Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1494211
There is a long wait until WorldSBK action gets going again, at the classic Assen cir- cuit in the Netherlands, with race weekend taking place between 21-23 April. WorldSSP A four cylinder and a twin cylinder motorcycle won a race apiece at Mandalika, on two very different days of racing and track conditions. Can Oncu had to wait until his 65th WorldSSP race to take his first win, but he made the most of his opportunity in race one. His bike has ride-by-wire this season, and although not quite perfected, it seems enough to let a repeat podium contender finally make a winning break - through. Braver than most in the early slightly wet laps while running slick tires, the Turkish teenager took a quickly extended lead, and eased out to finish 3.305 sec - onds ahead of the next nearest rider, Federico Caricasulo (Althea Ducati). Caricasulo had to fight the determined Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) tooth and nail for sec- ond place. With Marcel Schrot- ter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) fourth that made it four different bikes in the top four places. The top Yamaha (Valetin Debise and his GMT94 R6) was only sixth. In race two, in fully dry and significantly warmer conditions, there was not quite another first- time winner, but as Caricasulo had not won a race since 2019, so it felt like a novelty, at least. He overhauled the seemingly invincible Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Yamaha) at great pace on the final lap, with tire and deter - mination to spare. Third was Bulega, who looked a nailed-on winner at times this weekend, but had to settle for two places less, although only 1.546 seconds down. Oncu had led from the front but 18 hot laps were too much for his bike setup and there was no repeat for Saturday's victory celebrations. Rider of the day may have been Manzi for his progress through the sharp end of the field, even if his leading position was overturned right at the very fringes of the second race. In the championship points, after four rounds, Bulega has 77, Manzi 59, Oncu 54, Caricasulo 51 and Tuuli 46. With Schrot - ter sixth, there are five different bikes in the top six. Next up, Assen, where the speeds are high and fortune favors the brave, if seldom the foolhardy. Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Race One 1. Alvaro Bautista (Duc) 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yam) 3. Andrea Locatelli (Yam) 4. Axel Bassani (Duc) 5. Danilo Petrucci (Duc) WorldSBK Superpole Race 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yam) 2. Andrea Locatelli (Yam) 3. Alex Lowes (Kaw) 4. Jonathan Rea (Kaw) 5. Axel Bassani (Duc) WorldSBK Race Two 1. Alvaro Bautista (Duc) 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yam) 3. Xavi Vierge (Hon) 4. M. Ruben Rinaldi (Duc) 5. Andrea Locatelli (Yam) WIND IN THE P36 Federico Caricasulo made it a first win in four years in WorldSSP race two.