REA TAKES FIFTH ASSEN VICTORY FOR PATA HONDA

 

 

WSBK Results - Race #3 Assen, Netherlands - 27 April, 2014

 

Team Pata Honda World Superbike rider Jonathon Rea claimed a victory and a third placed finish in the two third round races at Assen in The Netherlands, the ETS Racing Fuels supported CBR1000RR Fireblade SP rider in the end just too strong for his opposition in the rain affected second race.

It was Rea’s fifth win at the Dutch circuit and extends his record of scoring at least one podium finish each season at Assen since 2010.

Starting further back than they would have expected after being thwarted during Superpole by rain, Rea and Haslam charged off the line in the opening dry race, Rea working his way through to third at the flag, unable to catch race winner Silvain Guintoli and reigning champion Tom Sykes.

Haslam meanwhile had to work his way through from 11th to eighth despite being within reach of a top five finish, however oil dropped on the circuit forced officials to end the race five laps early, prematurely ending Haslam’s run.

Rain fell again prior to race two, but the race was declared dry and run under threatening skies. The first attempt to start the race was aborted after heavy rain fell, forcing teams to return to the pits for Pirelli full wets. Despite being prepared for the weather, officials once more cancelled the race after just three laps when rain became torrential, eventually restarting two hours behind schedule with a ten-lap sprint.

Rea charged off the line to lead the opening lap and maintain his advantage all the way to the line for his first win of the year and the 12th of his WSBK career in the process charging up the championship order to fourth, just seven points behind Guintoli and 19 behind points leader Tom Sykes. Behind him team-mate Haslam enjoyed a strong start to move into the top five, a position he would hold to the flag.

Jonathan Rea - 3rd & 1st
It’s been a really good weekend because we’ve been on the podium twice. To be honest, our dry pace was OK in race one but Sylvain [Guintoli] made such a fast start to the race, I struggled to go with him. When Tom [Sykes] went past I made a big mistake but, after that, my pace until the end was quite similar to theirs. For race two we were quite excited to see if we could go with them in the dry but during the break it rained quite heavily. After some delays, we got going for a 10-lap race and to win that was really special.. I just want to thank all the team. This win’s for all those guys who have worked tirelessly throughout the winter and since the start of the season to make the CBR as strong as possible. It’s great to be able to give them back some good vibes to roll with into the next part of the season.

Leon Haslam - 8th & 5th
Race one was a bit frustrating really because I felt we could have been easily fifth from where we were. The flag put an early end to it anyway. I was confident that, for the dry, we’d made the right move for race two but it was wet. In the first part I was already up to fifth when they stopped it but, in part two, I got caught behind Chaz [Davies] and it took me a few laps to get by him. When I passed him, everyone had gone, but I was able to be one of the fastest guys on track in the last three laps. I managed to get past Baz and Melandri and was closing the gap to Tom [Sykes] but then ran out of time. We hadn’t really done any wet testing, so it was positive that we weren’t too far away.
Next Round: May 11, 2014 - Imola, Italy

Results WSBK Assen

Race#1
1. Silvain Guintoli (FRA), Aprilia
2. Tom Sykes (GBR), Kawasaki
3. Jonathon Rea (GBR), Pata Honda
4. Loris Baz (FRA), Kawasaki
5. Toni Elias (SPA), Aprilia
6. Marco Melandri (ITA), Aprilia
7. Chaz Davies (GBR), Ducati
8. Leon Haslam (GBR), Pata Honda

Race#2
1. Jonathon Rea (GBR), Pata Honda
2. Alex Lowes (GBR), Suzuki
3. Davide Giugliano (ITA), Ducati
4. Tom Sykes (GBR), Kawasaki
5. Leon Haslam (GBR), Pata Honda
6. Marco Melandri (ITA), Aprilia
7. Loris Baz (FRA), Kawasaki
8. Chaz Davies (GBR), Ducati

Standings WSBK after 3 of 13 rounds
1. Sykes, 108 points
2. Guintoli, 96
3. Baz, 93
4. Rea, 89
5. Melandri, 69
6. Giugliano, 59
7. Davies, 47
8. Laverty, 46
9. Haslam, 44

 

Position	Team	Rider	Bike	ETS Fuel used
4	Pata Honda Team	Jonathon Rea	Honda CBR1000RR	ESC 1933
9	Pata Honda Team	Lean Haslam	Honda CBR1000RR	ESC 1933

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