision with Toprak Razgatlioglu on the exit of Haarbocht on lap six.

Razgatlioglu ran wide after outbraking himself slightly, running onto the kerbs, then rejoining the asphalt - just as Rea was heading for that same piece of racetrack.

Without clear multi-angle wide shots, and maybe/maybe not, onboard cameras, the arguments about who’s fault it was raged. A racing incident seems the best answer all round, as there is no smoking gun unless… you are wearing green or blue uniforms.

Rea said of the crash, “It might be hard to get really angry about it or point fingers, but from my point of view, I drew alongside Toprak on the start/finish straight. He braked 15 meters later than normal. He stopped the bike on the curb before going off.

“He sacrificed so much speed that in my normal apex racing line, also Bautista behind me coming, was so much faster. In this situation at Assen, normally the guy on the outside gives way because someone is coming from the inside. Like I did in Turn One on the first lap of the race with Lecuona. I went deep. I understand you can’t come back onto the track. You can’t make sudden movements into the racing line. I was committed to my line going in T2.”

Rea added more evidence to his claim for unfair race dismissal. “I was in front when we came together because he (Toprak) hit my hip on the rear side. So, unfortunate because it really soured our weekend. My team gave me an incredible bike. Good