The Tissot Superpole session in the FIM Supersport World Championship was a tense and dramatic affair at the TT Circuit Assen for the Pirelli Dutch round as Championship leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) claimed pole position with a new lap record at the Dutch circuit. Bulega was 0.006s faster than the previous Superpole lap record as he claimed pole position by just over two tenths ahead of his nearest rivals.

BREAKING RECORDS: Bulega takes back-to-back poles

Bulega was on pole position at Mandalika in Round 2 and he backed that up at Assen with his second consecutive pole position as he set a 1’36.900s to go under the Superpole lap record, set by Dominique Aegerter in 2022. He was 0.203s clear of compatriot Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) in second place, his 34^th front row start, as he put in a late surge to move up the order with Caricasulo ahead of Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) will start from third place for his home round; his third front-row start.

LOOKING FOR THE PODIUM: starting from row two

Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) took fourth place as he looks to kickstart his season as WorldSSP returns to Europe, with Debise 0.693s slower than Bulega. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was fifth after a dramatic session. He crashed at Turn 1 around halfway through the session when he had gone fastest before returning to the track with time left for one flying lap. On this flying lap, he moved back up the order to take fifth place ahead of Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in sixth with the Italian fighting at the front during the Superpole session.

COMPLETING THE TOP TEN: in content at Assen

The returning Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) was seventh and 0.889s slower than Bulega at the end of the 20-minute session, with Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in eighth place as he looks to take a home win for Ten Kate Racing at Assen. German rider Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was another who briefly led the times but he dropped to ninth place as the session progressed, finishing ahead of Jorge Navarro (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) who rounded out the top ten.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from WorldSSP

Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) will lead Triumph’s charge in the Dutch Round as he took 13^th  place in Superpole, while Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE HONDA Team) was the lead Honda rider despite a technical issue towards the end of the session. Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) was the highest-placed WorldSSP Challenge rider in 17^th place on the grid, lapping 2.265s slower than Bulega’s time.

Maiki Abe (VFT Racing WEBIKE Yamaha) was the first crasher in the session when he crashed at Turn 5 after a highside off his Yamaha YZF R6 machine. He got back to the pits. 2022 WorldSSP300 Champion Alvaro Diaz (Arco Yart Yamaha WorldSSP) had a disrupted session with a technical issue ending his session with around five minutes to go. Diaz and Abe rounded out the WorldSSP field in the classification.

The top six from WorldSSP Superpole, full results here:

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’36.900s

2. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) +0.203s

3. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) +0.688s

4. Valentin Debise (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.693s
5. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.734s

6. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.803s

Watch WorldSSP Race 1 from 15:15 Local Time (GMT+1) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!