During a largely rain-free but hyper-intense weekend of racing in the Netherlands, the top Kawasaki riders competing in the all-new category inside the WorldSBK paddock were to the fore from the very start.
In Superpole Qualifying, which was run on Friday 17 April, Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) was on pole, setting a new track best lap time of 1’42.499. He went even faster in the first race, until another rider took away the new track best time of 1’42.190 in Race Two on Sunday. Loris had also headed up the first Free Practice session at his home circuit on Friday.
Loris’ team-mate Xavi Artigas qualified third quickest for Race One, with David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) fifth quickest and his team-mate Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) tenth fastest. The top ten were separated by a mere 0.590 seconds. In all, 34 riders qualified for the what was only the third race in the new category’s story-so-far.
In Race One, the final podium finishing order would be Jeffrey Buis (Suzuki), Artigas and then Salvador - meaning that two Ninja riders had made it onto the podium.
Eight riders would finally cross the finish line in one tight group. Artigas was just 0.065 seconds from local rider Buis. Torres was the next best Kawasaki finisher after Salvador, in tenth place.
With this new category having a wide variety of different engine configurations and sizes, each rider has to ride to his bike’s particular strong points. Hence the Kawasaki riders - with their engines’ potential top performance reduced under the mandate of the balancing rules - used their sweet chassis set-ups in the final fast corners to take two of the three podiums on offer.
In all, five different manufacturers had at least one machine inside the top ten places in Race One, proving how popular and competitive this new class is in only its second weekend of racing life.
A fantastic first race provided entertainment, but one or two too many incidents for some top riders. Loris Veneman in particular was adversely affected when he was taken out by another rider, being unable to regain the track after a heavy fall. He walked away determined to score a good result on Sunday. He was the only Kawasaki non-finisher in the opening 12-lap race.
Race Two featured a modified grid compared to the first race, as the rules state that the nine riders who set the fastest Race One lap times will start from the top nine grid position in Race Two. This saw Artigas fourth, Salvador sixth, and top qualifier Veneman moved to tenth on the grid, after his race one no-score.
There would ultimately be no Kawasaki rider on the podium in Race Two, but that was not for the want of trying through all 12 laps by riders like Salvador, Artigas, Veneman, and Torres. The top ten riders were covered by just over two seconds, with Salvador the best Kawasaki finisher in fourth place. He was just 0.188 seconds from the podium and 0.398 seconds from the race win.
Windy conditions and some sports of rain appeared for Race Two, but the race was started as a dry contest and run with a dry set-up on the machines.
Artigas was sixth, and Veneman a disappointed eighth, despite scoring valuable points at home after his Race One misfortune. Torres, for the second time in each Assen Race, was tenth - just as he had been in Superpole Qualifying.
Jose Osuna (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team Kawasaki) scored points in Race One, for his 12th place finish, but in Race Two he was 17th, two places from a point and one place behind American rider, Julian Correa (Pons Motosport Italika Racing).
Juan Risueno (Pons Motosport Italika Racing) had a best Assen finish of 22nd in Race Two, as did Alvaro Fuertes (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team Kawasaki) who finished in a penalised 23rd place, after being issued a ride-through time penalty of 17 seconds.
In the Riders’ Championship, after two rounds and four races, Salvador leads with 69 points to Buis’ 64. Fleerackers, the Race Two winner on a Suzuki, is third with 59 points, five points ahead of Artigas and six ahead of Torres. Veneman, already a WorldSBK race winner at the inaugural Portimao round, is in seventh place overall, with 40 points.
In the Manufacturers’ Points after four races, Kawasaki leads Suzuki by 83 to 76. In the Teams’ ranking, Prodina Kawasaki XCI is second by just one point, with MTM Kawasaki overall third.
WorldSPB will miss out on the Hungarian WorldSBK race weekend, so the next round for this exciting new class will be at Autodrom Most, in Czechia, with track action taking place between 15-17 May.
Rider Comments
Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki), stated: “Some other bikes have more acceleration than us, but we have other strong points, so we can fight with them. The team and crew chiefs did a great job to put in a fantastic race set-up, and we made some changes from the first day. And also after warm-up. In general, I feel strong with the bike, and after Race One, I am happy. Assen is a good place to take a podium because it is a home race for the MTM team, and all the supporters of the team come to this race. It is nice to show that we are strong - and also my team-mate Loris, who was doing a fantastic job until another rider crashed into him. Race Two was more difficult, but in the end, we saved the race with P6, and we know what we need to improve for the next race. We took a first podium of the year in Race One, and I feel good, strong, and the team was super good, doing a great job all weekend. At the next one, let’s do more and be better.”
Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki), stated: “The second race went quite well, and I could ride however I wanted, but in the end, I was not in the position I hoped I would be in, considering that I was first in many sessions of the weekend. I hoped to get a little bit more than this, but I cannot change it. In the middle of the race, I was still in a podium position, so that was quite positive. But, in the end, the last laps matter, and I was not in the right place at the right time. I got caught up in a few moments where I lost some places. We need to work on a few things, but in general, my feeling with the bike is quite good, and the team is working really hard.”
David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI), stated: "It was a pretty good first race and to finish on the podium is still an important result. I'm satisfied, even if now we still have to work on some aspects, in particular on the acceleration response, to try to have something more. The pace is good, I feel comfortable on the bike and the direction is the right one. It was a tough race on Sunday, especially due to the track conditions, with the wind and rain making everything more complicated, but overall we did a good job. In the end, we managed to finish as first Kawasaki, which is a positive result - although I struggled a bit in the final sector and was easily caught on the straight, so I couldn't defend myself as I'd like. Right now, I need to overtake, especially under braking, and for this reason, we need to work on engine braking further, as it would allow me to brake harder and with greater stability, making it easier to stop the bike. At the same time, we also need to improve acceleration, because our competitors have something extra. In any case, fourth place brings important points and is not a result to be underestimated. Now we look ahead to an important test in Misano, where we'll continue working to make a step forward.”
Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI), stated: “We completed the first race, a rather chaotic race especially in the early stages, with a lot of overtaking that forced me to push immediately to stay in the group. Later I found myself in a group of three riders, where I didn't have a great feeling and the situation was very dynamic, with continuous overtaking that made race management quite complicated. In any case, we managed to score important points for the championship, which is the most positive aspect. We finished the weekend here in Assen with a growing feeling, progressively improving over the days. In Race Two I gave it my all, but the group was very large and the situation was quite complicated, with a lot of overtaking and little opportunity to manage the pace. We tried to bring home the best possible result, but unfortunately, contact with another rider in the final stages compromised the outcome. However, we remain satisfied with the work done throughout the weekend and the progress made. Now the focus is already on the next race, where we will give 100%.”
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