Dirk Geiger⁠ delivered one of his strongest weekends of the season at Team APRECO’s home round in Assen. Despite having to start Race 1 from the pit lane as a consequence of the engine change in Oschersleben, the German fought his way back to the front and ultimately claimed victory. One day later, he followed it up with another win in Race 2 to complete the double and take the championship lead.

After the difficult circumstances surrounding the previous round, Assen could hardly have gone better for Geiger and Team APRECO⁠.

From the opening practice onwards, he felt comfortable on the Yamaha R9 ⁠and consistently set the benchmark in the Supersport field.

Geiger sets the pace from Friday onwards

Friday immediately underlined Geiger’s potential around the 4.555-kilometre TT Circuit Assen. He topped the combined Free Practice classification with a 1:40.547, finishing 0.561 seconds ahead of Luca Göttlicher and 0.890 seconds ahead of teammate Lennox Lehmann⁠.

That advantage became even clearer in qualifying. Geiger secured pole position with a 1:40.351, beating Göttlicher by 0.439 seconds and Lehmann by 0.574 seconds. For Geiger, the feeling on the bike was there from the very beginning.

“It was a perfect weekend. I felt extremely comfortable right from the beginning. The team did a top job and I was always able to do exactly what I wanted with the bike. We were setting incredible lap times and had really strong pace.”

However, pole position would not determine his starting position for the first race.

Pit-lane start creates a completely different challenge

Following the precautionary engine change after Race 1 in Oschersleben, Geiger was required by the regulations to start Race 1 in Assen from the pit lane.

It was the second and final race affected by the penalty, after he had already started Race 2 in Oschersleben from the pit lane.

Instead of beginning the race from pole position, Geiger therefore had to watch the entire field disappear towards Turn 1 before he could begin his comeback.

“Then there was the small challenge of having to start the first race from the pit lane. In the end, everything really played into my hands.”

Geiger immediately made progress through the field and gradually reduced the gap to the leading group. His pace remained strong throughout the 13-lap race, while the battles at the front helped him close the remaining distance in the final stages.

From the pit lane to victory

In the closing stages, Geiger continued to close in as the leading group began battling amongst themselves.

“I got away perfectly and made my way through the field really well. In the final laps, the leading group started fighting quite a bit, which helped me close the gap and ultimately put me in a position to fight for the win.”

The final lap became particularly dramatic. Lennox Lehmann⁠ had been fighting at the front but crashed while leading on the final lap, taking him out of contention.

Geiger continued his charge and crossed the finish line just behind Daniel Blin. However, the order on track was not the final result. Blin had received a three-second time penalty for a shortcut during the race. Once the penalty was applied, Geiger was promoted to first place, completing an extraordinary victory after starting from the pit lane.

Geiger also produced his fastest lap of the entire race on the final lap with a 1:40.567.

The official classification therefore confirmed Geiger as the winner, with Luca Göttlicher second just 0.070 seconds behind. Blin was classified third, 2.989 seconds behind Geiger after the penalty had been applied.

Starting from the pit lane and still taking the full 25 points made the result one of the standout performances of Geiger’s season.

Race 2: Geiger leaves nothing to chance

For Sunday’s second race, the situation was completely different. This time Geiger was able to start from pole position and knew his rivals would have analysed Saturday’s performance closely.

“For Race 2, I knew exactly what I had to do. Of course, I also knew that the others wouldn’t be sleeping overnight and that they would find more pace as well.”

That proved to be the case, but Team APRECO⁠ found another step with the Yamaha R9⁠ and gave Geiger the package he needed to remain in control.

Geiger set a 1:40.187 on lap three – his fastest race lap of the weekend – and eventually crossed the line 1.802 seconds ahead of Daniel Blin.

Lennox Lehmann⁠ bounced back from Saturday’s crash to complete the podium in third, 3.628 seconds behind his teammate.

“The team still managed to do another great job and gave me that little bit extra. That allowed me to simply ride my pace without anyone being able to challenge me.”

Maximum points and championship lead

With victories in both Assen races, Geiger collected the maximum 50 points from the weekend.

More importantly, the results changed the situation at the top of the EuroMoto Supersport championship.

After Assen, Geiger leads the standings with 193 points. Daniel Blin follows with 180 points, giving Geiger a 13-point advantage heading into the next round. Lehmann remains third with 140 points.

The Assen double also continued Geiger’s remarkable run of results. After winning Race 1 in Oschersleben and finishing fourth from the pit lane in Race 2, he followed up with two more victories in the Netherlands.

For Geiger, the home round of Team APRECO⁠ therefore delivered almost everything possible: pole position, two race victories, 50 championship points and the championship lead.

“It was a perfect weekend for the team and for me. APRECO, the whole team and Yamaha Germany give me the opportunity to show my potential.”