In winning the first - and very much shortened - race, and then a full duration Race Two Mogeda not only secured his first two career race wins in WorldSSP300, and the first race wins for his team, but he also jumped up to the top of the championship table on Sunday.
After one practice session on Friday 19 April Superpole qualifying took place for the massed ranks of WorldSSP300 riders. Foremost among them in a wet Superpole session was British rider Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project).
He was joined on the front row of the Race One grid by Petr Svoboda (Füsport-RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki), who had qualified third. Local teenage hero Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) was fourth quickest in pre-race qualifying on Friday.
In the first attempt at running Race One, which was held in dry but still not perfect track conditions, an accident involving Julio Garcia Gonzalez and Jeffrey Buis, at the entrance to the final chicane, saw the race stopped after three laps. A restart was declared over only five laps, not the scheduled 12.
In the restart Veneman launched from pole position, with Svoboda third off the line.
Given the reduced lap count an even more frantic race than usual ensued, with the fast corners and flowing final section at the classic Assen layout ensuring that no single rider could escape to make the race their own.
Daniel Mogeda and his Kawasaki Ninja 400 headed up a leading pack of eight riders as they flashed across the finish line for the final time, with only 0.765 seconds separating them all.
This was Daniel’s first WorldSSP300 race win, after scoring two previous podiums. He was visibly ecstatic on the slow-down lap and soon joined his Irish-based team in celebration of their joint success.
Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Füsport - RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki) was a strong third in the first race of the weekend, continuing his good form from the opening round in Catalunya a month ago.
Svoboda was fourth in Race One, eventually finishing ahead of Veneman, who was penalised to drop one position for exceeding the track limits on the final lap. Ruben Bijman (Team Flembbo-PL Performances Kawasaki) was seventh, placing five Kawasaki Ninja 400s inside the top seven places.
After his pole-winning performance on Friday Seabright’s five-lap Race One ride saw him finish 13th, although only 2.396 seconds behind Mogeda’s famous race win.
Some big names found misfortune in the opener, with proven race winner Bruno Ieraci (Team ProDina Kawasaki) an early faller. Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki), Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (Deza - Box77 Racing Kawasaki) and Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo-PL Performances Kawasaki) were fallers later in the very short opening race.
Race Two at Assen went the full distance of 12 laps, although a red flag was put out after the end of the race when podium finisher Veneman and the following Ieraci clashed on the slow down lap.
Mogeda was the most potent and cool-headed rider on the final laps again, taking the race win by a just 0.040 seconds from Veneman.
After the officials had checked the results and the video replays Svoboda was then promoted to third place after a rival rider was penalised, giving Kawasaki a podium clean sweep on what was a windy and cold day of action for the smallest World Championship class.
In fourth place in Race Two Inigo Iglesias Bravo even made it an all Kawasaki top four. The next Kawasaki rider home was Ieraci, in eighth place, before he accidentally tangled with the rear of Veneman’s machine on the slow-down lap. Osuna Saez would be 12th and the final Kawasaki points scorer.
In the championship standings Kawasaki riders have created a monopoly inside the top four places at present. Mogeda leads with 63 points and two race wins. Iglesias Bravo is second with 57 points and one win, from the previous Catalunya round. Svoboda is now third on 53 points and fourth is Veneman with 43 points.
In the Manufacturers Championship Kawasaki has 88 points to Yamaha’s 61, with Kove on 42 and KTM on 32.
Füsport - RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki leads the Team Standings with 110 points. Team BR Corse Yamaha is second on 67 points but thanks to Mogeda’s prowess at Assen the Team 109 Retro Traffic Kawasaki squad is now third overall, with 63 points. MTM Kawasaki is fifth, with 57 points.
The next round will take place, almost two months from now, between 14-16 June at Misano in Italy.
Rider Comments
Daniel Mogeda (Team 109 Kawasaki), stated: “I am very happy for sure. I had a good feeling in the race even in the difficult conditions. So I had to be calm. It was difficult to focus over both races because at the start of the first race, which was red flagged I had a problem. We were able to fix it for the short race. Finally I won it. It is very special first win for me and to do it with Team 109 Retro Traffic, which is a family team, I think we did an incredible job. We have done a lot of work together and this is the result. To then also win Race Two, I only have happy words. In Race Two there were a lot of riders and a lot of fighting. The only thing I have in mind now is my team, my family and my friends - all these people who stand by me in the bad moments. I am happy to lead the championship now but it is a long season and there are still a lot of races to go.”
Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Füsport - RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki), stated: “That first race was difficult and it was a difficult week all around because of the weather conditions. But I always like Assen with its big crowd supporting us. The race was good but it is a shame that there was a big crash for the red flag. We will continue to work in a good way to have fun. What was missing to win the race is that I was a little bit scared of the tricky conditions. It was better 16 points than zero points for the championship. I preferred to be second or third and make sure I could take points.”
Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki), stated: “There was a bit of strategy involved to not be in the lead on the last lap of Race Two as the wind was so strong. You could overtake a lot of people because you could gain maybe 15km/h if you have such a big slipstream. In one particular corner you could pass everybody around the outside. It was a pretty good race but I got hit from behind after the chequered flag, which was painful - but I am OK. This is my first time on the podium at Assen, at my home round, in this category. So I am really happy.”
Petr Svoboda (Füsport - RT Motorsports by SKM Kawasaki), stated: “What a crazy race that was on Sunday. I was in the front group all race long and I tried everything. I finished fourth, but like we know in this category there can be the possibility of a penalty on the table always, so now I am third and I am super-happy. The whole weekend was so difficult because of the weather conditions but we did well with the team and they have worked so hard, so thanks to them. On the next one.”
Bruno Ieraci (Team ProDina Kawasaki), stated: “An unusual race on Saturday, unfortunately, and I made a mistake in the tricky conditions. I crashed almost immediately after the race restarted, so my race didn’t last long. I was in a good position and could have fought at the front, but things didn’t go as I’d hoped. In Race Two I was able to recover well, fighting in the group and remaining competitive all the way through. The incident that took place after the chequered flag was a pity and I’m really sorry about damaging the bike. Despite that, I’m pleased to have finished eighth and scored precious championship points. Thanks to the team and all the sponsor for their ongoing support.”
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