Cycle News

Cycle News 2024 Issue 16 April 23

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/1519483

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to be in the podium places, but as the two-thirds point of the race was reached, Toprak Razgatlioglu (RoKIT BMW Motor - rad) and Alvaro Bautista (aruba. it Ducati) were going to pass Spinelli easily with 14 of the 21 laps completed. And then Andrea Locatelli's Ya- maha bike spilled large amounts of oil on the track at turn 15. At first, nobody knew why the red flag was shown. It came just after the point at which the race could be stopped but would not restart, and tongues wagged, and voices were raised. But the oil spill was real enough, and it delivered the race win (Spinelli's first ever, and also Barni Spark Racing's first in WorldSBK) to a stunned and highly entertained Assen crowd. Razgatlioglu was second, Bautista third, and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha) carried on his fast practice form with a strong but also frustrating fourth place. Early podium challenger Alex Lowes (KRT) placed fifth, Rea sixth, but only after a couple of off-track adventures when tan - gling with other riders. Early slick-shod risk-taker Andrea Iannone (Team Go Eleven Ducati) fell and no-scored eventually. The 10-lap Superpole race presented another unlikely win - ner, even if he is a serial winner. It also offered up dry track temper- atures of only 57 degrees and an ambient temperature 46 degrees. Bautista came through from seventh place at one stage, having run off track, to overhaul early race leader and his own teammate, Nicolo Bulega, by a rate of 1.5 seconds per lap. Bautista simply flew away out front from lap nine to win by 2.6 seconds from Bulega and a battling Alex Lowes. It looked like Lowes would be fifth after Rea, and then Gardner passed him, but then he had an unpleas - ant surprise in store for Gardner, who left the door open. Lowes duly got back up to third at the flag, with Gardner fourth and Rea fifth. Sixth was Locatelli. Razgatlio - glu went from second to ninth at the flag, as his rear-tire choice went off very quickly. Race-one winner Spinelli was 18th. In the final race, you could feel the track positions tightening and loosening as the very light rains came and went. With everybody on slicks, those who wanted to risk more could move forward, the rest choosing safety over the loss of a position or two inside a big bunch of riders out front. When fully dry, both Razgatlio - glu and Bautista, in particular, were spinning and sliding around the faster corners like traction control had never been invented. It was an awesome spectacle, with Bautista looking like the rider he had to be in year one on WIND IN THE P52 Toprak Razgatlioglu capped off the weekend with the race-two win.

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