It was all Aruba.it Racing Ducati this weekend at TT Circuit Assen. Alvaro Bautista continues to dominate the World Superbike Championship extending his points lead to 174 points; 56 points ahead of Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK rider Toprak Razgatlioglu. Razgatlioglu secured three podiums this weekend with two P2 finishes and one P3 finish in Race 2. He made a challenge to take the lead but seemingly started to fade back by lap 8 preventing him from mounting any meaningful attacks on Bautista’s position. Jonathan Rea increased his championship points tally moving him into 5th place over all after a very successful weekend for the Kawasaki side. Andrea Locatelli salvaged the weekend for Yamaha in third, 7.4s behind Bautista.
Unfortunately for Jonathan Rea he had to retire the bike in Race 2 eliminating his chance for three podiums this weekend. Rea currently holds the record for the most wins at TT Circuit Assen at 16 but will have to wait until next year to extend this record. There were a total of 6 riders who retired from Race 2 after a number of on track incidents.
Ducati Celebrates 400th Win
Ducati celebrates its 400th win in World Superbike making them the most successful manufacturer in the history of the series. It was also the 700th podium for the manufacturer. Ducati riders have been in great form in 2023 and they do not show any signs of slowing down.
Toprak Razgatlioglu, Alvaro Bautista and Jonathan Rea on Podium. Photo by Luckasz SwiderekTop ten in the Riders’ Championship standings below
1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 174
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 118
3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 104
4. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) 77
5. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 73
6. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 54
7. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 51
8. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 50
9. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) 49
10. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 44
Full Championship standings are below.
For footage of the race check out WorldSBK.com