New day in Assen, same conditions as on Friday of rain and sun since the morning, with mixed track conditions both during qualifying and in Race 1. Unfortunately, a crash in the first sector while he was in the slipstream of Alvaro Bautista, in fight with the leading group, extinguished the hopes of rider number 29.
FP 3 started in wet conditions, with temperatures truly at the limit for motorbike racing, around 5 degrees. With a lot of water on the track, Andrea Iannone proved to be competitive and constant, fighting for the top positions, improving in every lap.
Free Practice 3:
P 1 N. Bulega 1.44.660
P 2 A. Lowes + 1.089
P 3 A. Bassani + 1.713
…
P 9 A. Iannone + 2.047
Superpole, all in Rain configuration, but a track that gradually dries out and improves from lap to lap. Perhaps the worst conditions for Andrea Iannone, not having much information and data on the Panigale derived from past years. Third row, ninth position, a fairly good session, perhaps a more aggressive electronics strategy could have been thought of, but it was difficult to calculate the rapid improvement of the track.
P 1 J. Rea 1.42.650
P 2 N. Bulega + 0.094
P 3 T. Razgatlioglu + 0.353
…
P 9 A. Iannone + 1.119
The WorldSBK riders faced the true extreme conditions on the Race 1 grid. Rain and a wet track in the first sector, the last two almost completely dry. The intermediate risk was possible, but Andrea Iannone was convinced of using the slicks. Choice shared by most of the top ranking riders on the grid. Correct choice, he starts well, placing in the first four places, then waits for the track to improve to start pushing. On the fourth lap, to avoid the flow of water generated by the riders in front of him, Andrea widens his line, touching the white line and the race ends in the gravel. That’s a pity, a good result was within reach but rider ok and no particular consequences. The race then ended seven laps early due to oil on the track, resulting in the unexpected victory of Nicholas Spinelli with the intermediate tyres, just a few moments before the slick-tyred group arrived; congratulations to Team Barni Racing!
Race 1:
P 1 N. Spinelli 25’08.898
P 2 T. Razgatlioglu + 1.979
P 3 A. Bautista + 2.089
…
DNF A. Iannone
Andrea Iannone (Rider): “Speaking about speed, it was a positive day, but with adverse weather conditions the result is always unpredictable. Not having previous data on a wet track to refer to, it was difficult to calibrate everything. There is certainly still a lot of work to do but both the team and I are trying to give our best and we will try to improve tomorrow. I’m sorry about the crash, I touched the white line, and I lost the rear, then the front closed.”
 Nuovo giorno ad Assen, stesse identiche condizioni del venerdì di pioggia e sole in alternanza fin dal mattino, con condizioni del tracciato miste sia durante la qualifica che in Gara 1. Purtroppo una caduta nel primo settore mentre si trovava in scia ad Alvaro Bautista, in lotta con il gruppo di testa, ha spento le speranze del pilota numero 29. ){kind=link}