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After a Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) tour de force at Portimao, he and the rest of the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid packed up and set off on their annual pilgrimage to the most hallowed circuit on the calendar. The Netherlands’ TT Assen Circuit has hosted more races than any other venue on the WorldSBK calendar, and this year was no different; however, this year the historic ‘Cathedral of Speed’ featured a host of new faces on the rostrum. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) won his first WorldSBK race after years of accumulating podium finishes, garnished by a Race 1 P2. Joining him in maiden milestone celebrations, British rider Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) gave the first showing of the form he would exhibit in the season from that point on, earning not only his first pole but claiming his first podium in the Tissot Superpole Race.

AT LONG LAST: ‘Loka’ becomes Yamaha’s third winner at Assen behind Haga and Spies

Locatelli has competed in WorldSBK since 2021, riding with Yamaha his entire career so far in the Championship. The Italian rider has carved out a niche for himself, regularly finishing within the top five and frequently fighting for podiums. Despite his 151 races and 22 podiums in blue, Locatelli had never had the glory of a race win, but after a podium at Portimao and a P2 in Race 1, his chances looked as good as ever. At lights out in Race 2, by Lap 2, he had closed to third place after his fourth-place start position. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) charged past him with a head full of steam after a frustrating Superpole Race tech issue DNF. One by one, Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) began to drop down the order, leaving Locatelli in a solitary P2 with more than a second ahead of Bautista in P3, yet more than a second behind Bulega in the lead. Suddenly, as Locatelli followed Bulega across the line to start the 20^th lap of the race, Bulega pulled off the side, his bike refusing to accelerate further. Locatelli didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, sailing past him and finishing the job to lead Bautista and Gardner onto the podium for his first WorldSBK race win. That Race 2 victory snapped a 54-race win drought for Yamaha; their previous winner was the #54 Razgatlioglu back in 2023.

MAIDEN POLE + PODIUM COMBO: Sam Lowes honed his Superpole speciality at Assen

Sam Lowes made the switch over to WorldSBK last season after nine years riding in Moto2. Lowes had performed well in the intermediate category, earning 10 wins and 26 podiums in his time there. His 2024 rookie season was a bumpy affair, plagued by injuries; the #14 wasn’t quite able to get into a rhythm on top of his Ducati machinery. In 2025, the Englishman’s big break came at Assen’s Superpole. With 20 Moto2 pole positions, Sam Lowes holds the most all-time in the intermediate category; however, he had yet to earn one in WorldSBK. On Saturday at Assen, that all changed when his 1’32.596s time outpaced Bulega by 0.164s to earn his maiden pole. On Sunday morning, Superpole specialist #14 started from P1; however, after botching his launch, he found himself back in P8 by the start of the second lap. Overcoming the rest of the field, he found himself in P3 behind Bulega and Razgatlioglu by the start of Lap 4 for what would have already been his best WorldSBK finish. The deal got even sweeter for the Ducati independent rider when, in front of him, Bulega was forced to retire with a tech issue, bumping Lowes up to P2 for his maiden podium. Coincidentally, 11 years before at the same track, his brother Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) earned his first WorldSBK pole and podium here.

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