Judging by the last two seasons, Assen could play host to the resurgence Ducati have been waiting for this season. The Italian marque has won three of the four previous races on the Dutch circuit. Unfortunately for Ducati, Yamaha has won all but those three races around the Cathedral of Speed since 2018. Yamaha’s new R9 could be the machine they need to reclaim Assen after two years of Ducati having the upper hand.
The last non-Yamaha or Ducati winner at Assen was Kenan Sofouglu, who won for Puccetti Kawasaki in 2017. Jeremy Alcoba has put in some solid performances so far this season. Could the Spaniard return the spoils to Kawasaki for the first time in eight years?
Honda is the only other manufacturer to win around Assen in the last decade. Honda’s last victory came during the 2016 season with Kyle Smith. Despite not yet winning a race here, MV Agusta has had four podiums at the Dutch circuit since 2015, with Cluzel, De Rosa, Rea and, more recently, Schrotter.
Only two of the current World Supersport grid have won around the Cathedral of Speed. Federico Caricasulo won the race here in 2019, whilst Glenn Van Straalen is the most recent winner – winning race two last season.
Between the current top three in the championship, Stefano Manzi has had the most success around Assen – finishing second twice, once in 2023 and again in 2024. PTR Triumph’s Tom Booth-Amos has the best result of tenth place from the 2023 season. However, seeing how Booth-Amos has started the year, you would imagine this to be considerably improved upon by the end of the weekend. If Booth-Amos were to stand on the podium, it would be the first for a Triumph rider at Assen since the factory’s World Supersport debut in 2008.
Bo Bendsneyder is yet to race at his home circuit in World Supersport, although the Dutchman scored the best of fifth place during his 2022 Moto2 campaign. Considering his form so far this season, Bendsneyder looks to be one of the favourites for the weekend ahead, even more so after taking his first win in the class last time out.
However, we are quickly learning that being the favourite doesn’t necessarily guarantee victory this season and Assen is notorious for throwing up a few surprises.
