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The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship headed to the historic TT Circuit Assen at the weekend, with three epic races at one of motorcycle racing’s most famous tracks. There were some big conversations after the races too, about silly season, records, fighting for wins and much more. We’ve gathered the best from the Pirelli Dutch Round for you below.

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati): “My manager is going to Jerez… At Balaton, maybe I can tell you something more”

Reflecting on his Assen triple and tying the record for consecutive wins, Bulega said: “It’s incredible. I have a very good feeling with my bike and we’re in a good situation. I know in my head, in every situation like Race 1, I know what I have to do. For sure, I’ll make a mistake. I’m really happy with my performance and with my team and my bike. In my career, I’ve had a lot of bad moments, but this is a wonderful one. I don’t think Cecconi is worried about paying bonuses! It’s very important to have a strong teammate. If you’re always first with a big gap, you get to a point where you think it’s the limit. If your teammate is strong and pushes you, it’s always very important. I don’t care about people saying that I win just because I have the best bike. The important thing is to win. My bike is the same as Iker’s, Sam’s and every Ducati. I miss Toprak, for sure. Last year we had a lot of great battles. At the moment, maybe I’ve got a bit of a step, but I think someone will get there. The first one will be Iker; he’s already very close. Maybe, at some races I don’t like as much, expect him to beat me because I’m not unbeatable.”

He also spoke about his future: “It can change because my manager is going to Jerez. He will talk to some MotoGP teams and then we will see. At Balaton, maybe I can tell you something more. After Balaton, I have the first MotoGP test at Mugello. It’s very difficult because there aren’t a lot of bikes and many very good riders, so at this moment I have to be lucky that some positions and some riders go where I want them to go. If I have to stay in WorldSBK, it’s not sad news. I’m very happy. In WorldSBK, I’m feeling very good. The whole paddock is like a family so if I don’t have the possibility to go to MotoGP, it’s not anything dramatic.”

Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team): “I got a good start in Race 2, which is nice, as last year my starts weren’t always good”

Three P3s for the #14, who said: “The two factory guys were stronger than me and riding better than me in a few key corners of the track. I got a good start in Race 2, which is nice, as last year my starts weren’t always good. My potential was third place. I need to make a step to ride on the level of these guys, but I’m not so far away. At my age, to be learning, improving and enjoying is a nice feeling! I need to find a little bit under braking a little bit with my body position. After many years in Moto2, I rush the entry a bit and don’t always get the best exit, sometimes I don’t stop as well and enter too fast. I’m very happy with three podiums, and we need to keep working to try and catch up with those two guys.”

Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati): “I know that Nicolo was thinking more about the Championship… in that moment I thought more about the victory!”

Discussing whether he felt the rain starting in Race 1 was his opportunity to win, Lecuona said: “Yeah, 100%! You can see on the screen! I like the tricky conditions a lot. I’m one of the riders who has the feeling and the confidence to push more than other riders. I know that Nicolo was thinking more about the Championship. I need to think about that as I’m P2, but in that moment, I thought more about the victory! If I crashed, I crash and I took the risk. When I attacked him, it was because I felt faster than him. He rolled off a lot. When I overtook him, he followed me and we went 1.5, 2 seconds faster because he took less risk. The rain affected my tyre; the front dropped a lot in two laps. I struggled and said I needed to roll off. Sam got to the group; Nicolo overtook me as he saved some front tyre. At Turns 3-4, 10-11, I couldn’t turn or go fast; I just had to stop the bike. I got to Parc Ferme and I said, ‘Maybe in the box, they were more stressed than me!’ In the end, no one said anything as we’re P1 and P2 in the Championship so we can race. Of course, when I overtook him, I left some margin, so it wasn’t a stupid overtake. The team gave us the chance to fight.”

Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “We knew it was going to be a tricky weekend with some challenges”

Speaking on Saturday after fighting to P7, Oliveira said: “I was happy three weekends ago. I’m satisfied with the result, the outcome is positive. We knew it was going to be a tricky weekend with some challenges. The only way to go forward is to face them all and overcome these difficulties. We had big front tyre wear, rear grip dropped. It became pretty hard for us to keep a good pace. The chatter was much better today. Since Saturday morning, I felt like I had my bike back a little bit. The bike doesn’t really like the type of corners Assen has. The bike works pretty well on the brakes, but you need to have a track which allows you to brake hard! We can fight back, which is good.”

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha): “I hope that we’ve more or less found what the problem was”

A best ‘dry’ result of the season for Locatelli in Race 1 with P6, who said: “Assen is Assen, we know our bike works a bit better here. I hope that we’ve more or less found what the problem was. I still have no idea what it was, in reality! We’ve fixed the worst feeling that I have with the bike, and it feels like my bike. It could be many things, but we’ve done a reset and from there, the feeling has come back. The bike is working a bit better so I could increase my level session by session. Considering everything, Xavi is going well, showing good potential from the beginning of the year, but he hasn’t been faster than I was last year. I know the limit and the bike very well. We have a lot of work to do to turn back and try to maximise with my bike. Having a good teammate and a faster teammate always helps to see what they’re doing differently compared to me.”

Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team): “We made a small change to the bike on Sunday morning, to try to not lose too much in the first laps”

Three fourth-place finishes at Assen for Bautista, who said: “I think it was very positive for the team to have both riders there, finishing the races and getting some important points and a lot of confidence. We made a small change to the bike on Sunday morning, to try not to lose too much in the first laps. In the Superpole Race, I felt much better but it’s with the SCX tyre, so maybe it’s different. In Race 2, it definitely worked. In the first few laps, I lost time, but not too much. The feeling was more normal. When the bike is heavier, I’m like a passenger. On Sunday, I was a passenger, but we improved a little bit, and I could ride the bike a bit better.”

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team): “After about five laps, I had big problems with vibrations and sliding from the rear”

Two P5 finishes before dropping to P11 in Race, Lowes reflected on it: “Race 2 was tough. I had a good start again, put myself in a good position, and tried to go with the Ducatis. After about five laps, I had big problems with vibrations and sliding from the rear. From there, I just tried to finish the race. We need to check why we had this problem. Apart from that, the whole weekend I felt like I maximised our package well. Apart from the last 14 laps of Race 2, I think we did well. In the last race, I couldn’t lean the bike after a few laps. It was sliding like normal, but it was difficult to ride. The fuel flow didn’t help; obviously, it’s not better, but you’re not riding the bike in one session and then changing it for the next; you start the weekend and you’re keeping it the same.”

Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team): “I think, if you look at the improvement, it’s my best weekend of two years in WorldSBK”

A difficult weekend for Montella ended on a positive note, with P5: “I think, if you look at the improvement, it’s my best weekend of two years in WorldSBK. From Friday to Sunday, I improved a lot. I’m super happy. We analysed Saturday’s data. I improved my riding style, and we improved the bike a bit; nothing big, but some small steps. The target is the top five, more or less. At Portimao, I crashed twice but I know why and that’s important as I can improve to not make the same mistakes again. We’ve made a step from last year and you can see that from this week. We had some setup problems with the bike, so I started from P11, and then I started to build my weekend.”

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