Manzi and van Straalen deliver 1-2 results for WorldSSP qualifying for home race in Assen

Stefano Manzi and Glenn van Straalen managed to qualify first and second in the World Supersport class at the TT Circuit Assen on Friday afternoon. In a Superpole session with changeable weather conditions, the team’s strategy was flawless resulting in Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing to occupy the first two places on the grid for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon.

The first day of the Dutch World Superbike round at the TT Circuit Assen was mainly characterised by changeable conditions. The free practice session in the morning fell largely into the water and the same seemed to happen with the Superpole session in the afternoon.

At the beginning of the session the track was still almost completely wet but, as so often in Assen, the track also dried up very quickly. Thanks to a perfect team strategy, Stefano Manzi and Glenn van Straalen took to the track on slicks at the right moment and managed to post the first and second fastest times respectively. Not much later it started raining heavily again, which meant the lap times of the two Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing riders would not be improved anymore.

It is the first time since 2010 that two Ten Kate Racing bikes have been on the front row of the grid and the first time since 2007 that a 1-2 has been achieved in qualifying at Assen. This is also Glenn van Straalen’s best qualifying result so far in the World Supersport class.

Stefano Manzi – P1: “The second of advantage I had in Superpole was mostly because of the track conditions. Some riders went with rain tyres, some with slicks and some others with a combination of those two. It was a strange session but fortunately our strategy was the right one. I was able to do a good lap time in almost dry conditions, even though I wasn’t very fast in the first sector. I had a lot of traffic so that I thought that it wouldn’t be fast enough. In the end many people improved their lap times but my lap time was fast enough to get pole position. It definitely wasn’t easy but I am very happy. My teammate qualified in second place in the home race for the team so we’re in a good position for tomorrow. Let’s see what happens.”

Glenn van Straalen – P2: “It was a pretty chaotic Superpole session with the changing weather conditions but in the end we made the right choice. It was a pretty big risk at the beginning of the session to choose not to set a lap time but to come straight in. We made the right decision there in the end and I am very happy with that. It’s obviously great for the team and myself to be on the front row of the grid during the home race so I’m looking forward to racing tomorrow.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager: “We achieved a great 1-2 in qualifying for our home race, you can’t have it any better, We recently completed a two-day test here and it paid off. Stefano and Glenn were able to keep their cool and delivered when they had to. I’m immensely proud that they managed to finish it but of course it’s all about tomorrow and Sunday’s races. It looks to be another changeable day with the weather conditions in Assen. We will now get ready for tonight’s presentation which is all about the special livery for Glenn van Straalen and the delivery of the GYTR Pro machines for our customers. We are looking forward to competing tomorrow and have fuelled confidence for the future.”

Manzi finishes in second place and takes the championship lead in Race One. Van Straalen misses the podium by just 0.1 seconds

The Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team came very close to a double podium in the first World Supersport race at the TT Circuit Assen on Saturday. On a drying track both riders came out strongly on slicks with Stefano Manzi finishing second and Glenn van Straalen crossing the finish line in fourth place, just 0.1 seconds behind P3.

As on Friday, the weather conditions on Saturday at the TT Circuit Assen were extremely changeable. Rain and sunshine constantly alternated, making the weather conditions difficult to predict and in particular tyre choice a sea of difficulty.

In the end, both riders opted to go out on the track with slicks and in the early stages this did not seem the right choice. The riders on rain tyres built up a big lead but as the race progressed the track dried up more and more. This made the riders on slicks get faster and faster and close their gap to the front.

Manzi eventually crossed the line in second place, scoring his fourth podium finish out of five races. With a total of 85 points, the Italian is currently leading the World Supersport championship. Van Straalen also rode a very strong final lap and looked like he could give the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team a dreamed double podium, unfortunately the Dutchman in orange was just 0.111 seconds short of third place. However, this fourth place is so far his best result of the season.

