At the ninth round of the British Superbike Championship (BSB) at Assen, Scott Redding of Hager PBM Ducati took the lead right from the start in the sprint race and skillfully handled the track as rain returned at the TT Circuit. The race experienced some initial chaos when Rory Skinner’s Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha suffered a severe blowout on the warm-up lap, spilling oil on the track and causing a delay. Consequently, the race distance was cut from 12 to 10 laps. Meanwhile, Leon Haslam missed the race start due to a problem on his Moto Rapido Ducati and was shown the black and orange flag during the sighting lap to inspect the track.
Scott Redding, who started on pole after a commanding win in Race 1, managed to maintain his lead despite a hectic opening. Ryan Vickers attempted to capitalize on Haslam’s absence by pushing forward, while Bradley Ray fought to overtake Kyle Ryde. As the race progressed, Redding began to pull clear once again. Ryde stayed close behind to protect his championship lead, with Ray holding third and Vickers in fourth.
With seven laps completed, rain returned, prompting a cautious Ryde to signal he wanted the race stopped since it began dry and all riders were on slick tires. His request was denied, allowing Ray to close in. Redding remained comfortable at the front, maintaining a 0.918-second gap when the race was halted a lap later after Ray also raised his hand to protest the conditions. Ray finished second for McAMS Yamaha, while Ryde came third, frustrated for not pushing harder for second place but content to safely finish on his Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions Ducati with the championship in mind.
Vickers secured fourth for Honda Racing UK, and Max Cook climbed to fifth for AJN Steelstock Bimota. Cook’s teammate Joe Talbot had held fifth before crashing out, allowing ROKiT BMW’s Ilya Mikhalchik to overtake Jason O’Halloran and become the leading rookie in sixth place. Glenn Irwin crossed the line eighth, just ahead of Lee Jackson of DAO Racing.
Andrew Irwin made an impressive comeback following injury, climbing from 20th on the grid to finish in the top ten for MET fonaCAB Racing. Storm Stacey placed 11th for Bathams AJN Ducati, ahead of Fraser Rogers who improved from 18th to 12th on his TAG Honda. The remaining points went to Danny Kent (13th), Scott Swann (14th), who was filling in for Charlie Nesbitt at TAG Honda, and Josh Brookes (15th) for DAO Racing.
Notable BSB records at Assen stand as follows: Bradley Ray holds both the lap and pole records with a time of 1’35.579 (Yamaha, 2025), while Scott Redding set the race lap record with 1’36.032 (Ducati, 2025).
During the 2025 season at Assen, qualifying saw Bradley Ray grab pole, followed by Scott Redding and Charlie Nesbitt. Race 1 was won by Redding, Race 2 sprint by Christian Iddon, and Race 3 saw Redding again take the win. Unfortunately, Rhys Irwin and Christian Iddon were forced out before the red flag stopped the sprint race.
In the championship standings, Redding earned full points to intensify the battle with Ryde, who extended his lead from 414 to 434 points. Redding sits second with 371 points, narrowing the gap to 63, while Ray is third with 327 points. Leon Haslam remains fourth with 280 points, Vickers follows in fifth with 271, Cook is sixth at 224, and Skinner stayed on 205 points as he did not participate due to bike failure. Joe Talbot stays ahead in the rookie rankings with 124 points, while Mikhalchik trails with 87.
Sprint Race 2 Full Results at Assen:
- Scott Redding (Hager PBM Racing Team, Ducati) – 11′ 20.779s
- Bradley Ray (McAMS Yamaha, Yamaha) – +0.918s
- Kyle Ryde (Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions, Ducati) – +1.106s
- Ryan Vickers (Honda Racing UK, Honda) – +2.464s
- Max Cook (AJN Steelstock, Bimota) – +3.643s
- Ilya Mikhalchik (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) – +4.365s
- Jason O’Halloran (Honda Racing UK, Honda) – +5.444s
- Glenn Irwin (Nitrous Coin Nitrous Competitions, Ducati) – +12.009s
- Lee Jackson (DAO Racing, Honda) – +12.768s
- Andrew Irwin (MET fonaCAB Racing, Ducati) – +13.196s
- Storm Stacey (Bathams AJN Racing, Ducati) – +14.672s
- Fraser Rogers (TAG Honda, Honda) – +14.798s
- Danny Kent (Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha, Yamaha) – +15.105s
- Scott Swann (TAG Honda, Honda) – +15.966s
- Josh Brookes (DAO Racing, Honda) – +16.365s
Did Not Finish: Joe Talbot (AJN Steelstock, Bimota), Christian Iddon (Sencat Racing, Yamaha), Rhys Irwin (MasterMac Honda)
Did Not Start: Leon Haslam (Moto Rapido Racing, Ducati), Rory Skinner (Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha)
Fan Take:
This race highlighted the incredible skill and determination of Scott Redding under tricky weather conditions, which always adds excitement and unpredictability to the championship. With the points gap tightening, fans can look forward to a thrilling and closely fought showdown as the season progresses, promising intense competition and dramatic race finishes.
Source: www.crash.net
