TT Circuit Assen played host at the weekend to Round 10 of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, as the series travelled to The Netherlands to a familiar circuit for Honda Racing’s duo Xavi Forés and Andrew Irwin from their time on the world stage.
Both Forés and Irwin showed solid pace across the weekend in all sessions, which was not always reflected in the timesheets. Sunday’s opening race got underway in near-perfect conditions at the 4.545km track and with Forés starting 12th and Irwin 18th, both had some work to do aboard the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2.
Forés had a good start off the line but was pushed wide going into the first corner. However, digging deep and using his circuit knowledge he carved his way back through the group to eventually cross the line fifth. Teammate Irwin also enjoyed a solid race coming from 18th on the grid, making his way through the pack to finish 11th
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For the second race Forés had a better starting position and started from the second row in sixth place. However, a mistake early on saw the Spaniard drop back and again had to make up places in the strong pack ahead. Once past [Peter] Hickman and [Jason] O’Halloran, Forés was looking strong, but with time lost overtaking his rivals, he wasn’t able to catch the front group and came home in sixth place.
Meanwhile Irwin started from 16th and made his way through the pack to finish 12th. The 25-year old is suffering slightly from a crash in Saturday’s Qualifying but throughout both races he was able to improve his lap times and start building back confidence after a few difficult rounds.
The Honda Racing team will now look forward to the penultimate round of the 2019 Bennetts British Superbike Championship with Round 11 taking place at Donington Park in two weeks time (4/5/6 October).
