The opening Dutch WorldSBK race at the TT circuit was won in emphatic style by Jonathan Rea, who set a new lap record on the penultimate lap to record his sixth win at Assen, the fifth of his 2015 championship campaign.

After a 21-lap fight involving for a number of laps up to six riders, Rea eased away from eventual second place finisher Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team) with two laps to go to secure another win for the Kawasaki Racing Team, the twentieth of his career. On the other hand the Welsh rider gave Ducati its 500th WorldSBK podium.

Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) became the first Dutchman in the history of WorldSBK to stand on the podium in third after displacing Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) with an impressive move through the fast left hander of Ramshoek on the penultimate lap, which had the packed grandstands on their feet.

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) ran strongly in the opening laps before fading to fifth. The former champion looked to suffer pace-wise in the latter stages.

Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) recovered from an average start to overhaul compatriot Xavi Fores (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team) for sixth in the final five laps leaving Fores to claim seventh at the flag after he had been as high as fifth in the early stages.

Reigning champion Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) had a lonely ride to eighth, coming home five seconds ahead of Nico Terol (Althea Racing) and Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who crossed the line almost side by side to finish ninth and tenth respectively.

The Voltcom Crescent Suzuki pairing of Alex Lowes and Randy de Puniet went down together at Turn 1 on lap eight, the Frenchman crashing alone and collecting his team mate who appeared to have run straight on. Both riders were unhurt.

The second WorldSBK race of the day at the iconic TT circuit of Assen in the Netherlands served up another nail-biting climax that once again had the crowd on their feet as the leading riders stayed locked together until the final lap.

As he had in race one, Rea took the win ahead of Davies. Rea’s victory in race two is the second double that he has achieved at Assen making him the second most successful rider in the history of the Dutch Round behind Carl Fogarty. It also gave him a career best run of nine consecutive podium finishes. Rea has now a significant 50-point lead in the standings.

Another brave move at the penultimate turn saw local rider van der Mark grab a double podium with another third place after nudging aside Haslam, the Briton claiming 13 points with a fourth-place finish.

Sykes again led in the early laps before fading to fifth ahead of Torres, who fought hard to recover from another average start to finish sixth.

Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) finished one place higher than he managed in race one, bringing his CBR1000RR SP home in seventh ahead of Xavi Fores (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team), while Lowes had a much better race finishing ninth. 10th place went to Camier in another solid result.

Nico Terol (Althea Racing) crashed out of contention on lap four and, after being taken first to the Medical Centre and then to the hospital, he was diagnosed with a right wrist fracture. De Puniet retired once again.

A last corner decider went in the favour of Kenan Sofuoglu (Kasawaki Puccetti Racing) as the Turkish rider claimed back to back wins in the World Supersport championship to extend his lead in this year’s series.

After the disappointment of Thailand and Aragon, Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) returned to the podium in second after narrowly missing out on the victory as both he and Sofuoglu touched coming through the final chicane.

The incident was reviewed by Race Direction who decided no further action was necessary. Cluzel had the consolation of a new lap record as he secured twenty points to keep alive his championship chances.

The final podium place was decided after another dual, this time between Kyle Smith (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) and PJ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres). Australian Glenn Scott retired with a clutch problem on his AARK Racing Honda.

Lorenzo Savadori (Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia) has won a shortened, nine-lap STK1000 race at the TT Circuit Assen to become the new series leader as the second round of the year draws to a close.

The 22-year-old Italian crossed the line with a 2.4s margin over fellow Italian Raffaele de Rosa (Althea Racing Ducati) and Czech rider Ondrej Jezek (Triple-M by Barni Ducati). Bryan Staring (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) finished eighth on Sunday.

2015 Superbike World Championship
Round four – Assen, Natherlands

Superbike race one results:
1. Jonathan Rea
2. Chaz Davies
3. Michael van der Mark
4. Leon Haslam
5. Tom Sykes
6. Jordi Torres
7. Xavi Fores
8. Sylvain Guintoli
9. Nico Terol
10. Leon Camier

Superbike race two results:
1. Jonathan Rea
2. Chaz Davies
3. Michael van der Mark
4. Leon Haslam
5. Tom Sykes
6. Jordi Torres
7. Sylvain Guintoli
8. Xavi Fores
9. Alex Lowes
10. Leon Camier

Superbike championship standings:
1 Jonathan Rea 190
2 Leon Haslam 140
3 Chaz Davies 123
4 Tom Sykes 88
5 Jordi Torres 83
6 Sylvain Guintoli 65
7 Michael van der Mark 60
8 Matteo Baiocco 48
9 Nico Terol 48
10 Tati Mercado 45

Supersport results:
1. Kenan Sofuoglu
2. Jules Cluzel
3. Kyle Smith
4. PJ Jacobsen
5. Roberto Rolfo
6. Lorenzo Zanetti
7. Lucas Mahias
8. Marco Faccani
9. Alex Baldolini
10. Riccardo Russo

Supersport championship standings:
1. Kenan Sofuoglu 80
2. PJ Jacobsen 55
3. Jules Cluzel 45
4. Kyle Smith 45
5. Lorenzo Zanetti 41
6. Gino Rea 37
7. Rathapark Wilairot 36
8. Roberto Rolfo 35
9. Alex Baldolini 33
10. Lucas Mahias 22
20. Glenn Scott (AUS) 4

Click here for detailed results