STATS ROUND-UP: Razgatlioglu re-writes records, Bautista surpasses Bayliss and more
The ‘Cathedral of Speed’ was the stage of dreams in 2024 and once again, magic was in the Assen air
Well, the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship just keeps on giving as the Pirelli Dutch Round at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands gave ENORMOUS milestones. With first-time winners, new Assen winners and landmark achievements, the post-round stats speak for themselves.
950 – The 950th WorldSBK race is now complete; like the 900th and the 800th races, Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) won.
430/330 – Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) gave Yamaha a 430th podium place in WorldSBK and gave Australia a 330th podium place in WorldSBK; the last Australian podium was by Troy Corser at Misano in Race 1, 2010, for BMW.
160 – Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) took a first pole with Yamaha at Assen, the 160th for the UK too, increasing their advantage over Australia in P2 with 86.
121 – Razgatlioglu took his 121st podium and 42nd win in WorldSBK in Race 2 at Assen, meaning he’s just nine podiums away from Troy Corser in second overall with 130 and only one way from Noriyuki Haga’s tally of 43, which is the fifth all-time place.
96 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) equalled Troy Bayliss’ tally of podium in Race 1, making it 94, before going onto pass him and finish the weekend with 96.
80 – Nicholas Spinelli (Barni Spark Racing Team) became the 80th different WorldSBK winner in history, the 13th Italian and the first for Marco Barnabo’s team in the Superbike class.
65/5/1 – In 65 previous Assen races prior to the weekend, only two riders had won at Assen from outside the top five on the grid: Chris Walker from P13 in the wet of Race 1, 2006 and Jonathan Rea, also for Kawasaki, in Race 2, 2017. This weekend, all wins came from P7 or further back on the grid: Nicholas Spinelli from P11, Bautista from P7 and Razgatlioglu from P9.
23 – Nicholas Spinelli became the 23rd rider to achieve a podium in WorldSBK and WorldSSP, both coming in tricky conditions (Phillip Island Race 1, 2023 in WorldSSP, Assen Race 1, 2024 in WorldSBK).
14 – 14 years since the last Australian rider on the podium, Gardner took a maiden podium in World Superbike, becoming the 134th rider in history to achieve a top three.
11 – Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) took P11 in Assen Race 2, a career-best finish.
10 – Two top ten finishes in the long races for Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) in the same round for the first time since Misano last year.
9 – Only nine riders have won their maiden WorldSBK races: Davide Tardozzi (Donington Park Race 1, 1988), Doug Polen (Sugo Race 1, 1989), Peter Goddard (Oran Park Race 1, 1989), John Kocinski (Misano Race 1, 1996), Yuichi Takeda (Sugo Race 1, 1996), Max Biaggi (Lusail Race 1, 2007), Alvaro Bautista (Phillip Island Race 1, 2019) and Nicolo Bulega (Phillip Island Race 1, 2024).
8 – It’s taken eight races for Alvaro Bautista to take the lead of the Championship, achieved with a win in the Tissot Superpole Race. This is the longest it’s taken him, after he led straight away in 2019 and took three races in 2022. In 2023, like in 2019, it was immediate after Race 1 at Phillip Island.
7 – Gardner’s podium means he is the seventh Australian to achieve a rostrum for the manufacturer and the 34th rider overall. The other Australians are Mick Doohan, Peter Goddard, Michael Dowson, Andrew Pitt, Kevin Magee and Troy Corser – Corser with the most at 22 but no win.
5 – First top five finish of the season in the Superpole Race for Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) with P5.
3 – Razgatlioglu is the first rider to win three races in World Superbike this season. His three BMW wins mean he is equal on BMW wins with Chaz Davies from 2013 and a third of the way to matching Marco Melandri’s nine across the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
1 – Razgatlioglu won at Assen for the first time, which was also BMW’s first victory there. In Race 1, his P2 gave them their first podium at the track.
3/1 – Rea’s pole position with Yamaha meant he’s the 16th different rider to get a pole for the manufacturer. He also becomes the fourth rider to achieve a pole position with at least three different manufacturers (Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha). The others are Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha, Ducati and Aprilia) and Stephane Mertens (Bimota, Ducati and Honda) with three, whilst Troy Corser holds the all-time record with six (Ducati, Aprilia, Petronas, Suzuki, Yamaha and BMW).
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