The Supersport World Championship concluded its third round of the season, and this time the circuit was one of the few to have unforgettably marked the history of motorcycling: Assen. Marcel Schroetter and Bahattin Sofuoglu challenged the other riders among the splendid curves of the Dutch track. Never before like this year had the weather decided to be the main actor of the Assen round, forcing riders, technical chiefs and team managers to make risky choices.
Unfavorable conditions starting from FP1, in which the riders were able to have a dry track for just 4 minutes only to then witness a heavy downpour for the rest of the session. Conditions were almost identical also for the Superpole on Friday afternoon, in which all the drivers took to the track when the pit lane opened to try to set the time as soon as possible given the imminent rain. Schroetter and Sofuoglu managed to make good use of the laps available before the now usual downpour of rain, obtaining fourth and seventh positions on the starting grid respectively.
Race 1 started in fairly complicated track conditions, with the initial part dry, the central part wet, and then returning to good conditions in the final part. To this we had to add the weather, overcast skies and a few drops, but the forecast said no precipitation was on the way. All the top riders opted for slicks, but after not even one lap, the rain situation worsened and the leading group found itself having to ride with dry tires on completely wet asphalt. Only around halfway through the race, after the rain had stopped were we able to glimpse the first interesting times for the riders on slicks, so Marcel and Bahattin began to recover as many positions as possible. Sofuoglu finished the race in eighth place, while Marcel in twelfth.
Race 2 was held in similar conditions, and the tire choice was again a gamble with a "patchy" track and riders forced to use all their abilities to avoid falling. Sofuoglu tried to stay in the leading group, trying not to risk too much, while Marcel remained in the small group fighting for the top ten, also in "no risk" mode. Even in these conditions, our drivers managed to defend themselves, obtaining the fifth final position for Bahattin and the eighth for Schroetter.
Two complex races, in a very difficult weekend from all points of view but they managed commendably and this allowed teams and drivers to maintain their positions in the standings and even shorten the gap, with Schroetter just two points behind Huertas , now in the lead. Sofuoglu strengthened his fifth position and the MV Agusta Reparto Corse team maintained its lead in the team classification. Now the calendar includes a month and a half stop, before returning to racing at home in Misano Adriatico.