Nicholas Spinelli was the unlikely winner of the first race of the World Superbike Championship at Assen, securing victory in his very first appearance in the championship. The race was called off with seven laps to go due to a significant amount of oil on the track, just as the Italian was leading but seemed poised to lose many positions. It’s worth noting that Spinelli is competing in this round of the championship as a substitute for the injured Danilo Petrucci.
Conditions were challenging at the start of the race. The track was wet, but the sun was shining. Some riders opted for at least one slick tyre, but as the race started, heavy rain began, promising to shake things up.
š #WorldSBK RACE 1 IS UNDERWAY here at Assen! š@jonathanrea takes the lead position at the first cornerš„#DutchWorldSBK š³š± pic.twitter.com/wZKPxvQrKI
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) April 20, 2024
Good start by Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) to maintain the lead from pole position, while Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven/Ducati) moved up to second. However, Rea lost positions early on, while Nicholas Spinelli (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) surprised with intermediate tyres and not only moved up to first but also pulled away from the pack.
Incredible line taken by Nicholas Spinelli to move to the front š#DutchWorldSBK š³š± pic.twitter.com/O5vSIX4l5u
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) April 20, 2024
After two laps, the Italian rookie already had an impressive nine-second lead over Axel Bassani (Kawasaki), with Iannone in third and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW) in fourth. The positions at the front were changing, and only two riders consistently held podium positions: Spinelli and Bassani.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) found himself in second on the fourth lap, by which time Spinelli had a lead of over 24 seconds. The rain stopped and the sun began to shine, promising to shake up the race once againāespecially for Spinelli, who was on wet tires. On the fourth lap, Iannone crashed and retired.
Nicholas Spinelli leads with a gap of 24.359s š#DutchWorldSBK š³š± pic.twitter.com/25h48zhF6G
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) April 20, 2024
While the leader remained well ahead, the rest of the pack was closely bunched, with constant changes in position. As the rain ceased, Spinelli’s lead gradually began to shrink. Razgatlioglu moved into second place, and Ćlvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) was in third on the eighth of 21 laps. The leader was 21 seconds ahead, and only the first sector allowed him to distance himself from the pursuers.
As the laps went by, it became evident that Spinelli would struggle to hold on to the lead: his margin was diminishing, with intermediate tyres becoming a disadvantage on the drying track. Bautista was in second place, managing to gain a slight gap over Razgatlioglu.
On lap 14, there was a change for second place, with Razgatlioglu overtaking Bautista in a flashy manner, thus taking up the pursuit of Spinelli. A twist of fate occurred seven laps from the end. Just when it seemed that Spinelli would inevitably be overtaken and swallowed up by the pack, a red flag was shown due to oil on the track left by Locatelli’s Yamaha when the engine failed moments earlier.
The race direction decreed that the race would not be resumed, as two-thirds of the distance had already been completed. Thus, Spinelli was declared the winner, with Razgatlioglu in second and Bautista completing the podium. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) completed the top five ahead of Rea.
Results:
