Assen WorldSBK, Superpole | Jonathan Rea bounces back for first Yamaha pole

Jonathan Rea has taken his first pole position as a Yamaha rider after mastering the damp conditions at Assen to assure himself of the top grid slot for first two of this weekend's three races.

The Ulsterman, who has endured a tough start to the season since switching from Kawasaki to the Pata PROMETEON Yamaha Racing team, made the best of the intermittently damp weather to turn in a top lap of 1m 42.650s.

With his most recent WorldSBK win coming in similarly tricky conditions at Most in Czechia last year, it puts him in good stead to challenge for a first win in blue this weekend having cracked the points just once so far this year with an eighth place finish last time out in Catalunya.

Lining up alongside him will be Nicolo Bulega, the Italian just under a tenth slower than Rea out front, while Toprak Razgatlioglu ensured three different manufacturers inside the top three on the ROKiT BMW M 1000 RR.

The Brothers Lowes head up row two with Sam Lowes qualifying strongly again on the Marc VDS Racing Ducati in fourth to get the better of twin Alex Lowes on the Kawasaki ZX-10RR.

Remy Gardner completed the top six on the GYTR GRT Yamaha to give him a good shot at securing his first podium in WorldSBK, but there is work to do for Alvaro Bautista, who heads up row three on the Aruba.it Racing Ducati.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi joins the defending champion on the second row in eighth, with Andrea Iannone chasing him in ninth on the Team Go Eleven Ducati.

Andrea Locatelli bookends the top ten with another Yamaha in tenth position, just ahead of the impressive Nicholas Spinelli, who secured a fine 11th place start on the Barni Spark Racing Ducati ahead of his WorldSBK debut.

Though conditions evolved over the course of the session, it remained wet throughout, catching out a handful of notable riders, including Michael van der Mark and Scott Redding in 13th and 15th, plus Dominique Aegerter in 19th.

However, it gave Tarran Mackenzie - a race winner in WorldSSP at Most in the damp last season - his chance to shine with a career-best start of 14th on the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda.

🇳🇱⏱️ 2024 Assen WorldSBK | Superpole Qualifying Results

🇳🇱 ⏱️ 2024 WorldSBK Results | Assen | Superpole Qualifying Results | Round 3 of 12
Pos.RiderNat.TeamMotorcycleLap Time
1Jonathan Rea🇬🇧Pata PROMOTEONYamaha R11m 42.650
2Nicolo Bulega🇮🇹Aruba RacingDucati Panigale V4 R1m 42.744
3Toprak Razgatlioglu🇹🇷ROKiT BMW MotorradBMW M 1000 RR1m 43.003
4Sam Lowes🇬🇧Elf Marc VDS RacingDucati Panigale V4 R1m 43.190
5Alex Lowes🇬🇧Kawasaki Racing TeamKawasaki ZX-10RR1m 43.442
6Remy Gardner🇦🇺GYTR GRTYamaha R11m 43.633
7Alvaro Bautista🇪🇦Aruba RacingDucati Panigale V4 R1m 43.730
8Michael Ruben Rinaldi🇮🇹Motocorsa RacingDucati Panigale V4 R1m 43.744
9Andrea Iannone🇮🇹Team Go ElevenDucati Panigale V4 R1m 43.769
10Andrea Locatelli🇮🇹Pata PROMOTEONYamaha R11m 43.950
11Nicholas Spinelli🇮🇹Barni Spark RacingDucati Panigale V4 R1m 44.049
12Xavi Vierge🇪🇦Team HRCHonda CBR1000RR-R1m 44.095
13Michael van der Mark🇳🇱ROKiT BMW MotorradBMW M 1000 RR1m 44.111
14Tarran Mackenzie🇬🇧Petronas MIE RacingHonda CBR1000RR-R1m 44.112
15Scott Redding🇬🇧Bonovo Action RacingBMW M 1000 RR1m 44.216
16Axel Bassani🇮🇹Kawasaki Racing TeamKawasaki ZX-10RR1m 44.231
17Garrett Gerloff🇺🇲Bonovo Action RacingBMW M 1000 RR1m 44.582
18Philipp Oettl🇩🇪GMT 94Yamaha R11m 45.075
19Dominique Aegerter🇨🇭GYTR GRTYamaha R11m 45.420
20Bradley Ray🇬🇧MotoxracingYamaha R11m 46.093
21Adam Norrodin🇲🇾Petronas MIE RacingHonda CBR1000RR-R1m 47.083
22Tito Rabat🇪🇦Puccetti RacingKawasaki ZX-10RR1m 48.996
WIker Lecuona🇪🇦Team HRCHonda CBR1000RR-R-

The post Assen WorldSBK, Superpole | Jonathan Rea bounces back for first Yamaha pole appeared first on BikeSport News.

×