Bulega continues unbeaten streak in Assen

Record pace sees Italian gun maintain his dominance over the WorldSBK field as Aussies suffer misfortune

New parity fuel flow restrictions didn’t slow down Ducati in the Netherlands, with Bulega taking out another Superpole Qualifying with a new circuit record 1’32.144. He did fall on the entry to T1, however, leaving his team a lot of work to do before the start of Race One.

A long 0.329 seconds behind, top Independent rider Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team Ducati) was second quickest in Superpole, with the second official Ducati of Iker Lecuona third.

It took the appearance of raindrops and the white flag to indicate a drop in track adhesion to spark the first 21-lap WorldSBK race of the Assen weekend into competitive life, just around two-thirds race distance.

After the lead trio of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati), Iker Lecuona (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team Ducati) had settled into their own pace ahead of the rest, the race looked done and lightly dusted from then on. as Bulega blasted out a new race lap record 1’33.341 on lap 6.

Very light but definite rains suddenly saw Lecuona push harder than his team-mate, passing for the lead until Bulega re-asserted himself as the risk factor abated as soon as the rain clouds passed and track conditions began to improve.

The finishing order on the Race One podium was Bulega, Lecuona and Sam Lowes, while an eventually clear fourth place went to Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team).

Behind him, order was more disordered.

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) survived a collision with Bautista on the main straight to finish fifth, even though his bimota lost its right hand winglet.

He had a lonely race for fifth place, but behind a veritable freight train of rider passes and re-passes saw the greatly improved Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) sixth, from Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven Ducati), Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) and tenth placed Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha).

Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) almost crashed as he served one of his two long-lap penalties, finishing up 18th.

Remy Gardner
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t our best day. We had the potential for more in qualifying, but a small mistake in the final sector cost us a second row start. Starting from tenth made things more difficult, although I had a good start and stayed close to the group ahead. Later, I was pushed wide by another rider, which dropped me back. I had to recover positions and salvage points. The race pace was encouraging, and we’ll aim to improve in the sprint race tomorrow to set up a stronger Race 2.”

ASSEN WORLDSBK RACE 1

WORLD SUPERSPORT RACE 1

The honours in an incredibly busy and unpredictable 18-lap WorldSSP Race One at Assen went to championship leader Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) but it could have been any one of six or seven riders, in truth.

With five laps to go, a contact between Tom Booth-Amos (Triumph Factory Racing) and Can Öncü (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) caused both to run wide entering the chicane, dropping them off the leading group.

TBA was penalised with losing one track position, but he got it back again and more by the end, finishing third after an audacious final pass into the chicane, just behind Albert Arenas (AS Racing Yamaha) and just ahead of Valentin Debise (ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing).

Debise had finished third across the line but had to take to the green pain on the inside of the final corner exit, and he dropped from third to fourth after a mandatory penalty.

Pole man and podium prospect Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) was eventually fifth. He was just 0.4 seconds ahead of the leader of the second group of riders for most of the race, Dominique Aegerter (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team).

That warring faction finally caught up due to all the dramas in the leading group, allowing Aegerter, Philipp Öttl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team Ducati), Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team), Alessandro Zaccone (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) and finally tenth placed Öncü to finish within two seconds of Masia.

Oli Bayliss endured another difficult Assen race after a grid penalty left him to start the race from the rear of the field. He battled through to finish in 18th position – a tough pill to swallow given his Triumph teammate finished on the podium. Despite the lowly finishing position, Oli’s best race lap was only a quarter of a second slower than race winner Mahias’s 1’37.396 best, meaning the aussie could be in the mix if he makes a good start in race 2.

Oli Bayliss
“Another difficult race today here at Assen, especially starting from the back of the grid with a penalty. It wasn’t ideal. Looking back, I probably should’ve gone with a softer tyre to try and put in a lap inside the top 10 — we weren’t too far off. Starting P19 tomorrow still isn’t anything special, but it’s a lot better than 33rd, so there’s definitely more potential there. Let’s see what the PTR Triumph Racing team and I can do in Race Two tomorrow.”

ASSEN WORLDSSP RACE 1

WORLDWCR RACE 1 – SCARY TURN 1 CRASH ENDS TAYLA RELPH’S RACE

A red flag incident that saw Tayla Relph (Full Throttle Racing) and three other riders involved finally brought about a restarted Race One, over eight laps, not the planned 12.

An eventual head-to-head battle between Maria Herrera (Terra & Vita GRT) and Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) was won by Herrera after a late move into the chicane on the final lap. The margin of victory was just 0.083 seconds.

After a subsequent last chicane incident that saw Ramos crash out, and take other riders with her, Roberta Ponziani (Klint Racing Team) was third, leaving Chloe Jones (Monster Energy Crescent) in fourth place and new rider for 2026, Muklada Sarapuech (EEST NUT Racing), fifth.

Natalia Rivera (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha) was sixth, three seconds ahead of Astrid Madrigal (Pons Italika Racing FIMLA), and 13 seconds up on eighth placed Karolina Danak (Yamaha AD78 FIMLA).

After ignoring a double long lap penalty Yvonne Cerpa (MotosCerpa-Gradara Corse)  was penalised with a 37 lap addition to her race time, taking her to 17th place.

One more race to go at Assen, with Herrera 18 points ahead of second placed Neila in the championship rankings.

ASSEN WORLDWCR RACE 1