Bulega leads Assen Friday as Mahias, Veneman and Herrera take pole honours

4 weeks ago 21

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Round Three – Assen – Friday

WorldSBK

Bulega leads Friday at Assen as Ducati stays in front despite fresh fuel-flow hit

Nicolo Bulega topped both Friday sessions at Assen to lead an all-Ducati top three, while Remy Gardner ended the opening day 16th and Ducati and Bimota began the Dutch round under new fuel-flow penalties.

Ducati still sets the pace

Nicolo Bulega remained the reference point on the opening day of the Dutch round, topping both Friday sessions at Assen and ending practice with a 1m33.687s benchmark. The Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider led Lorenzo Baldassarri and Iker Lecuona in an all-Ducati top three, with Danilo Petrucci fourth and Xavi Vierge the leading Yamaha in fifth.

The pace at the front was tight enough to keep a number of riders in contention, but Bulega again looked the most complete package. Baldassarri backed up his solid early-season form with second for GoEleven, while Lecuona stayed near the pointy end despite still searching for a better feeling from the bike.

Nicolò Bulega – P1

“I’m quite satisfied with what we did today, even if we’re still missing something. Let’s say that, in terms of feeling, we’re at 90%, and the first goal is to find the remaining 10% in FP3 tomorrow morning.”

Lorenzo Baldassarri – P2

“Today was a fantastic day, we enjoyed the Assen circuit on this amazing Ducati! I’m happy with the atmosphere in the garage; we’re working step by step, but well, and improving with every run. We’ve managed to be consistent and progressive, so I’m happy with my race pace. I expect our rivals to improve a lot tomorrow, and we need to do the same. I’m focusing on qualifying; here I feel like we can bring home a good result!”

Iker Lecuona – P3

“To be honest, I expected something more. Maybe we took a small step back from Portimão, but that’s normal in the growth process we’re undergoing. Our race pace is still good, and we’re confident we can make a significant step forward tomorrow.”

Xavi Vierge – P5

“Happy with the first day, it was the first time for me riding the R1 here in Assen! As soon as I began, I really felt the “good feeling” and I enjoyed a lot over the day. We worked really well with the team, we were precise with the changes we did and every time we went on track we went a little bit faster – which is important! Not only with the new tyres, with the used tyres we made a lot of laps and the pace is quite good. Also, with my riding style there are some things I can do that I’ve been working on since FP1 and there is still room to improve, so this is very good to keep going for tomorrow.”

Fuel-flow change lands before the weekend

The Ducati performance was notable given the manufacturer arrived at Assen under a fresh 0.5 kg/h fuel-flow penalty following the latest concession checkpoint, while Bimota was also hit with a 0.5 kg/h reduction ahead of the weekend.

That added some extra context to Friday’s timesheets, particularly with Alex Lowes putting the bimota KB998 Rimini seventh and Axel Bassani 12th as the Italian marque continues to edge forward in its return campaign.

Alex Lowes – P7

“It was not a bad first day at Assen. Maybe Pirelli has brought different tyres than the past, a lot harder tyres, and we have been trying to fight for a bit of rear grip. We did a long run this afternoon, so we know more-or-less where we can improve the bike. In some parts I felt really good, and some parts it felt like I was really struggling. But, I enjoyed it, and had some big slides. It is always a pleasure to ride around Assen, and there are some fantastic corners. I know where I can do a bit better myself. I will analyse things tonight and try to make some steps forward tomorrow.”

Álvaro Bautista – P8

“After the Portimão weekend, we reviewed some data and decided to start Friday morning with a few changes to improve the feeling. Right from the beginning, I felt better, and we made a few small adjustments during the session. Then, thanks to the data and feedback, we made another step forward, and I immediately felt good with it in FP2. We had an issue with the rear brake, so I had to stop earlier than expected. Once it was fixed, I went back out on track. There, I realized the bike allowed me to ride better compared to previous races, so I decided to stay out. The pace wasn’t bad: we completed more laps than race distance on the same set of tyres. The feeling is positive, we have more data and references, and hopefully tomorrow we can take another step forward.”

