The Sunday of Prosecco DOC Dutch Round ends with two podiums finish for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team thanks to the second place of Scott Redding in Race-2 and the same result achieved by Michael Ruben Rinaldi in the Superpole Race.
- Superpole Race
Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s start (from the fourth position) is superb and the Italian rider takes the lead in the first lap. Rinaldi tries to push but on lap 3 he can’t defend himself from Rea (Kawasaki). In the final part of the race, Rinaldi loses momentum, surrendering in the last lap to the attack of Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) and Locatelli (Yamaha), both later penalized for exceeding the track limits at the last corner.
Scott Redding starts from the third position but since the first laps, he doesn’t find a good feeling with the front tire, finishing in fifth position.
- Superpole Result
P1 – J. Rea (Kawasaki)
P2 – M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
P3 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha)
P4 – A. Locatelli (Yamaha)
P5 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
- Race-2
Redding stays with the leading group from the beginning and his pace increases considerably from the middle of the race. After a great battle with Rinaldi for the third position, Scott starts chasing Locatelli, overtaking him with three laps to go, securing his second podium finish of the weekend.
Rinaldi’s start is once again incisive and in the first 3 laps, he tries to attack Locatelli to take the lead of the race. Since lap 4, however, the number 21 is not able to push effectively and is forced to settle for the eighth position, which allows him to climb to the fifth place in the world ranking.
- Race-2 Result
P1 – J. Rea (Kawasaki)
P2 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
P3 – A. Locatelli (Yamaha)
P4 – C. Davies (Ducati)
P5 – A. Bautista (Honda)
P8 – M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
- Championship Standings
P1 – J. Rea (Kawasaki) 243
P2 – T. Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 206
P3 – S. Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 162
P4 – A. Lowes (Kawasaki) 127
P5 – M. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 111
After the Superpole Race Michael Ruben Rinaldi does a lap of honor of the Assen track riding the Panigale V2 Bayliss 1st Championship 20th Anniversary, the special bike presented last Thursday 22 July to celebrate Troy Bayliss’ first world title in 2001. During the press conference on Friday at the Paddock Show, Michael had the opportunity to exchange a few words with the Australian champion, recalling why he also races with the number 21 (the day he was born in December 1995).
Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“I’m happy to end the weekend with another podium. I struggled a lot to find the feeling with the front tire but in Race 2 we were able to make that small step that allowed me to keep a better pace. In the beginning, I tried not to push hard to save the front tire and for this reason, I lost a little bit of ground compared to the lead. The pace has improved a lot since the middle of the race but the gap with Rea was too wide to fight for the victory”.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21)
“Honestly I can’t be satisfied with this weekend. Yesterday I gave my best but I crashed, while today I never had the feeling to be in the ideal conditions. The result of the Superpole Race is clearly positive, but it came after the penalization of Razgatlioglu and Locatelli; after a good start in the afternoon, since the tire performance started dropping, I have been no longer efficient. It’s a bit frustrating: we have to work to find a solution that will allow us to be more consistent”.
