Special home appearance at WSBK level

The WSBK round in Assen marked a special moment for Twan Smits, who competed as a wildcard entry in the Superbike class in front of his home crowd. Riding the Yamaha R1 with Team APRECO, the focus of the weekend was on gaining experience at world championship level and continuing development work under race conditions.

Consistent progress across practice sessions

Across the opening sessions, Smits focused on understanding the bike and adapting to the level of competition. Starting from P17 in FP1 with a 1:35.471, he improved consistently throughout the weekend, setting a 1:34.226 in FP3.

“We tried to improve every session and understand the bike better,” Smits explained.

Crash and rebuild before the first race

The progress was interrupted by a crash in FP3 at Turn 9, which required the team to rebuild the bike ahead of race day.

“The team did a great job fixing the bike after the crash,” said Smits.

With limited time available, the Superpole Race was used to regain direction and collect valuable data with the repaired bike.

Challenging race execution

In Superpole, Twan Smits secured P22 with a best lap of 1:34.969, setting the grid position for all races. Under race conditions, the focus shifted towards consistency and gaining experience at WSBK level. He finished Race 1 in P21 with a best lap of 1:35.980, followed by P21 in the Superpole Race with a 1:34.992. Heading into Race 2, the team made further adjustments, but struggled to find the optimal setup direction.

“Unfortunately, we went the wrong way with the setup. We made some mistakes,” Smits admitted.

He crossed the line in Race 2 in P22, setting a best lap of 1:35.892.

Valuable experience at world championship level

Despite the results, the weekend provided important insights into the demands of competing in the Superbike class at WSBK level. Racing in front of a home crowd added a special element to the weekend, while the experience gained will directly support the ongoing development.

“In the race, everything needs to come together, and this time a few things didn’t work out as we wanted,” Smits reflected.

Focus on continued development

The Assen weekend marks an important step for Twan Smits. The focus now shifts towards building on these learnings and continuing the progress in the upcoming EUROMOTO races.