Yari Montella – P9

“It was a positive day. This morning we focused on a new tyre specification that Pirelli brought and we had the chance to choose the one that suited us best. In the afternoon, we completed a race simulation with a 16-lap long run. The pace was fairly consistent, even though we are still working to find a few more tenths and get closer to the top 5. In the final part of the session, we tried a setup change that made me feel much better, especially on used tyres. So I’m quite confident for tomorrow: we can do a good job and focus on Superpole and then Race 1.”

Gardner has work to do

From an Australian point of view, Remy Gardner ended the day 16th on the GYTR GRT Yamaha with a best of 1m34.989s, 1.302s away from Bulega’s benchmark. Gardner described it as a tricky day and suggested tyre allocation had not worked in his favour, but there is still time to recover with FP3 and Superpole still to come.

Remy Gardner – P16

“It was a tricky day, and we expected a bit more. Unfortunately, the tyre allocation hasn’t worked in our favour so far, so we need to maximise what we have. The position isn’t ideal, but I’m confident we can take a step forward and close the gap. Assen has been challenging for us on Fridays in the past, but we’ve often managed to improve significantly over the weekend, so we’re aiming to do the same again.”

Further down the order, Garrett Gerloff finished 17th for Kawasaki, Jonathan Rea was 19th for Honda HRC, Stefano Manzi 20th and Somkiat Chantra 21st.

Garrett Gerloff – P17

“Assen has been a bit more complicated than I wanted it to be. Last year, we struggled a lot and this year I thought maybe we would have more coming into the weekend from the past couple of rounds, which were good. At the minute I am still struggling to get the most out of myself and the bike. The team has a lot of work to do to understand what we need to change for tomorrow. I wish I could give them a bit more direction, but I am honestly a bit confused. We will sleep on it, come back tomorrow stronger and try to have a good race weekend.”

Jonathan Rea – P19

“It’s been nice to ride at Assen again. It’s true that we didn’t maximise our track time today, but we were able to make many laps with some different ideas from a chassis setup point of view, moving more in the direction that Tom (Jojic) and Jake (Dixon) were following at the beginning of the season. This meant we also needed to make some electronic adjustments. We’re working across different areas, but the main focus is on trying to generate more rear traction from the bike. From the first time I rode the bike, this seems to be a clear way in which to improve. For tomorrow, I expect the guys to come up with a different package so that we can really understand if we can work in a different way to define that aspect. I think it could fix a lot of other issues. We have a lot of work to do, but we are collecting a lot of good data to understand if we can take a step tomorrow morning. Then we go straight into Superpole, so it will be important to try and maximise my one-lap attack to qualify as best as possible. We’ll keep working step by step anyway. As for the development tyre, we didn’t try it today. We opted to focus on testing new ideas and didn’t spend too much time on that, as it could influence our direction. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

At the front, though, the story remained familiar. Bulega started quickly, Ducati still had the numbers, and Saturday now shapes as another test of whether anyone can genuinely push the championship leader off top spot.

WorldSBK Combined FP1/FP2 Results

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Gap

1	N. Bulega	Duc	1m33.687
2	L. Baldassarri	Duc	1m33.963	+0.276
3	I. Lecuona	Duc	1m34.017	+0.330
4	D. Petrucci	BMW	1m34.092	+0.405
5	X. Vierge	Yam	1m34.097	+0.410
6	S. Lowes	Duc	1m34.143	+0.456
7	A. Lowes	Bim	1m34.189	+0.502
8	A. Bautista	Duc	1m34.250	+0.563
9	Y. Montella	Duc	1m34.430	+0.743
10	A. Surra	Duc	1m34.472	+0.785
11	M. Oliveira	BMW	1m34.551	+0.864
12	A. Bassani	Bim	1m34.620	+0.933
13	A. Locatelli	Yam	1m34.676	+0.989
14	T. Bridewell	Duc	1m34.721	+1.034
15	T. Mackenzie	Duc	1m34.733	+1.046
16	R. Gardner	Yam	1m34.989	+1.302
17	G. Gerloff	Kaw	1m35.098	+1.411
18	T. Smits	Yam	1m35.121	+1.434
19	J. Rea	Hon	1m35.124	+1.437
20	S. Manzi	Yam	1m35.251	+1.564
21	S. Chantra	Hon	1m35.253	+1.566
22	B. Sofuoglu	Yam	1m35.455	+1.768
23	M. Rato	Yam	1m36.149	+2.462

WorldSSP

Mahias grabs Assen pole after red-flagged WorldSSP Superpole

Lucas Mahias left it late to claim pole at Assen in a disrupted WorldSSP Superpole session, while Oli Bayliss qualified 19th for PTR Triumph.

Mahias turns it around

Lucas Mahias produced one of the stronger recoveries of Friday at Assen, going from a muted start to the day to put his GMT94 Yamaha on pole with a 1m36.490s lap in WorldSSP Superpole.

The Frenchman headed compatriot Valentin Debise by just 0.071s, with Albert Arenas only another 0.011s further back to complete the front row. Tom Booth-Amos and Can Öncü made it five riders within 0.138s of pole, which should make race pace and tyre choice at least as important as outright one-lap speed.

Jaume Masiá qualified ninth, less than four tenths off pole, while Dominique Aegerter continued his gradual progress on the Kawasaki with 11th, his best Superpole result of the season so far.

Red flag interrupts the session

The session was stopped early after Xavi Cardelus crashed at Turn 18, bringing out a red flag just five minutes in. Once the track was cleared and running resumed, the times continued to tumble, with Mahias landing the decisive blow late in the piece.

There was more drama later on as Federico Caricasulo crashed at Turn 5 and John Whatley went down at the same corner in the closing stages, but neither incident changed the make-up of the first two rows.

Bayliss 19th but still in touch

Oli Bayliss qualified 19th on the PTR Triumph with a 1m37.649s. That leaves him some work to do from the seventh row, but the gap to pole was only 1.159s in a field where the top half of the grid remains tightly bunched.

So while Mahias took the headline, Friday’s WorldSSP form suggests Assen should produce a close race. There is no runaway favourite on raw pace alone, and that tends to keep things interesting in this class.

WorldSSP Tissot Superpole


Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap		Max
1	L. Mahias	Yam	1m36.490		254.1Km/h
2	V. Debise	Zxm	1m36.561	+0.071	253.5Km/h
3	A. Arenas	Yam	1m36.572	+0.082	255.3Km/h
4	T. Booth-Amos	Tri	1m36.600	+0.110	261.5Km/h
5	C. Oncu	Yam	1m36.628	+0.138	256.5Km/h
6	A. Zaccone	Duc	1m36.646	+0.156	258.4Km/h
7	M. Casadei	Duc	1m36.658	+0.168	257.1Km/h
8	P. Oettl	Duc	1m36.667	+0.177	259.6Km/h
9	J. Masia	Duc	1m36.872	+0.382	257.1Km/h
10	S. Jespersen	Duc	1m36.979	+0.489	257.8Km/h
11	D. Aegerter	Kaw	1m37.045	+0.555	259.0Km/h
12	M. Ferrari	Duc	1m37.134	+0.644	264.1Km/h
13	M. Ramirez	Qjm	1m37.225	+0.735	259.6Km/h
14	J. Alcoba	Kaw	1m37.363	+0.873	253.5Km/h
15	R. Garcia	Yam	1m37.391	+0.901	252.9Km/h
16	F. Farioli	Yam	1m37.426	+0.936	252.9Km/h
17	D. Geiger	Yam	1m37.559	+1.069	263.4Km/h
18	O. Vostatek	Tri	1m37.613	+1.123	257.1Km/h
19	O. Bayliss	Tri	1m37.649	+1.159	261.5Km/h
20	F. Caricasulo	Zxm	1m37.672	+1.182	252.9Km/h
21	Y. Okamoto	Yam	1m37.681	+1.191	254.1Km/h
22	A. Mahendra	Yam	1m37.682	+1.192	255.9Km/h
23	R. De Rosa	Qjm	1m37.741	+1.251	254.1Km/h
24	J. Whatley	Duc	1m37.786	+1.296	254.1Km/h
25	J. Kennedy	Hon	1m37.891	+1.401	252.9Km/h
26	A. Kofler	Yam	1m38.124	+1.634	254.1Km/h
27	R. Rossi	Duc	1m38.173	+1.683	254.7Km/h
28	B. Jimenez	Duc	1m38.192	+1.702	254.1Km/h
29	L. Taccini	Duc	1m38.499	+2.009	255.9Km/h
30	X. Cardelus	Yam	1m38.541	+2.051	252.9Km/h
31	O. Konig	Tri	1m38.877	+2.387	255.3Km/h
32	A. Carrasco	Hon	1m39.092	+2.602	252.3Km/h
33	J. Cretaro	Mva	1m39.252	+2.762	250.0Km/h
34	A. Giombini	Mva	1m39.668	+3.178	254.1Km/h

