After a brilliant weekend of success at the previous SBK round at Motorland Aragon KRT riders Tom Sykes, Loris Baz and SBK Evo rider David Salom now face a circuit which is also well-known to all of them, the historic and challenging Assen.

Last time out in the 2014 Superbike World Championship series reigning world champion Tom Sykes took the championship lead after posting two wins in Spain, securing the Superpole award and a new lap record to boot.

The KRT squad was also buoyed by the continuing great early season form of Loris Baz, who in scoring two second place finishes in Spain remained in second place overall in the championship, only four points behind Tom. The upward direction of travel for the official Kawasaki effort in WSBK racing continued in Spain at the previous round as David Salom’s two great raceday rides in the SBK EVO category, despite the pain from a recent hand injury.

The challenge of Assen is a welcome one for all KRT riders, with each of them happy to go to there for the next round for their own reasons. Last year Sykes won the first race at Assen on his way to the championship win while Baz scored a podium for third place in the second race of the day last April.

Tom Sykes: “It was a good weekend for us in Aragon. I enjoyed the full weekend and the racing so I am looking forward to Assen. It is a track that in the past has given us much better results than Aragon used to so our improvement in form in Spain can be the model for us this weekend. Assen is a circuit that is great for racing, great for spectators and I enjoy the layout. In Assen you have got banked corners so it is like riding a roller coasterThe last chicane always provides some excitement as well and there is a massive grandstand right at that point, always full of fans.”

Loris Baz: “I feel really strong now, really confident with the bike. I am sure that at all the tracks, knowing where we have come from last year, we can be fast at this year. At Assen it is maybe different because I was fast there last year and made my first dry weather podium. It is one of my favourite tracks in Europe so I want to make this weekend a good one. Assen has mostly all fast corners and that is why I enjoy riding motorcycles. I love the feeling we have in those quick corners, and I have always been fast in high-speed corners. I do not know if it is because of my size, or if I am less scared than the others! I am always happy to go to Assen to race and the Superbikes are very famous in Holland, so there are always lots of fans there.”

David Salom: “I feel a little better than in Motorland Aragon as I have had lots of physiotherapy on my hand. Since Aragon I have been either resting it or working on it to be ready for Assen. I cannot push it too much. I really like the track, always did, even in my first year in WSS racing. I liked it a lot although it is not possible to relax your concentration even for a short time, because you are always changing direction. It should be good for me this time because there is not a lot of hard braking. My bike should work well there.”