Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) secured his second consecutive pole position in the FIM Supersport World Championship by a huge half-a-second margin over Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) in P2 at the TT Circuit Assen. The Turkish star had waited until his sixth season to claim his first pole, but didn’t have to wait as long for his second as he smashed the lap record in Tissot Superpole to start from P1 for Race 1 at the Pirelli Dutch Round.

LIKE BUSES: you wait ages for one pole and two come along at once…

Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was quick out of the blocks as he set a 1’36.765s, nine tenths clear of anyone else, before that gap closed as the 40-minute session progressed. However, with around 15 minutes remaining, Britain’s Booth-Amos posted a 1’36.734s to usurp the home hero to break the lap record set by Bendsneyder in the morning FP session. 0.031s separated the pair heading into the final run, despite the #11 often setting the fastest times in Sectors 1 and 2. However, with eight minutes remaining, they were both bested by Oncu who set a 1’36.184s to take a half-a-second margin over Booth-Amos and Bendsneyder. It is Oncu’s second consecutive pole after his Portimao success, which he converted into a Race 1 victory.

P6 FOR MANZI: places to gain for the Championship leader

Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) was the lead Ducati rider as he claimed fourth place with a 1’36.894s, ahead of rookie Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in P5 as the Spaniard continued to impress in the early days of his WorldSSP career. Championship leader Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) will start Race 1 from the back of the second row after claiming P6 with a 1’37.179s, lapping almost a second slower than Oncu’s pole-claiming time.

ROOKIES IMPRESS AGAIN: Cardelus P7, Alcoba P9

Xavi Cardelus (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was seventh with a 1’37.201s as he just pipped 2017 WorldSSP Champion Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) to P8, with just 0.020s separating the Andorran rider and the French star. Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) was ninth ahead of Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) in tenth.

VENEMAN, DE ROSA COLLIDE: a red flag at the end of Superpole

The session was red-flagged after the chequered flag had flown for an incident at Turn 5 involving Raffaele De Rosa (QJMOTOR Factory Racing) and Loris Veneman (EAB Racing Team). Both riders were taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. Elsewhere, at the start of the session, Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME air Racing) had a crash at Turn 11. He will start Race 1 from 32^nd place.

The top six from WorldSSP Superpole, full results here:

1. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) 1’36.184s

2. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +0.550s

3. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.581s

4. Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) +0.710s

5. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.968s

6. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +0.995s

Don’t miss WorldSSP Race 1 on Saturday at 15:15 Local Time (UTC+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!