2015 Assen World Superbike Race One Results: Will The SC0 Last The Distance?

The clouds over Assen let the sun peek through, but it was still a cold 9ºC air temperature and a 15ºC track. Pirelli advised riders that the soft A rear (SC0) likely wouldn't last the distance, but eight riders chose it anyway, including Chaz Davies and Sylvain Guintoli.

Jonathan Rea led by turn one, beating his Kawasaki teammate Tom Sykes to the apex, with Leon Haslam, Chaz Davies and Alex Lowes following. Michael van der Mark bogged down at the start, but scythed through the crowd to end up in sixth place after a few corners.

Chaz Davies got past Leon Haslam on the first lap and took second place off Tom Sykes a lap later. Alex Lowes lost sixth place with an off-track excursion, promoting van der Mark to fifth place ahead of Xavi Fores.

On lap four, Sykes passed Davies and started looking for a way past Rea, and a lap later van der Mark passed Haslam, but the top six were still very close, with Fores able to pass Haslam before van der Mark took Davies at the Chicane only to be passed back a lap later.

As the freight train dropped from a twelve wheeler to a ten wheeler, Fores dropping off the back of the pack by the eighth lap, Rea led Sykes, Davies, van der Mark and Haslam.

On lap nine Alex Lowes ran on at turn one and, as he was just making sure he would keep the bike upright in the gravel, he was swiped by a sliding bike, skittling him and his bike. His Suzuki teammate Randy de Puniet lost the front, firing his bike at Lowes and causing much consternation in the Suzuki garage. This incident, on top of the troubles Suzuki are having with last weekend's homologation switch to Magneti Marelli electronics, could have ramifications further on in the season.

Chaz Davies made a pass on Tom Sykes at the Geert Timmer chicane and, with the yellow flags from the Suzuki altercation, was unable to strike back, leaving Davies the freedom to make a break in the first half of the lap where he was stronger. Davies slotted behind Rea and sat on his back wheel, the Ducati matching the Kawasaki round most of the lap.

On lap thirteen, Michael van der Mark pushed under Tom Sykes, stealing an apex from under his nose, taking third place from him and pushing Sykes wide enough for Haslam to follow through for fourth place.

Sykes didn't recover and the front four built a gap and left him to settle for fifth place. Five laps from the end, Jonathan Rea increased the pace and while Chaz Davies could keep with him for a couple of laps, they dropped the battle for third to seconds behind.

Jonathan Rea won the race decisively, as Chaz Davies had no tyre left for the pace Rea set and Michael van der Mark consolidated his third place and took the first ever Dutch podium in the history of World Superbike, ending the year's British lock-in on the podium.

Rea extends his championship lead to thirty eight points ahead of Leon Haslam.

Results: