Kawasaki WorldSSP Team riders Jeremy Alcoba and Dominique Aegerter took part in what was an eventually shortened second WorldSSP race at Assen on Sunday, 19 April, with each rider scoring championship points.
With light rain falling and some slightly damp patches evident on the track, the second 18-lap WorldSSP race at Assen, scheduled to be run over 18 laps, got underway under grey skies.
Slipstreaming and frequent changes of the leading positions characterised the race around the 4.542km circuit, with the leading group actually growing in size, not reducing, at one stage.
The Kawasaki WorldSSP Team duo of Alcoba and Aegerter rode in close company, in ninth and tenth places, for a period of time. With six laps gone, Alcoba had started to close in on the large leading group. He chased hard to stay in contention for a top ten place throughout, and on lap 12, he moved up to eighth.
Aegerter lost some places due to running wide more than once after on-track incidents with other riders, losing contact with the leading groups for a few laps.
A red flag brought the action to an end after 13 of the planned 18 laps, due to a crash at Turn Five, with Alcoba riding in eighth place. He remained eighth after the track positions when the red flag was factored into the final results, which were taken from lap 12. Aegerter was ranked 15th in Race Two, scoring another point.
In the championship standings after three rounds and six races, Alcoba is eighth and Aegerter 15th. Jeremy has 43 points and Dominique 16.
The next round of the WorldSSP class will be held in Hungary – for the second visit of the WorldSBK circus to the Balaton Park circuit since its inclusion last year – between 1-3 May.
Manuel Puccetti – Team Principal
“It was a great race in which our riders played a key role. Alcoba in particular made a strong recovery and unfortunately the red flag stopped him just as he had caught the chasing group. He had the pace to reach the podium.”
Jeremy Alcoba
“It was a shame today because we had a really good pace and I felt super good with the SC0 tyre. The weather was cold today but I felt good in warm-up on a used tyre. At the beginning of the race we struggled a bit because the first sector was wet, so everybody was calm and watching what could happen at the front. I took it easy at the beginning, and when I started to take confidence and felt good, I started to come back and pass other riders. I had strong pace and I could have made a good result today but the red flag finished the race with six laps to go, so we finished in the top eight. I am happy because the feeling and the speed are there. If we are still working like this then we can do better in the next one.”
Dominique Aegerter
“The Sunday race did not go as we expected. There were difficult conditions out there, a little bit wet at the start and also drops of rain. We finished 15th and got one point. I am, for sure, disappointed with this. In the race we were a little bit unlucky as we had two or three big hits with other riders, and they pushed me out of the track. We lost three or four positions, and then there was also a red flag six laps before the end. I was thinking that I could have improved my finishing position a little bit. We need to work a lot now at home to improve our package. Saturday’s result was not bad, but for sure we have a lot of work in front of us. We need to continue to believe in the team and myself and we will be back soon in Hungary for the next round.”
