Assen WSB: Jonathan Rea takes race one win

Castrol Honda rider Jonathan Rea has continued his good from at the Assen circuit with a victory in the first race of the day.

It looked as though Carlos Checa would dominate the race from the front after getting a good start and pulling away slightly from the rest of the field.

But Jonathan Rea and Max Biaggi both blasted passed the championship leader before stretching out a lead on the chasing pack. Carlos Checa made sure to keep his 100% podium record of 2011 with third place.

Despite a couple of passes from Biaggi, Rea was able to re-take the lead and hold off Max Biaggi to the flag to record his first win of the 2011 season.

It looked as though it would be another great race for the Brits – early in the race Eugene Laverty and Tom Sykes were both batting for podium positions, but both riders faded around half way through.

Laverty finished seventh, while Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes was the last placed finisher in 14th.

Leon Haslam’s disappointing weekend continued after the Brit crashed on the third lap, he remounted and managed to finish 12th.

Leon Camier had similar fortunes as he had to wheel his factory Aprilia to the side of the track from the grid. Camier managed to get his bike started and get out on track but he eventually retired.

1. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 35’46.486
2. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 35’47.225
3. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 35’50.058
4. Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 35’55.994
5. Michel Fabrizio (Team Suzuki Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 35’56.378
6. Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 35’57.606
7. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 36’01.721
8. Ruben Xaus (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 36’16.567
9. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) BMW S1000 RR 36’18.557
10. Mark Aitchison (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 36’21.486
11. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 36’29.773
12. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 36’31.775
13. Barry Veneman (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) BMW S1000 RR 36’31.784
14. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 36’37.250
RT. Jakub Smrz (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 29’26.185
RT. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 29’26.621
RT. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 28’48.258
RT. Maxime Berger (Supersonic Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 16’56.882
RT. Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 13’28.961
RT. Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 10’50.393
RT. Roberto Rolfo (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 5’04.247