Stefano Manzi – P2: “It was a very good race and we have to be happy about the position. From the start, the first sector was good with the slick tyres but from turn 8 onwards it was fully wet. During the race it was so slow to dry, so for half of the race we were struggling in sector 3. I was leading the ‘slick group’ but when Adrian overtook me, he was a bit faster. I tried to stay on his back and do my race as best as possible. In the end it was nice, and then on the last turn I was able to take the second place so I am happy about that. Tomorrow we have another race, we have to work and see what the weather does. We made a good choice today but it is easy to make the wrong one! We have to stay focused and see what we can do.”

Glenn van Straalen – P4: “Of course, I can be quite happy with this result but on the other hand I am also very disappointed that I just missed out on the podium. It was a very difficult race with the track being dry on one side and wet on the other. We opted for slicks and therefore we fell way back in the early stages of the race, but as we have seen several times this weekend, it soon dried up and we came back strongly in the closing stages. I did everything I could to still take over third place and I only missed it by 0.1 seconds. Hopefully conditions will be better for us tomorrow and then we will go for revenge.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager: “It was a great day for the team today. Stefano finished on the podium and Glenn got his best result of the season with fourth place. It was a very difficult day though and on days like this you can also very easily lose a large amount of points in the championship. Stefano rode very sensibly and built up his race calmly which allowed him to finish in second place. Both riders opted for slicks and that was a very daring choice, fortunately it worked out well in the end and I am very satisfied with that.

We haven’t hosted this many guests before and I think it’s been a great first day of racing. Tonight we have a VIP dinner and a networking event in our hospitality so we are going to end the day in a nice way.”

Sensational win for Glenn van Straalen in Race Two for Ten Kate Racing

Glenn van Straalen took his first victory in the World Supersport class on Sunday afternoon. In changeable conditions, the Dutchman was strongest at the TT Circuit Assen and made his dream come true with Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing in orange.

The second World Supersport race at the TT Circuit Assen started Sunday afternoon literally in half wet / half dry conditions. The riders were on slicks and the first part of the track was dry, however rain was already falling on the second part. The downpour soon spread across the entire track, making it necessary to come in for rain tyres.

Glenn van Straalen and his team did that perfectly after which the Dutchman had to fight his way through the field again. The 23-year-old rider was clearly the strongest in these rainy conditions and with four laps to go he took over the lead. The tension was killing not only Van Straalen but also the team and the many fans in the stands. In the end Van Straalen made no mistake and he crossed the line as the winner of a World Supersport race for the first time in his career, a dream come true for both the Dutchman and the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team.

Stefano Manzi followed a different strategy and it did not work out in the end. The Italian managed to finish the race but did not score any points, despite that he is still second in the championship with just one point behind the World Championship leader.

Glenn van Straalen – P1: “To win a race here in Assen is like a dream come true. When the rain became heavier during the race I decided to follow the guys in front of me into the box to make a pit stop. In the wet conditions I felt really strong and had a great rhythm. My lap times were good and little by little I managed to close the gap. It felt incredible to see this gap decrease and increase again when I managed to take first position. On the bike I was thinking a lot about if this first win would finally happen today.

I tried to focus on the race and finally I managed to bring it home. It is amazing to do it here in Assen with the orange colours, it feels absolutely fantastic. Also to do it as a Dutchman with a Dutch team is incredible, I am so thankful for the support from the team and everyone around me. Today my dream came true.”

Stefano Manzi – P21: “It was very difficult to assess the conditions today, the whole weekend was very changeable. It’s a real shame that we didn’t score today and I also regret that, but it is what it is. I want to congratulate Glenn and the team on their home win, in Misano we will come back fighting.”

Kervin Bos – Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team manager: “We saw a piece of history of Dutch motorsport today with Glenn van Straalen’s first World Supersport victory. To do it as a Dutch team with a Dutch rider in Assen is for us the dream it all started with. We went down this route with many Dutch companies, sponsors and partners of Glenn to make this happen and he is already doing it in his third race. He kept his cool, decided at the right time to come in and the team executed the strategy perfectly. I think for Glenn to win your home race here is also a boyhood dream. We are extremely happy and proud.”

The next round of the FIM Supersport World Championship takes place in the weekend of 14-16 June at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Italy.