The WSB series visited the historic TT circuit at Assen this weekend, and Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea stamped his authority on the championship by taking a double win and extending his points lead to an impressive 45 after just four rounds. Race 1 on Saturday saw Chaz Davies (Ducati) take second place and Nicky Hayden (Honda) third. These riders benefited from crashes involving Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) and Michael van der Mark (Honda).
Race 2 on Sunday saw Rea take the win in tricky conditions that saw a wet, then dry track. Sykes and van der Mark stayed upright this time to finish second and third, respectively. You can follow these links for full results from Race 1 and Race 2.
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It took Carlos Checa a few years and past his prime, and off Honda to Ducati, to dominate a season of World SBK and get a title.
He wasn’t anything prolific in GP, so I haven’t given up on Nicky yet. Odds against him yes, but not impossible.
Nobody would win with this honda. Give the right bike and he’ll have a chance.
Nicky has not won in a while and sometimes you lose a little of that fight… but to be truthful, teams like it when you are finishing 3rd and 4th with their 10 year old bike and not riding it so hard, you look like you could win, but end up wadding the machine in crumpled little pieces.
Nicky always has been easy on equipment (vs. Carolos Checa or other names here) and he is riding what that bike will give him right now. Don’t forget… it’s the same basic bike that Rea could not win on for years… if he did, it was his home track or Assen where it can go well.
I expect NH will do well very soon… he’ll get there, but the competition is stacked against him in machinery, money and balls to the wall mindset!!!
It will not be the case that NH will win as many races as Rea did on the Honda. And the Honda is a more competitive bike now than four/five years ago. Several high profile team mates of Rea will testify to that.
I suppose this being an american based site will suggest that the patrons are pro-Nicky, but to suggest that he’s better than the other riders in WSB, followed by a stack of reasons why that’s not happening seems to be the call of the masses here.
Nicky has that 2006 MotoGP title which can’t be taken away, and no-one else in WSB will emulate. It’s just not true that he’s the best rider in this series. He’s not even the best rider on a Honda.
I’m not anti-NH, far from it, and greatly enjoyed his 2006 win. But it only highlights a major problem with US racing scene, that there has been only one world class racer from the states since that 2006 title.
Yup
yea you can’t say anything negative about NH here (even if it’s true) without getting jumped on. I have actually been called un-American for saying he’s not the best MotoGP rider of all time (slight exaggeration) lol
I’ve only missed watching one WSBK this year, and IMO Nicky is showing that he is filling in the 5 th/6th slot in this grid ( unless someone crashes out in the 1-4 slots which moves him up). I think it is clear he is not going to beat Rhea, Sykes, or Guintoli or VDM head to head very often.You can say it could be equipment with R,S and G, but V is on the same bike, and the kid is clearly faster and more aggressive.
Hayden looked really good in the race Sunday, fast and smooth, and I was pulling for him, but he just doesn’t have that win it or bin it attitude needed to beat some of the other guys who fill the slots above him in the order. My opinion of course.
The win-it-or-bin-it attitude has gotta be tough to maintain when you’re in your mid-30s with a solid career behind you and probably enough money to retire quite comfortably. Really nasty accidents are fairly rare these days, but they still happen…
I understand that Brian, but that is one of the reasons why he will be finishing 5th or 6th or 7th instead of 1st 2nd or 3rd.
I think many here are expecting too much from Nicky.
No Honda rider is regularly going to be finishing third, never mind first or second, not unless the Ducatis crash out or otherwise have problems.
The podium is locked up, wet weather and DNFs notwithstanding.
Dang you’re tough son, you hate Honda when they win, and you hate Honda when they lose.
Nope, I love Honda through and through. Always have. Worked for them for ten years. I always rooted for Aaron Slight, Kocinski, even Colin Edwards on the RC51. I just call a spade a spade, and their current WSB mount is not capable of beating the Kawis and Ducatis, not under normal conditions, and certainly not on anything resembling a regular basis.
Swap the Honda and Kawi riders and we’d still see close to the same Kawi domination.
In MotoGP I’ve always rooted for Honda first, except for when Kevin Schwantz was part of the circus. He was my guy. Other than Ducati, Yamaha was always my least favorite brand.
And now I root for Yamaha, though not so much for the brand but for Valentino Rossi. I couldn’t give a toss about Jorge Lorenzo. Great rider, obviously, but he does nothing for me.
In terms of the Honda riders, I actually do like Dani. Classy, no-nonsense, no-excuses kid. A lot like Nicky, actually. I don’t like what Marquez pulled last year, but overall I can’t help but like him, too. Great attitude, and a legend in the making.
I don’t like the politics involved with Honda and Repsol, but that has nothing to do with my love for Honda. In general, I still always root for them.
I think Van der Mark can bring the Honda to the podium on occasion, though probably not regularly. He has to work really hard to do it, though.
re: “their current WSB mount is not capable of beating the Kawis and Ducatis, not under normal conditions”.
yup not under any conditions. the others are already into their 2nd and 3rd iterations of their kit, that’s too far. and i can see that stuck all the way here in Minneapolis.
Tend to agree, though I may eat my words if Honda comes back with truly superior machinery next year.
If they come back with a better bike next year, all bets are off. I’m only talking about the current bike.
Disappointed with the Yamaha’s so far. They qualify great but can’t seen to keep up in race traffic. Nickey is doing fine though. With a better bike he’d be on the podium a lot.
Nicky just needed to time his bike switch better in the second race. He should have gone in when Rea went in.
Still not sure I can gel with this Saturday-Sunday race thing. Just doesn’t have the buzz of having it all crammed into one day. I suppose it’s all about the crowd turnout at circuits over the course of the weekend, and if the new format improves the numbers then I can’t be complaining.
I actually prefer the two day format, funny how WorldSbk and American series have pulled a switcheroo..
Nicky’s not as fast as his teammate, before anyone thinks that he’s the best rider in this series, but he’s doing a good job on a much improved Honda.
Van der Mark is something quite special, as he has been a teammate of a World Champion during his one and a bit years at this level and shown consistently greater speed than both of them. He’s certainly not over-awed.
Kudos to Leon Camier who took the MV Agusta to fourth in the first race. There were alot of premier manufacturer bikes left in his wake.
Nicky turns what, 35 this year? He’s not at his peak. I did think he’d beat his teammate, but I’m not sure M.VD Mark is as good as Rea or Sykes. I guess if Honda does come out with the new Bike next year, we’ll find out.
Check out Toni Elias! Two wins at Cota and one at VIR. Now that’s what we expected to see from Nicky. Sorry to say I expected more. Even Max Biaggi showed WSB what a MotoGP rider was capable of. Nicky finishing well off the pace of his team mate, embarrassing.
+1
Did you actually watch the races? Or are you just looking at the results sheet?
I watched the races. I saw Van der Mark out pace him in all races and ride the wheels off the Honda. Yes, Nicky was up in the fast group but I think the former MotoGP rider should be taking his teammate to school. Not the other way around.
He’d probably be winning if he was on a Kawasaki
Nicky is doing alright. Alright then…