Superbike – Assen Race 1 – Great victory for Rea, followed by Biaggi and Checa

From the so-called "university of motorcycling", the TT Circuit of Assen, the 21 World Superbike riders take to the track ready to challenge each other to obtain the victory in Race 1 of the Dutch round. The sun came out on the grid, warming the track and the asphalt: the tire decision therefore becomes more difficult, constituting an unknown factor in anticipation of the race.

When the traffic lights went out, Checa got off to a great start from pole position, but surprisingly Biaggi took off like a rocket and moved into second position in pursuit of the Spaniard; in the meantime Rea engages in a battle with Corser, moving into third position. It should be noted that the Englishman Leon Camier probably had some technical problems on the grid and was unable to start. Up front, meanwhile, a real three-way battle breaks out: with Checa leading the standings, Rea and Biaggi follow closely behind, but Melandri sets the fastest lap. On the third lap, a bad fall for Leon Haslam who also takes out Lascorz and Smrz: a race compromised for the Englishman from BMW, while the other two lose some positions.

On the fourth lap Johnny Rea takes the lead ahead of Checa, Biaggi and Tom Sykes: the Kawasaki rider runs very well with the soft tires and tries to move up positions. The brawl, in fact, shows no signs of ending: Rea and Biaggi stage a series of overtaking and counter-overtaking, while Sykes and Laverty also give Carlos Checa a hard time. Michel Fabrizio also recovered greatly and moved behind the Spaniard in sixth place; Marco Melandri increases the pace and begins his ascent on the ninth lap.

Meanwhile Rea and Biaggi trail Laverty by a second and a half, with the Roman constantly on the tail of the Ten Kate team rider. With nine laps to go, Checa gains third position, while Melandri forcefully overtakes teammate Laverty and moves into fifth position. But it is Carlos Checa who is now behind the Rea-Biaggi pair and seems to be able to ignite the final part of the race.

Instead, it was Johnny Rea who sensed the Spaniard's danger, and began to lap quite fast, trailing Max Biaggi by a few tenths. The Northern Irishman thus flies towards his first victory of 2011, followed in second place by the Italian from Aprilia. Third step of the podium for Carlos Checa, who remains firmly in command of the world rankings. A few laps from the end, a very bad high side by Kuba Smrz which also causes his teammate Guintoli to fall: the Czech driver remains on the ground very sore in his right leg.