Rea Scores a Double at Assen
The second 21-lap WSBK Assen race provided a double win for Jonathan Rea. The Sunday race was started in wet conditions but rapidly dried out, meaning all the riders pitted to change tyres at some stage. Rea also won the Saturday foray but his teammate and polesitter, Tom Sykes, crashed out.
At the start of the race, in fully wet track conditions, Sykes took the lead from his pole position grid placing. The changing weather and drying track surface saw him drop back and soon pit to change tyres but in the heat of the tyre change process he went out on intermediate tyres, not the front intermediate/rear slick he intended to use.
Rea ran out the winner by 2.442 seconds, extending his championship lead in the process with his second double win of 2016.
Sykes’ intermediate rear tyre had an effect on the outcome of his race but in finishing second, after a day one crash and no score, the 2013 world champion recovered and scored 20 valuable championship points.
In the overall championship table Rea leads by 45 points from Chaz Davies with Sykes third.
Jonathan Rea stated: “Our target this weekend was to increase our championship lead and we did that. I have no idea why I go so well at Assen; it is nothing to do with the track itself. We got a double victory but it was not like Australia where I simply had more pace than the rest. We controlled the situations this weekend when we had to, we were calm and clever when we had to be, and as a team our strength shone through to get two strong results. We got the maximum from what we could achieve here so I am super, super, happy with that. Our stars aligned this weekend and it worked out, so I am just happy.”
The Italian circuit of Imola will host the fifth round of the championship, with track action starting on 29 April and ending on 1 May.
