The ADAC Northern Europe Cup riders will head to Assen this weekend to contest the final two races of the season under the banner of the British Superbike Championship. These two rounds in the Standard and the GP class should prove very exciting since neither title has been won after nine of eleven races. Riders in both categories will compete together with the British Moto3 riders in separate sessions as was the case last time out at Silverstone.
The weekend will kick off on Friday morning at 9:00am with the first of two GP practice sessions before the Standard class riders head out on the 4.555km track for their session. A 25-minute qualifying will be held on Saturday for both classes to decide grid positions for the first race.
The GP and Standard class riders will both have their first ten lap race on Saturday, with the lights going out for GP Class at 14:25pm (GMT+1) and the Standard class at 17:30pm (GMT+1). Sunday will begin with an eight-minute warm-up session for riders in both categories, before the second races of 12 laps each. At 11:30am (GMT+1) the GP class will have its decider, followed later in the afternoon by the Standard class, which gets underway at 14:45pm (GMT+1).
Standard Class: Both races separate
Dirk Geiger (15, GER) on 181 points leads in the run-up to the finale in the Standard class. “I’m preparing for the weekend just like I would for any other (race) and am doing a lot of sport. I’m focusing on winning each race as it comes so as to stay really calm and am trying not to think about the championship,” said the ADAC Sports Foundation protégé, adding: “It was apparent at the start of the season that this circuit suits me and I would like to show that it does once again.”
Philipp Freitag (20, GER) on 136 points has a tough weekend ahead of him but still intends to win the title. “I’m going to focus all my attention on taking the runners-up title and finishing second overall. At the same time, I must aim to win at Assen, because it’s one of the circuits that best suits me. I will definitely do my utmost,” said the 20-year-old German.
Leon Orgis (16, GER) in third position, is just one point down on Freitag. The 16-year-old wants to repeat his strong performance from Silverstone. “Assen is a very nice track. It has many fast corners but also a few slow sections. I’m very well prepared for the last two races and hope I can contend for the win once again,” said Orgis, who faces tough competition in the table, however, because Toni Erhard (16, GER) with 123 points and Oliver König (15, CZE) with 110 are hard on his heels in the overall standings.
Plenty of excitement in the battle for GP Class title
The top riders in the GP class are bunched even closer together. “I had a very difficult weekend at Silverstone, so I now have to win at Assen in order to take victory overall,” said Tim Georgi (17, GER), who heads the overall rankings with 145 points. “Assen suits me quite well, but the weather could be tricky, especially at this time of the year. Still, I’m already looking forward to the weekend and will do my best as always. “
However, ADAC Sports protégé Georgi faces tough competition from his own ranks, as his Freudenberg Racing team-mate Jan-Ole Jähnig (16, GER) has caught up with him on points during the season. Jähnig: “The championship is going to be exciting again, for sure. I’ll do everything I can to lift the title, although I obviously know that it’s going to be no easy task, battling it out with Tim. I’ve prepared as much as I can in order to achieve the maximum.”
Ernst Dubbink (28, NED) in third place overall with 119 points also still has a chance of winning the title, mathematically speaking. “I hope, of course, that I can win at Assen, not only with regard to the overall rankings but also because it’s my home track. I need a bit more power to pull it off, though, because I’m always at a small disadvantage down the straights compared to the others. Of course, I’ll need a bit of luck as well, and then everything should be OK,” says Dubbink, who is being pursued in the overall standings by Walid Khan Soppe (17, NED) on 96 points and Kevin Orgis (17, GER) with 93.