The second Superbike World Championship round has concluded today at the TT Assen Circuit in The Netherlands. Yesterday, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Lucas Mahias took part in Superpole and the first race of the weekend. In the qualifying session, the Frenchman improved on his best time to set a 1’34”702, which meant he started from tenth on the grid, on the fourth row, for race 1. Due to a minor crash on the final lap, Mahias crossed the line fifteenth.
This morning saw Lucas compete in the Superpole Race, starting once again from row four. The Frenchman didn’t make the fastest start but then got into a good rhythm and moved up to thirteenth. The race was reduced from ten to nine laps after a rival had a problem on the grid that led to an additional sighting lap and the subsequent reduction in total race laps.
Race too got underway in the afternoon. The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider made progress throughout the race, upping his pace but avoiding any mistakes. He thus crossed the line in tenth place, scoring his best result of the season so far.
The next Superbike World Championship round will take place at Estoril in Portugal on 20-22 May.
TT Assen Circuit – The Netherlands – Superbike World Championship
Superpole race: 1) Rea (Kawasaki) – 2) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 3) Bautista (Ducati) – 4) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 5) Lecuona (Honda) – 6) Baz (BMW) ……. 13) Mahias (Kawasaki)
Race 2: 1) Bautista (Ducati) – 2) Locatelli (Yamaha) – Lecuona (Honda) – 4) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 5) Redding (BMW) – 6) Bassani (Ducati) ………. 10) Mahias (Kawasaki)
Lucas Mahias
“I wasn’t pleased with my sprint race. I didn’t make a good start and lost a lot of positions. I then made up a little ground but couldn’t do better than thirteenth considering the limited laps available. If I’d started better, I could have achieved a good result. Race 2 went better. I started well and then found myself in a group battling for tenth place. I had good feeling with the bike, and this allowed me to make a few passes and be consistently fast. Tenth is a good result, but we have the potential to do more, and so we need to continue to work hard. Thanks to my team for their great work here at Assen”.