WorldSPB

Veneman claims home pole at Assen as Thompson just misses Top 10

Dutch rider Loris Veneman led World Sportbike qualifying at Assen, edging Jeffrey Buis in a tight Superpole session, while Carter Thompson was the leading Australian in 11th.

Dutch delight at the Cathedral of Speed

Loris Veneman gave the home crowd something to cheer by taking pole for the second round of the new World Sportbike Championship, the MTM Kawasaki rider posting a 1m42.499s lap to edge Jeffrey Buis by just 0.006s.

That gave the Dutch fans a home one-two at Assen, while Xavi Artigas completed an all-Kawasaki front row. Behind them, Kas Beekmans continued Suzuki’s promising start in the class by qualifying fourth, with David Salvador fifth and Ferre Fleerackers sixth.

The margins were small throughout the top group, reinforcing the sense that WorldSPB is already developing into a genuinely competitive mixed-platform category rather than one dominated by a single package.

Suzuki stays in the hunt

While Kawasaki banked pole, Suzuki again looked strong. Beekmans and Fleerackers both finished in the top six, and Jeffrey Buis missed pole by virtually nothing on the GSX-8R.

Championship leader Antonio Torres was only 10th after salvaging a place on the fourth row late in the session, so he remains in the mix, but Friday belonged to Veneman and the home camp.

Thompson close to the top 10

Carter Thompson was the leading Australian in 11th on the Team BrCorse Yamaha YZF-R7, just 0.629s off pole and only 0.039s behind Torres in 10th. It was therefore a solid enough start, even if he narrowly missed out on a top-10 grid spot.

Ty Aksu qualified 27th on the PATA AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha, 2.070s away from the front.

There was an interruption for Fadillah Mulya, who stopped with a technical issue before crashing at Turn 1 later in the session.

The overall takeaway is that the class still looks wide open. Veneman has pole, but the top six are covered by only 0.363s, and Thompson is not far outside the top 10, so Race 1 should be anything but straightforward.

