WorldSBK Season Back Racing At Assen.
The 2023 FIM Superbike World Championship returns to action this weekend, April 21-23, with round three of the 12 round series at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands. Six-time world champion Jonathan Rea is looking forward to getting back to race action after a period of testing following round two of the championship in Indonesia.
The 2023 WorldSBK season kicked off in Australia in late February with the Indonesian round immediately after. It has resulted in a seven week break in the race action but Kawasaki Racing Team have used the time productively with Rea completing two test sessions at Motorland Aragon and Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya in the intervening period.
This weekend’s race venue, Assen, situated in the region of Drenthe in the north of the Netherlands, is Jonathan’s most successful circuit. He has recorded 17 WorldSBK race wins at the Dutch track, the most recent being a double in 2022.
Weekend Schedule: (GMT +2)
Friday:
Free Practice 1 - 10:30-11:15
Free Practice 2 - 15:00-15:45
Saturday:
Free Practice 3 - 09:00-09:30
Superpole Qualifying - 11:10-11:25
WorldSBK Race 1 - 14:00 (21 laps)
Sunday:
Warm Up: - 09:00-09:15
Tissot Superpole Race - 11:00 (10 laps)
WorldSBK Race 2 - 14:00 (21 laps)
Jonathan Rea said: “It’s exciting to go racing again because it feels like forever since Indonesia. In a way that is a good thing to reset after a tough start to the year. We have had two really solid tests at Motorland and Barcelona. Assen is a great track for us to restart our season. It is a circuit we have had some success at in the past, it is a local round for Kawasaki Motors Europe. There are also a lot of travelling fans from the UK and the Dutch fans are incredible. The best moments on slowing down laps are in Assen, when you come around that last sector into the GT chicane when the grandstands are full. It always feels really cool to be on the circuit then. The plan will be to start strong in FP1 with a good rhythm, work on our race set-up and get ready. Of course, the target is to get on the podium to be able to fight.”