REA WINS RACE TWO FROM SYKES BY JUST 0.025 SECONDS

A 1-2 finish from KRT Riders Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes in the second Superbike World Championship race of the Assen weekend provided great drama in the final chicane, with Sykes closing in to within 0.025 seconds of victory but Rea holding on to secure another double Dutch success. 

The classic TT Circuit at Assen provided an ideal backdrop for Rea to start the 200th WorldSBK race of his career and he duly took away his seventh race victory of 2017, his 11th at Assen since he started his WorldSBK career and his third double at this 4.542km circuit since he joined Kawasaki in 2015.
 
It was an important day of statistics for Rea, as he also secured his 45th career win in WorldSBK and his 30thindividual race win for Kawasaki.
 
Tom Sykes and his crew worked to improve his machine set-up overnight and he almost took his first race win of the year as a reward, only losing out on a last chicane attack on Rea by 0.025 seconds across the line after 21 intense laps.
 
Battling the high winds today like all his peers, Tom duly overcame his continuing physical issues to record two second places at Assen this weekend, making it six podiums from the eight races held so far this season.
 
In the championship Rea now leads by 64 points, from his team-mate Sykes, with Chaz Davies third on 111 points and second race faller Marco Melandri on 97.
 
The next races in the series will take place on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th of May, at the Imola circuit in Italy.

STATEMENTS:
 
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team Rider): “It has been an incredible weekend of racing. I have been especially happy with Superpole yesterday because the lap I made then was maybe the best lap I have ever made on a bike. I am really proud of that. Of course the race wins were really nice to take away. Today was a race of two halves. In the first half I raced hard until I got a warning so in the second half I just managed things to try and be safe and bring her home. I had a little bit left at the end but the biggest problem was the wind today. I was pulling a gap but then I had a huge front slide in T11, and my foot came off the peg, at mid-race distance. I decided just to ride and save something for the last laps after that. I had a big wobble coming out of 11 again near the end and I then just tried to be clever in the last lap and cover the last corner. My line was probably not the fastest way around there but it covered any move up the inside and I made it to the line first.”
 
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Rider): “It was a very close finish and I have to say thanks to the public, my fans and all the team for being very understanding about my physical condition. Yesterday we had an acceptable race but today we never stopped pushing to find an ideal set-up, right up until 30 minutes before the race started. Marcel and I were still talking about how to get the bike easier for me to ride. Physically, I was obviously not fully comfortable with the bike set-up from yesterday but today I felt we had a package capable of winning. I just did not have the bike in the right place at the right time and did not get the win for that reason. I always kept trying and I am obviously disappointed not to take the win. But considering where I was even at the start of the race week, if anybody had have offered me two second places from Assen I would have thought it was never going to happen.”

Un 1-2 per als pilots del KRT Jonathan Reva i Tom Sykes en la segona cursa del Campionat del Món de Superbikes del cap de setmana a Assen ha generat gran expectativa en l'última xicane amb Sykes acabant a 0,025 segons de la victòria, però Reva s'ha aferrat a assegurar un altre doble èxit holandès.

El clàssic circuit de TT de Assen ha estat l'escenari ideal perquè Reva corregués la seva carrera 200 en WorldSBK i a més portant-se la setena victòria de 2017, la seva 11ª en Assen des que va iniciar la seva carrera en aquest campionat i el seu tercer doblet en aquesta pista de 4.542 Km des que es va unir a Kawasaki en 2015.

Avui ha estat un dia d'estadístiques per a Reva, ja que també ha estat la seva victòria nº 45 en WorldSBK i la seva 30ª com a pilot de Kawasaki.

Tom Sykes i el seu equip han treballat per millorar la configuració de la seva moto durant la nit i gairebé aconsegueix la seva primera victòria de l'any com recompensa, perdent en l'últim atac contra Reva en la chicane i entrant a meta a només 0.025 segons després de 21 intenses voltes.

Lluitant contra el fort vent, com tots els seus companys, Tom ha superat els seus constants problemes físics per registrar dues segones posicions en Assen aquest cap de setmana, per la qual cosa ha aconseguit sis podis de les vuit carreres disputades en aquesta temporada.

En el campionat, Reva lidera amb 64 punts d'avantatge sobre el seu company d'equip Sykes mentre que Chaz Davies està tercer a 111 punts.

Les properes carreres es duran a terme el dissabte 13 i el diumenge 14 de maig en el circuit de Imola a Itàlia.

DECLARACIONS: 
Jonathan Reva (Pilot del Kawasaki Racing Team): “Ha estat un cap de setmana de carreres increïble. Estic especialment content amb la Superpole d'ahir perquè aquesta volta que ha estat potser la millor volta que he fet en una moto i estic molt orgullós. Per descomptat també dels triomfs de les carreres. Avui era una carrera de dues meitats. En la primera meitat vaig tirar fort fins que vaig rebre un advertiment, així que en la segona meitat només he intentat assegurar la victòria. Avui el problema més gran ha estat el vent. Estava tirant per intentar allunyar-me però se'm va anar la moto de la part davantera en la T11 i el meu peu es va sortir de l'estrep a la maitat de carrera. Així que vaig decidir rodar guardant-me alguna cosa per a les últimes voltes després d'això. Vaig tenir un altre esglai sortint de la corba 11 de nou prop del final així que vaig tractar de ser intel·ligent en l'última volta i tapar l'última corba. La meva traçada probablement no era la més ràpida però em vaig dedicar a protegir la meva posició i vaig arribar a la línia de meta primer ".

Tom Sykes (Pilot del Kawasaki Racing Team Rider): “Va ser un final molt atapeït i haig de donar les gràcies al públic, als meus fans i a tot l'equip per ser tan comprensius amb la meva condició física. Ahir vam tenir una carrera acceptable però no hem deixat de treballasr per trobar la posada a punt ideal fins a 30 minuts abans que comencés la carrera. Marcel i jo seguíem parlant de com aconseguir que la moto fos més fàcil per a mi. Físicament no estava completament còmode amb la configuració de la moto d'ahir, però avui sentia que podíem guanyar. Sempre intento guanyar i òbviament estic decebut de no haver aconseguit una victòria encara. Però tenint en compte on estava al començament de la setmana si algú m'hagués ofert dos segons llocs en Assen, ho hagués acceptat sense pensar-ho "."