After celebrating his first two EURO MOTO Superbike victories at his home round in Assen, Twan Smits⁠ continued his impressive run at the Nürburgring. The Team APRECO⁠ rider claimed pole position with a new lap record before winning both races on his Yamaha R1⁠.

The Nürburgring weekend also included an additional test day on Thursday, giving Smits and the team valuable track time before the official sessions began. Conditions in the Eifel were unusually stable throughout the weekend. Apart from a wet Saturday morning, the track remained dry.

With strong attendance throughout the event and a busy gridwalk on Sunday, the Nürburgring once again showed the enthusiasm for motorcycle racing in the region.

Strong from the first laps

The additional Thursday test immediately proved valuable for Smits. From the opening session, the Dutch rider felt comfortable with the R1 and was able to work from a strong base setup.

“We had a test day on Thursday, which was already really good for me. We started the first session with a really good feeling immediately on the base setup, so we already had a bit of an advantage.”

That pace continued into the official weekend. In Friday’s Superpole Pre-Practice, Smits topped the timesheets with a 1:23.592, finishing 0.139 seconds ahead of championship leader Lukas Tulovic and 0.172 seconds ahead of Marcel Schrötter.

Smits also finished the combined Free Practice classification in first position with a 1:23.809.

Pole position and a new lap record

Saturday morning brought the only significant change in conditions, with a wet track making the opening part of the day more difficult. With a 1:22.936, he secured pole position by 0.238 seconds over Tulovic. The lap also established a new lap record around the 3.618-kilometre Nürburgring layout.

More importantly, Smits felt that the team continued to find performance throughout the weekend rather than reaching the limit of the package.

“I thought the lap time would plateau a little bit, but in the end we constantly found more time and more pace. It got easier and easier to do the pace.”

Following his double victory in Assen, the performance put Smits in a strong position to extend his winning streak on Sunday.

Race 1: Smits holds off Schrötter

Starting from pole position, Smits immediately became part of a close fight at the front in the first 18-lap race.

Marcel Schrötter remained his closest challenger and even recorded the fastest lap of the race with a 1:23.319. Smits, however, kept his Yamaha at the front when it mattered.

After 18 laps, he crossed the line just 0.789 seconds ahead of Schrötter to claim his third consecutive EURO MOTO Superbike victory. Championship leader Tulovic completed the podium 4.056 seconds behind Smits.

“Going into the races, we were already confident that it would be a good race for us if we didn’t make too many mistakes and could keep our heads calm. In the end, that’s exactly what we did in both races.”

Race 2: Fourth consecutive victory

Race 2 provided an even stronger conclusion to the weekend.

Once again starting from pole, Smits controlled the 18-lap race and this time managed to create a clearer advantage over the chasing group.

His fastest lap of 1:23.285 was also the fastest lap of the race. Smits eventually crossed the finish line 3.922 seconds ahead of Schrötter, with Tulovic taking third another 0.488 seconds behind.

The result completed a perfect Nürburgring weekend: pole position, a new lap record and victories in both races.

More significantly, it marked Smits’ fourth consecutive EURO MOTO Superbike victory after already winning both races at Assen.

“Just dominant. We won all of it, and now four races in a row. It’s unbelievable. I’m really happy and a big thanks to the team.”

Momentum continues to build

The Nürburgring weekend underlined the progress Smits and Team APRECO⁠ have made with the Yamaha R1⁠.

After the difficult Oschersleben weekend, where an engine failure caused a crash in Race 1 and a hand injury prevented Smits from starting Race 2, the response has been impressive: four races, four victories.

Assen delivered Smits’ first EURO MOTO Superbike victory and immediately his second. At the Nürburgring, he added another double while also taking pole position and setting a new lap record.

With the pace of the R1 continuing to improve and Smits increasingly comfortable with the package, Team APRECO leaves the Nürburgring with another perfect race weekend and significant momentum heading into the final part of the season.