WorldSBK Assen, Netherlands - Superpole Qualifying Results

Jonathan Rea took his fifth consecutive pole position of 2021, while Toprak Razgatlioglu salvages second after crashing on his opening lap.

Rea was once again untouchable during qualifying - a consistent theme so far this season, however, the battle for second went down to the wire between Razgatlioglu, Scott Redding and Michael Rinaldi.

Superpole drama began with immediate effect as championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu suffered a rare crash at the final chicane. Razgatlioglu was then joined by Tom Sykes in going down - BMW man fell at turn five - unable to set a lap and will start race one 20th. 

Garrett Gerloff crashed just a few minutes later at turn two, while frantic work was going on in the Pata Yamaha garage to ensure Razgatlioglu could get back out on track. The #54 machine exited pit lane with three minutes to spare and had just one flying lap to move up from 19th. 

Razgatlioglu did just that as he pipped Redding to second after the Ducati rider and team-mate Rinaldi momentarily secured front row starts. 

Jonas Folger and Andrea Locatelli enjoyed their best ever qualifying as the pair will line-up sixth and seventh respectively. Like Sykes, Gerloff was unable to set a flying lap and will start race one last.

Free Practice Three

Aruba.it Ducati rider Scott Redding dominates FP3 at the Dutch WorldSBK in Assen - sets the fastest lap of the weekend so far. 

After struggling to make the Pirelli tyres work on Friday, WorldSBK championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu was in fine form to begin race day #1 at Assen. 

The most impressive race run came from Redding who was regularly setting mid 1m 34s laps, before a 1:34.188s put him over five tenths clear of Razgatlioglu. 

Michael Van Der Mark cut a frustrated figure in front of his home crowd as technical issues meant he was unable to set a lap time. 

Free Practice Two

Six-time world champion Jonathan Rea ends day-one of the Dutch WorldSBK fastest for Kawasaki. 

Rea found early improvements on his best time from FP1 as he led the way from Tom Sykes. Scott Redding then went second before Sykes responded by going fastest. However, it was a short-lived spell at the top for the BMW rider as Rea went fastest on his very next lap. 

Garrett Gerloff had a very strong opening day at Assen following the news of his one-year extension with Yamaha on Thursday. The American finished second overall after exchanging top spot on several occasions with Rea late on.

Alvaro Bautista enjoyed a much better start to the weekend compared to recent rounds, as a late time attack run saw him finish third quickest.

Lucas Mahias had an early fall at turn ten whilst following fellow Kawasaki rider Rea. The Frenchman recovered to take an impressive sixth place.

Free Practice One

Scott Redding finished WorldSBK FP1 at Assen fastest in what was an impressive opening session for Ducati. 

The top three in the championship - Toprak Razgatlioglu, Rea and Redding, locked out the front three positions with Davies fourth for much of FP1, however, it was Redding who looked strongest. 

The Ducati man was the only rider able to break the 1m 34s barrier during the opening two stints. 

With 12 minutes remaining, Davies was next to break into the 1m 34s barrier as he went second behind Redding. 

Rinaldi then made it a 1-2-3 for the Italian manufacturer, before Rea managed to grab second place +0.078s down on Redding. 

Leandro Mercado finally made his return to action with MIE Racing Honda after being absent since the opening round in Aragon. Chassis and Electronic upgrades were needed in order for the Argentine to return to racing. 

After missing round four due to injury, GRT Yamaha rider Kohta Nozane was back in action during FP1. 

Wildcard rider Andrea Mantovani made his WorldSBK debut with Vince64 Racing aboard a Kawasaki ZX10-RR. 

Jonathan Rea holds the most wins at Assen of all current riders (7), while Alvaro Bautista is the last rider to win in WorldSBK at the Dutch circuit (2019).