This weekend marks the third round of the FIM Supersport World Championship at the TT Circuit Assen. This is the home race for the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team, as their base in Nieuwleusen is less than an hour away from the historic and legendary circuit.

With 85 points to his name after the race weekends in Australia and Portugal, Stefano Manzi arrives at the TT Circuit Assen this weekend as the World Championship leader representing the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team. The Italian stood on the podium in Assen in both 2023 and 2024, and he will again be competing for top honours in the Netherlands this weekend to strengthen his position in the championship.

Teammate Yuki Okamoto faces a significant challenge, as he has never ridden at the TT Circuit Assen before. The Japanese rider won’t have much time to learn the flowing nature of the Drenthe circuit, but just like in Portimão, the key will be to make consistent progress throughout the race weekend.

In addition to the on-track action, Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing will also host various off-track activities. On Friday evening, the team will present the new plans for the Motonext project in their hospitality area, followed by a special VIP evening on Saturday night. Throughout the weekend, many guests and partners will be welcomed at the TT Circuit Assen to enjoy the spectacle in and around the WorldSBK paddock.

Stefano Manzi:
“It will be a special weekend for the whole team. Over the last years I enjoyed the track a lot, but the results haven’t been what we were hoping for. I don’t want to say too much and make predictions; I just want to enjoy riding and working with the team. Hopefully we can achieve a good result together, which will be great for them in their home race. Let’s get going!”

Yuki Okamoto:
“Like Portimão, it will be the first time for me to ride in Assen. I am confident to be able to perform better than in Portugal, but it will still be a tough weekend. It is the home race for the team so I will give it my all to achieve a good result.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager:
“It’s our home race, and of course, we’re going to put on quite a show again. It’s always special to race here, and we hope to make it a great weekend. The team is in excellent form, and we’ll come up with a plan to go on the attack. It will be our first time racing in Assen with the R9, so we’ll have to see how that goes. We’ve been able to score good results in the past races, so we’re confident we can do the same here.”

The race weekend at the TT Circuit Assen begins on Friday morning with a free practice session, followed by the Superpole session, which gets underway at 16:00 in the afternoon. On Saturday morning there will first be a warm-up session, followed by Race 1 over 18 laps which starts in the afternoon at 15:15. The same schedule applies on Sunday, with a warm-up session in the morning and Race 2 starting at 15:15.