Prosecco DOC Dutch Round: Lowes stands out in the second free practice session

The second free practice session of the Prosecco DOC Dutch Round at the TT Circuit in Assen has just ended in pouring rain: Alex Lowes brings the Yamaha to the top of the combined time classification for the first time, ahead of Tom Sykes and Sylvain Guintoli.

Lowes was good at anticipating his opponents, taking advantage of the first part of the session without rain: once the bad weather hit the "Cathedral" again, Sykes no longer had the opportunity to improve further and confirm himself as the leader of the day.

However, the high potential of the R1 on the fastest lap is confirmed: we will see if this weekend there are the conditions to transform the times into world championship points in the race, which has always been the team's Achilles' heel at this start to the season.

With the fourth fastest time we find Xavi Fores, first of the Ducatis, very comfortable with the wet track, who manages to keep behind a veteran of the circuit like Nicky Hayden and above all Jonathan Rea, who doesn't go beyond the sixth fastest time.
The reigning World Champion's session, however, ended prematurely due to a technical problem that would appear to be serious, given that upon returning to the garage the Kawasaki men immediately lowered the shutter (by regulation it is not possible to return to the track once the garage is closed).
The damage could be to the engine: for Rea it would be the third out of four rounds of the season, out of 14 available: the rotation would start to be a bit worrying.
At the moment, however, there is nothing confirmed and we remain in the field of hypotheses.

With the seventh time we find Davide Giugliano, ahead of Lorenzo Savadori, who continues to amaze aboard the RSV4 of Team IodaRacing.
Disappointed in the end was Michael van der Mark, who crashed at the end and was relegated to ninth position, ahead of Chaz Davies, tenth and in difficulty today.

Next appointment with the Tissot-Superpole tomorrow, Saturday 16 April, from 11 am (Italian time).

Below is the combined ranking of the times at the end of the two free practice sessions:

1. Alex Lowes GBR PATA Crescent Yamaha R1 1m 52.701s
2. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 53.288s
3. Sylvain Guintoli FRA PATA Crescent Yamaha R1 1m 53.846s
4. Xavi Fores ESP Barni Ducati 1199R 1m 53.856s
5. Nicky Hayden USA Honda Racing CBR1000RR 1m 54.070s
6. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 54.107s
7. Davide Giugliano ITA Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R 1m 54.267s
8. Lorenzo Savadori ITA IodaRacing Aprilia RSV4 1m 54.277s
9. Michael van der Mark NED Honda Racing CBR1000RR 1m 54.280s
10. Chaz Davies GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati 1199R 1m 54.348s

Top 10 will progress straight into SP2 on Saturday. The remainder of the field entered into SP1.

11. Leon Camier GBR MV Agusta RC F4 RR 1m 54.564s
12. Alex de Angelis RSM IodaRacing Aprilia RSV4 1m 55.392s
13. Matteo Baiocco ITA VFT Ducati 1199R 1m 56.199s
14. Matthieu Lussiana FRA Team ASPI BMW S1000RR 1m 57.122s
15. Lucas Mahias FRA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 57.264s
16. Roman Ramos ESP GO Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 57.726s
17. Josh Brookes AUS Milwaukee BMW S1000RR 1m 57.768s
18. Jordi Torres ESP Althea BMW S1000RR 1m 57.798s
19. Josh Hook AUS Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 58.014s
20. Pawel Szkopek POL Team Toth Yamaha R1 1m 58.888s*
21. Markus Reiterberger GER Althea BMW S1000RR 1m 59.239s
22. Peter Sebesteyen HUN Team Toth Yamaha R1 2m 00.882s
23. Karel Abraham CZE Milwaukee BMW S1000RR 2m 01.447s
24. Dominic Schmitter SUI Grillini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 01.594s
25. Saeed al Sulaiti QAT Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 2m 02.838s