Sykes and Rea tight close in second and third as they edge Haslam and Van der Mark.
The first day of action of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship at the TT Circuit Assen drew to a close with Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team) responding to the challenge from the KRT duo of former Champion Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and current Championship leader Jonathan Rea to top of the overall classification by a margin of 0.320s with a final, scintillating lap of 1’35.748.
With Sykes and Rea in second and third, respectively, Haslam rode his factory Aprilia RSV4 RF up to fourth place, edging out local star Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike) by only 45 thousandths of a second while bettering his morning session’s lap-time by a significant 1.3s.
Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) elevated himself to sixth, with the biggest improvement of the day coming from Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) who jumped from 16th after FP1 to seventh.
Reigning champion Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) lapped consistently to end the day eighth overall with Nico Terol (Althea Racing Ducati) and Xavi Fores (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team) completing the top-10.
Good news coming from Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who quietly went about his business, understanding the new electronics and posting the tenth best time, making it five manufacturers inside the top ten, and giving MV Agusta their best Friday placing since they returned to WorldSBK last year.
WorldSBK Assen – Combined times Free Practice 1 and 2
1 – Chaz Davies Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team 1’35.748
2 – Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team +0.320
3 – Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team +0.442
For full results, click here
