SBK | Motul Dutch Round, Race1: Jonathan Rea as Carl Fogarty

He said at the end of qualifying that second place was an "accident" and that he would regain the lead of the group in the race, and he didn't lie: Jonathan Rea reiterates that the TT Circuit of Assen is his personal training ground chase achieving the eighth consecutive victory out of the twelve races held here, equaling Carl Fogarty's historic number.

The reigning champion started very well, holding the lead of the group from start to finish, playing a bit of cat and mouse with Michael Van der Mark and Chaz Davies: above all, the Yamaha rider worried him until the tenth lap, not never giving up on him in the hope of being able to achieve victory in front of his own audience.
In the final phase of the race, however, Rea pushed decisively, confirming that, in addition to his talent, he had great strategic skills in how he kept his rivals at bay and conserved his tyres.

Michael Van der Mark for his part was very happy with second place which fully repays him for the disappointment of qualifying: at Yamaha however there will be something to reflect on the difference in performance between the two riders, with Lowes who after the crazy pole of a few hours first he had the pace of the shrimp, finishing tenth, 30 seconds behind his teammate.

We were expecting him in the race and he didn't disappoint us: Chaz Davies was the author of a crazy comeback that brought him close to Jonathan Rea, who in the end had more, thanks to a heart-pounding overtaking on lap ten on Van der Mark , in full fifth exiting the corner.
In the final laps, however, the tires abandoned him a bit, allowing first Van der Mark to regain his position and then Sykes to recover and threaten third place, which Davies defended until the checkered flag.
The KRT driver probably had the best race since the beginning of the season: never before was Tom as comfortable as he was today on the Ninja, managing to recover many positions after a start to forget, so much so that in the end fourth position was a bit tight for him.
Behind him we find the two Panigales, satellite and official, of tiring, finish the race.
After a crazy start to the season, with three victories, Melandri's performance has progressively declined as the problems have increased, which he also identified in the continuous changes that he is forced to make after each outing on the track.

Seventh place for Loris Baz, author of a good race, ahead of Leandro Mercato with the satellite Ninja of the Orelac Racing team, Jordi Torres with the MV Agusta and Toprak Razgatlioglu of Puccetti Racing.
Of note are the falls of Michael Rinaldi, who had to abandon the race, in the early stages and of Lorenzo Savadori: the Aprilia rider compromised his race with a crash, finishing 15th.

The Red Bull Honda Team did not take to the track today: Leon Camier is injured and has not been replaced while Jake Gagne is suffering from a bad crash yesterday in free practice.

See you tomorrow at 13pm with the start of Race 00 of the Motul Dutch Round, while below is the order of arrival of the first race:

1. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10RR 21 laps
2. Michael van der Mark NED PATA Yamaha YZF-R1 +0.981s
3. Chaz Davies GBR Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale R +1.282s
4. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10RR +1.413s
5. Xavi Fores ESP Barni Ducati Panigale R +8.625s
6. Marco Melandri ITA Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale R +14.903s
7. Loris Baz FRA Althea BMW S1000RR +17.301s
8. Leandro Mercado ARG Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki ZX-10RR +21.482s
9. Jordi Torres ESP MV Agusta 1000 F4 +21.938s
10. Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Puccetti Kawasaki ZX-10RR +24.939s
11. Roman Ramos ESP Team GoEleven Kawasaki ZX-10RR +27.049s
12. Alex Lowes GBR PATA Crescent Yamaha R1 +33.226s
13. David Giugliano ITA Milwaukee Aprilia RSV4 +35.630s
14. PJ Jacobsen USA TripleM Honda CBR1000RR SP2 +38.480s
15. Lorenzo Savadori ITA Milwaukee Aprilia RSV4 +38.604s
16. Yonny Hernandez COL Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10RR +44.690s
17. Ondrej Jezek CZE Guandalini Yamaha YZF-R1 +51.135s

Retired due to fall
Michael Ruben Rinaldi ITA Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale R

Out due to injury
Jake Gagne USA Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR SP2