WorldSPB Tissot Superpole


Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap		Max
1	L. Veneman	Kaw	1m42.499		228.8Km/h
2	J. Buis	Suz	1m42.505	+0.006	223.6Km/h
3	X. Artigas	Kaw	1m42.716	+0.217	220.4Km/h
4	K. Beekmans	Suz	1m42.765	+0.266	225.0Km/h
5	D. Salvador	Kaw	1m42.853	+0.354	225.0Km/h
6	F. Fleerackers	Suz	1m42.862	+0.363	225.0Km/h
7	F. Seabright	Tri	1m42.938	+0.439	227.8Km/h
8	M. Gaggi	Yam	1m42.970	+0.471	226.4Km/h
9	M. Vannucci	Apr	1m42.994	+0.495	215.1Km/h
10	A. Torres	Kaw	1m43.089	+0.590	224.1Km/h
11	C. Thompson	Yam	1m43.128	+0.629	223.6Km/h
12	F. Mulya	Yam	1m43.396	+0.897	225.0Km/h
13	B. Ieraci	Tri	1m43.478	+0.979	221.3Km/h
14	M. Sorrenti	Apr	1m43.504	+1.005	215.1Km/h
15	B. Fernandez	Kov	1m43.621	+1.122	227.4Km/h
16	E. Bartolini	Tri	1m43.835	+1.336	220.9Km/h
17	H. Dessoy	Tri	1m43.836	+1.337	228.8Km/h
18	J. Osuna	Kaw	1m44.120	+1.621	225.0Km/h
19	A. Di Persio	Yam	1m44.166	+1.667	223.1Km/h
20	A. Fuertes	Kaw	1m44.169	+1.670	225.0Km/h
21	J. Risueno	Kaw	1m44.188	+1.689	221.8Km/h
22	G. Sanchez	Yam	1m44.340	+1.841	224.5Km/h
23	I. Peristeras	Apr	1m44.365	+1.866	223.1Km/h
24	J. Correa	Kaw	1m44.462	+1.963	225.0Km/h
25	P. Tonn	Kov	1m44.496	+1.997	223.1Km/h
26	M. Gennai	Yam	1m44.514	+2.015	218.6Km/h
27	T. Aksu	Yam	1m44.569	+2.070	223.6Km/h
28	T. Sovicka	Yam	1m44.628	+2.129	223.1Km/h
29	G. Cazard	Yam	1m44.817	+2.318	220.9Km/h
30	T. Benetti	Apr	1m44.918	+2.419	221.8Km/h
31	T. Alonso	Yam	1m45.253	+2.754	219.5Km/h
32	H. Maier	Yam	1m45.298	+2.799	220.0Km/h
33	I. Schunselaar	Yam	1m45.409	+2.910	222.7Km/h
34	A. Agaska	Yam	1m46.181	+3.682	225.0Km/h

WorldWCR

Herrera secures Assen pole as Relph narrowly misses front row

Standfirst: Maria Herrera continued her strong start to 2026 with pole position in WorldWCR at Assen, while Australian Tayla Relph finished an encouraging fourth, just 0.024s short of the front row.

Herrera again the benchmark

Maria Herrera wasted little time asserting herself at Assen, converting Friday practice pace into pole position with a 1m47.031s lap for Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha.

Beatriz Neila was second, 0.281s in arrears, while Paola Ramos completed the front row on her first visit to Assen. Herrera’s pace was convincing rather than overwhelming, which is important, because it suggests the races should still be contested even if she begins the weekend as the obvious reference.

Behind the front row, Lucie Boudesseul and Sara Sanchez filled out the top six, with the usual core of contenders again gathering toward the sharp end.

Relph right in the mix

From an Australian perspective, Tayla Relph’s fourth was one of the stronger local-interest results of the day across all four categories. The Full Throttle Racing rider was only 0.024s shy of Ramos and the final front-row position, which leaves her very much in the conversation for the race.

Relph also maximised the 25-minute session well, staying close to the lead pace at a circuit where the front group tends to matter. If she gets a clean launch and can attach herself to the first few riders early, there is no reason she cannot feature prominently.

Front group should be tight

Roberta Ponziani, Pakita Ruiz and Natalia Rivera completed row three, while Astrid Madrigal rounded out the top 10.

Herrera remains the rider they all have to beat, but Friday suggested the gap is not insurmountable. Neila is close enough to challenge, Ramos continues to impress, and Relph has already put herself in a position to make the Australians sit up and take notice.

WorldWCR Tissot Superpole

Pos