Rea and Checa tame Assen

A hapless start to the 2011 world Superbike season continued for Australian stars Troy Corser and Chris Vermeulen at Assen overnight, as Spain’s Carlos Checa stretched his championship lead to an imposing 43pts after just three rounds.

Corser’s sixth place in the opening race was the highlight of an otherwise disappointing day for the Australian armada, with the 39-year-old then crashing out uninjured in the second 22-lapper after losing the front end on his factory BMW.

Vermeulen, a three-time WSBK winner at Assen, finally gridded up for the first time in 2011 in race one and was in a point scoring position on his Kawasaki before severe cramp forced him to retire.

Vermeulen didn’t start race two, as the hard as nails Checa (Ducati) defeated world champion Max Biaggi (Aprilia) in an absorbing game of cat and mouse that went down to the wire, with Jonathan Rea (Honda) third.

That same triumvirate also claimed the major spoils in race one, with Rea getting up for his first win of the year – and his third in a row at Assen – ahead of Biaggi and Checa.

Checa has now won four of the six races in 2011, in what was expected to be a real power sharing arrangement between the top brass.

But at the moment Checa is debunking that theory, and now holds a commanding 43pt (132 to 89) lead in the championship over Biaggi, with Italian Marco Melandri (Yamaha, 85) third.

Rea (79) moved up two spots into fourth, and he’s now in front of Leon Haslam (BMW, 68) – just one of many to bite the dust in a dramatic day of racing at Assen.

Corser is 12th on 26pts, and the two-time world champion is now looking ahead to the next round at Monza to really move his campaign into top gear.

“The first race was not so bad, and I was pretty happy with that,” said Corser. “For the second race we just made a few adjustments to the rear shock and I think we improved the bike.

“Then I unfortunately lost the front tyre going into a corner. I am okay with no injuries, but it is a bit disappointing. In the free practice all went okay, but in the race we had some issues with the tyre. But we are now going to analyse that and to improve it for the next race.”

Meanwhile, Vermeulen’s concerns were of a more physical nature as he continues to recover from knee surgery, but the Queenslander was at least able to circulate at a decent pace.

“My leg just cramped up and I had to stop after a few laps,” said Vermeulen. “My pace was not so bad and I was holding down a points scoring position but I just could not get to the end.

“This is the first time I have been able to feel the bike really working, and I made some set-up changes because I was pushing at a decent level sometimes this weekend.

“I am happy with what the team has done but we have a lot of work still to do, just because I am a long way behind my team-mates in learning the bike at present. I think I should be ready for a full weekend of racing at Monza.”

Race one saw six different manufacturers claim the top six spots, with Rea continuing his rich vein of form at Assen by taking over the running from Checa on lap four and then holding off a dogged Biaggi to claim victory.

Melandri overcame a slow start to nail fourth from Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki) and Corser, with Central Coast’s Mark Aitchison (Kawasaki) taking advantage of a high attrition rate -- seven of the 21 started failed to finish – to claim his first top 10 result in WSBK.

“I’m really proud to give the famous Castrol Honda name the first victory on its comeback to this championship,” said Rea.  “We spent all weekend developing the bike for the races, and that strategy paid off.

“The team has worked really well and that’s exactly the right sort of confidence and momentum that we need to take to the next races. I’m happy to be back where I belong, in the winners’ circle, and I look forward to trying to get more wins for the team.”

A delayed start to race two – caused by two red flag stoppages in world Supersport – made no difference to the final outcome, with the same protagonists battling at the front – eventually without Melandri after he crashed while dicing with Rea for third.

Leon Camier (Aprilia) was fourth, well clear of fellow Brits Leon Haslam (BMW) and Eugene Laverty (Yamaha). The massive tussle for fifth also included Fabrizio, Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) and Ducati team-mates Jakub Smrz and Sylvain Guintoli.

Aitchison was one of two riders who failed to finish.

WORLD SUPERSPORT
Newcastle’s Broc Parkes (Kawasaki) is now just 3pts from the championship lead after crashes from some of the leading contenders closed up the points’ table considerably.

Chaz Davies (Yamaha) took his first win in the category after heading up a 16-lap race that was restarted twice after red flag incidents. Second was Fabien Foret (Honda) seven seconds back, with third taken by Parkes.

In the championship standings, Davies' team-mate Luca Scassa still leads on 50pts, with Parkes on 47 and Davies on 45.

ASSEN WSBK RESULTS
Race one: 22 laps
1 Jonathan Rea, Great Britain, Honda
2 Max Biaggi, Italy, Aprilia +0.739
3 Carlos Checa, Spain, Ducati +3.572
4 Marco Melandri, Italy, Yamaha +9.508
5 Michel Fabrizio, Italy, Suzuki +9.892
6 Troy Corser, Australia, BMW +11.120
7 Eugene Laverty, Great Britain, Yamaha +15.235
8 Ruben Xaus, Spain, Honda +30.081
9 Ayrton Badovini, Italy, BMW +32.071
10 Mark Aitchison, Australia, Kawasaki +35.000
DNF Chris Vermeulen, Australia, Kawasaki

Fastest lap: Rea – 1:36.660

Race two: 22 laps
1 Checa
2 Biaggi
3 Rea
4 Leon Camier, Great Britain, Aprilia
5 Leon Haslam, Great Britain, BMW
6 Laverty
7 Fabrizio
8 Noriyuki Haga, Japan, Aprilia
9 Jakub Smrz, Czech Republic, Ducati
10 Sylvain Guintoli, France, Ducati
18 Aitchison
DNF Corser
DNS Vermeulen

Fastest lap: Camier – 1:36.476

WORLD SUPERBIKE STANDINGS (AFTER ROUND 3 OF 13):
1 Checa 132
2 Biaggi 89
3 Melandri 85
4 Rea 79
5 Haslam 68
6 Camier 50
7 Smrz 47
8 Fabrizio 47
9 Laverty 35
10 Haga 34
12 Corser 26
18 Aitchison 7

Next round: Monza, Italy, May 6-8