Almost a month since the last round at Barcelona, the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team and its rider Bradley Ray are ready for action at the TT Circuit Assen in The Netherlands.
At the historic track, also known as the “Cathedral of Speed”, Sandro Carusi’s team and the young English rider will be aiming for the points zone. The hope is that the Dutch weather, sometimes inclement at this time of year, allows for the smooth running of the practice sessions, during which the squad will work to identify the best setup for their Yamaha YZF R1 ahead of the weekend’s WorldSBK races.
Just as they did in Barcelona, the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 riders Emiliano Ercolani and Elia Bartolini will be racing at Assen. Their debut was not exactly easy, but a first race weekend rarely is. Bartolini was nevertheless able to score points in Race 1, a goal that Ercolani was unfortunately unable to match, also owing to a crash in Race 2. During this second round, and thanks to the experience gained in Spain, both will be looking to score stronger results.
The TT Circuit, or Circuit Van Drenthe, is located in the north of The Netherlands and was specifically designed to host motorcycle races. Inaugurated in 1925, it staged the 1949 Dutch Grand Prix, while the first WorldSBK races were hosted in 1992. The track measures 4.542 kilometres and comprises eighteen turns, of which twelve are right-handers and six left. The weather is often an unknown at Assen, with many of the past races having run in the rain, while in 2019, Saturday’s SBK race had to be cancelled due to snow.
The full schedule for the Dutch round is available at this link:
https://www.worldsbk.com/en/event/NED/2024
"In preparing for Assen, we’re very motivated to improve on the results of the previous races, both in Supersport 300 and in Superbike, where we’ve strengthened our technical team in order to best support our rider. We hope the weather plays fair.”
“It’s been almost a month since the last races in Catalunya and I’m excited to get back to the historic Assen track. The weather forecast isn’t great, but that won’t stop us working on our bike to find the best setup at what is a technical and very challenging track. I want to score the strongest possible results, for me, for the team and for our sponsors.”
