Acerbis Dutch Round, Race 2: Jonathan Rea completes the one-two in the photo finish

It was a truly exciting race that just ended at the TT Circuit in Assen, with Rea celebrating 200 WorldSuperbike races as best he could by completing yet another double, the third in a row on this track, with a sprint finish together with teammate, Tom Sykes.

The Kawasaki Racing Team is enjoying its fantastic pair of riders with the 2013 world champion today the only one who never gave up on Rea for all the scheduled laps until the final attempt when, at the exit from the last corner before the straight finish line, crossed the lines and shook Rea's certainties.
Only 25 thousandths separate Sykes from a victory that would have been more than deserved given the commitment, consistency and physical ailments he had to ride through in the last few races.

Rea's performance was as usual flawless: his bid for a third consecutive world title now sees him comfortably in command with a 64-point advantage over Sykes, with four rounds contested.
Barring sensational twists, there already seems to be no more story: the "Cannibal" could also just afford to manage from here to the end while his opponents still have to lead, taking enormous risks, to catch him.
The podium was completed by a disconsolate Chaz Davies who throughout the race had to watch out more for Michael Van Der Mark behind him than for the Kawasaki pair in front of him: in parc fermé he admitted that his Panigale was not fast enough to be able to worry Rea and Sykes.
A day to forget, and perhaps even the entire weekend except for yesterday's lucky podium, for Marco Melandri: always far from the leaders, he crashed while battling with the group made up of Xavi Fores, Lorenzo Savadori and Nicky Hayden .

However, a positive race, after yesterday's disaster, for Yamaha who crossed the finish line in fourth and fifth place with Van der Mark and Alex Lowes.
Behind them we find a brilliant Leon Camier who can finally smile for his performance and the final result, as well as Jordi Torres, seventh, who was stopped by a technical problem.
The top 10 is completed by Eugene Laverty on the Aprilia of the Milwaukee team, and the two CBRs of Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl: a positive weekend for Honda that gives a lot of confidence for the continuation of the season.
However, Aprilia was out of place with Lorenzo Savadori who abandoned the race when he was hovering around fourth position: by his own admission they are unable to keep up with their rivals and must always ride to the limit: it is necessary to take control of the development program again to prevent the gap widens further.

The next appointment will be the weekend of 12-14 May at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack in Imola.

Below is the order of arrival for Race 2:

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 22 laps
2. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 0.025s
3. Chaz Davies GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R +5.077s
4. Michael van der Mark NED PATA Yamaha YZF-R1 +8.739s
5. Alex Lowes GBR PATA Crescent Yamaha R1 +16.244s
6. Leon Camier GBR MV Agusta RC F4 RR +17.899s
7. Jordi Torres ESP Althea BMW S1000RR +19.026s
8. Eugene Laverty IRE Milwaukee Aprilia RSV4 +19.184s
9. Nicky Hayden USA Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR SP2 +21.475s
10. Stefan Bradl GER Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR SP2 +24.693s
11. Roman Ramos ESP Team Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R +26.751s
12. Leandro Mercado ITA IodaRacing Aprilia RSV4 +26.924s
13. Xavi Fores ESP Barni Ducati 1199R +36.611s
14. Randy Krummenacher SWI Puccetti Kawasaki ZX-10R +40.597s
15. Alex de Angelis SMR Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R +49.140s
16. Ayrton Badovini ITA Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R +51.241s
17. Raffaele De Rosa ITA Althea BMW S1000RR +1m 00.000s
18. Ondrej Jezek CZE Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R +1m 00.000s

Did not finish

Lorenzo Savadori ITA Milwaukee Aprilia RSV4
Riccardo Russo ITA Guandalini Yamaha YZF-R1
Marco Melandri ITA Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R