TT Circuit Assen
An FP3 crash sidelines Chantra for Race 1 while Rea remains focused on the work ahead
Honda HRC rider Rea completes Race 1 at the Assen TT Circuit in seventeenth position; DNS for Chantra following a crash in practice
The third round of the WorldSBK Championship continued today as the Dutch TT Circuit in Assen staged the Superpole qualifying and the first of the weekend’s 21-lap races. It proved to be quite a difficult day for Honda HRC riders Somkiat Chantra and Jonathan Rea, with the former ruled out of action following a crash during practice, and the latter completing Race 1 in seventeenth position.
The morning’s short practice saw Rea take a full second off his previous best time, as he and his technicians made final preparations for the Superpole. Chantra was unfortunately not so lucky. Suffering a crash at Turn 5 during the brief session, the Thai rookie was transferred to the circuit medical centre. Diagnosed with a low back contusion, muscular thigh contusions, and hematoma, Chantra was deemed unfit to ride today and will be reassessed tomorrow morning.
The 15-minute Superpole got underway in dry conditions in the late morning. Rea made six laps in all, the best of which in 1’33.856 with the qualifying tyre. The Honda HRC test rider placed eighteenth as a result, for a spot on the sixth row of the grid for Race 1.
Race 1 got underway in very overcast conditions. Running nineteenth through the opening phase of the 21-lap race, Rea focused on maintaining his pace while battling with Manzi and Sofuoglu during the first half of the race. With the onset of rain on lap fourteen, he managed to avoid mistakes and ultimately crossed the line in seventeenth place, collecting more valuable data on what proved to be a challenging day in the Honda HRC garage.
Jonathan Rea 65 Honda HRC
“A disappointing end to Saturday. In Superpole, I did a 33.8, which felt fast to me, but unfortunately, I was really frustrated when I saw the position. Then I made a bad start to the race. The bike wouldn't go forward off the line, so I lost some positions. I felt okay with the bike in the early stages and the grip was not so bad. But then I was fighting with another rider, and I lost track position to the group in front. I was struggling with some areas of the bike, and then the rain came, so I just concentrated on avoiding mistakes and bringing it home. We have a lot of data to look through now to try to improve, and I think today’s race highlighted some of our weak areas that we can focus on and give the engineers something to think about.”
Somkiat Chantra 35 Honda HRC
“The crash was a bit unexpected honestly. Coming out of Turn 5, I lost the front and although I attempted to save it, I couldn’t and I crashed. The rear tyre impacted on my leg. I was checked over at the Medical Centre and luckily nothing is broken. I have a painful leg following what was quite a hard impact. We will stay calm for today and see how I am tomorrow, when I will be reassessed by the doctors.”
