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

20/04/2024 12:59

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

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