@WorldSBK •(April 16, 2016)- After a weather forecast that seemed to hint Day 1 in Assen may be hit by the first real wet weather of the season, FP1 at the TT Circuit Assen got underway with rain falling and a wet track under grey skies. With the forecast for the rest of the weekend still unsure, the usual lack of track action in wet conditions was replaced by a good amount of activity on the circuit and riders were keen to begin working on a wet setup should it be needed for either of the WorldSBK races this weekend.
Riders were initially tentative in testing out conditions around the Circuit van Drenthe, with MV Agusta rider Leon Camier and Kawasaki rider Jonathan Rea proving the first pacesetters, and small crashes and incidents characterized the session as the riders sought the limit.
Karel Abraham, Markus Reiterberger, Michael van der Mark and Chaz Davies were all among those who crashed during the session, with the Welshman taking a tumble in the dying minutes. Nicky Hayden also had a run off track when the Kentucky rider found the limit, but stayed on the bike and got back on track quickly.
After a weather forecast that seemed to hint Day 1 in Assen may be hit by the first real wet weather of the season, FP1 at the TT Circuit Assen got underway with rain falling and a wet track under grey skies. With the forecast for the rest of the weekend still unsure, the usual lack of track action in wet conditions was replaced by a good amount of activity on the circuit and riders were keen to begin working on a wet setup should it be needed for either of the WorldSBK races this weekend.
Riders were initially tentative in testing out conditions around the Circuit van Drenthe, with MV Agusta rider Leon Camier and Kawasaki rider Jonathan Rea proving the first pacesetters, and small crashes and incidents characterized the session as the riders sought the limit.
Karel Abraham, Markus Reiterberger, Michael van der Mark and Chaz Davies were all among those who crashed during the session, with the Welshman taking a tumble in the dying minutes. Nicky Hayden also had a run off track when the Kentucky rider found the limit, but stayed on the bike and got back on track quickly.
Home hero Michael van der Mark kept cool under pressure and went straight through to Superpole 2 in difficult conditions, in P9, just ahead of Aragón’s double winner and Championship P2 man Chaz Davies on the second Aruba.it Ducati. Leon Camier took MV Agusta to 11th just outside the top ten after a great FP1, and Matthieu Lussiana was the fastest BMW rider in 14th.
WorldSBK is back on track tomorrow at 8:45am local time (GMT +2) for FP3, before Tissot-Superpole gets underway at 10:30. Keep up to date with everything on WorldSBK.com and make sure to follow WorldSBK on social media.
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