Superbike rookie Philipp Öttl moves into third position in third free practice – Toprak Razgatlioglu fastest – factory Ducati with technical defect
Philipp Öttl (GoEleven-Ducati) put in a strong performance in the third free practice session of the World Superbike Championship at Assen. The German set the third fastest time in the final practice session before Superpole, just 0.352 seconds behind (see FT3 result)
Conditions were similar to Friday. With an air temperature of 12°C, the tarmac had warmed up to 16°C. A cool wind was blowing across the TT Circuit in Assen. On Friday, Ducati rider Alvaro Bautista was the fastest rider with a 1’34.382 lap.
World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) took the fastest time in FT3 and led the scoring with a 1’34.540 lap. Also riding strongly was Honda factory rider Iker Lecuona, who followed in second position, 0.206s behind.
However, FT3 did not go entirely smoothly for the Spanish WSBK rookie. At turn 9, Lecuona slid over the front wheel towards the gravel. The former MotoGP rider was not injured, but the Fireblade rolled over several times. Lecuona had already crashed on Friday and caused red flags.
Crash for @LecuonaIker 😩 It's been a hugely impressive FP3 for the Honda man so far.
Rider OK.#NLDWorldSBK 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/J4uMbGZxUJ
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) April 23, 2022
WM leader Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) finished FT3 in fourth position. Ducati teammate Michael Rinaldi also looked strong but had to end the session early. The factory Ducati with the number 21 was smoking. Rinaldi parked the bike in the gravel and was therefore only able to complete six laps.
BMW rider Eugene Laverty was able to get back into the action in FT3. After the crash on Friday morning (which had happened) Laverty settled for nine laps and was 4.193 seconds down.
