Rea will be out for revenge
Bautista stamped his authority at Aragon but next up it’s Rea’s top track
Assen is holy ground for World Superbikes – and not just because it’s nicknamed ‘The Cathedral of Speed’. The Dutch circuit first featured in 1992 as Doug Polen and Giancarlo Falappa triumphed. Perhaps its most infamous moment was Frankie Chili crashing while fighting teammate Carl Fogarty in 1998, then angrily charging into a press conference clad only in a dressing gown following his post-race shower. 2022 is also shaping up to be a classic. Is this where Rea and Toprak fight back?
Jonathan Rea’s 15 Assen victories marks the most any rider has achieved on a single circuit – the first with Honda in 2010 and most recent with Kawasaki last year, part of a tremendous treble. In Aragon last time out, he won Race 1 and was second to Bautista in the others. Toprak Razgatlioglu made it a trio of podiums in an enormous improvement for Yamaha; however, it’s been revealed that the blue team reverted to their 2021 electronics as the new 2022 package has been giving them headaches. Which will they use at Assen?
The roles of the teammates will be paramount; Michael Ruben Rinaldi managed three fourths in Aragon, while Assen ’21 was the scene of Andrea Locatelli’s career-first podium – he even led for a while. Alex Lowes admits he must up his game to keep up. Perhaps rain would suit him – and that’s always possible.
Honda showed great promise in Aragon, compromising qualifying pace for races; the fact Lecuona and Vierge scored the same points is a sure-fire sign the riders are extracting the most. The same
‘Rea has 15 Assen victories to his name’
could not be said for Scott Redding, the BMW rider scoring a single point. More than extra test days or technical improvements, it feels like divine intervention is necessary.
Tickets have been selling fast but how disappointed the Dutch will be should Michael van der Mark not race this weekend. Even if he does, the BMW man will be in significant pain due to the right leg he broke in a preseason cycling accident.