After the difficult previous round in Oschersleben, Twan Smits⁠ and Team APRECO⁠ could hardly have asked for a better response at their home round in Assen. Smits claimed his first victory in EuroMoto Superbike – and followed it up with his second win just a few hours later.

The Assen weekend carried particular significance after the setback in Oschersleben, where a mechanical failure on Smits’ Yamaha R1⁠ resulted in a multi-rider crash and ultimately left him without points from the entire weekend. With the team having already competed at Assen earlier this year with a WorldSBK wildcard, returning to the Dutch circuit provided the ideal opportunity to bounce back.

Strong pace from the opening day

Conditions changed considerably throughout the weekend. Friday was extremely warm, while Saturday morning began on a wet track before conditions improved and the circuit dried.

Despite the changing conditions, Smits immediately showed strong pace. In Friday’s Superpole Pre-Practice, the Dutch rider topped the timesheets with a 1:37.146, finishing 0.428 seconds ahead of Marcel Schrötter and 0.450 seconds ahead of Markus Reiterberger.

Smits felt from the beginning of the weekend that he and the team had an advantage, although some setup work was still required.

“From Friday, we knew we had really good pace compared to the rest. We had a little bit of an edge over the others. We just had some struggles in the setup, which we managed to fix quite quickly.”

Pole position for the home favourite

Smits confirmed that speed in Saturday’s Superpole 2. On his seventh and final lap, he set a 1:37.016, securing pole position for both Sunday races.

The fight for pole was extremely close, with current championship leader Lukas Tulovic just 0.067 seconds behind on his Ducati Panigale V4R. Marcel Schrötter completed the top three, 0.445 seconds behind Smits.

One uncertainty remained ahead of Sunday. Due to the conditions throughout practice, the team had not completed a representative full-distance race simulation, leaving tyre performance over 15 laps as something of an unknown.

“We didn’t have a proper race run, so we didn’t really know how the tyres would hold out, which was a bit of a gamble. But this was the same for everyone.”

First Superbike victory in Race 1

Starting from pole position in the first 15-lap race on Sunday, Smits immediately converted his qualifying speed into race pace. Rather than becoming involved in a prolonged battle, his strategy was to get to the front and control the race at his own rhythm. It worked perfectly.

Smits crossed the line 5.426 seconds ahead of championship leader Lukas Tulovic, with Markus Reiterberger finishing third, 6.529 seconds behind the winner. Smits’ fastest lap was a 1:37.346 on lap two, while Tulovic recorded a marginally quicker 1:37.306. Over the full race distance, however, Smits had the decisive advantage.

For Smits, it marked his first victory in EuroMoto Superbike and doing it at Team APRECO’s home round made the achievement even more special.

Second win completes perfect Assen weekend

Race 2 later on Sunday initially developed into a much closer fight. Markus Reiterberger remained right with Smits at the front and continued to put pressure on the Yamaha rider.

The situation changed when Reiterberger ran wide at the end of the start-finish straight. He subsequently received a Long Lap Penalty and then went into the gravel while serving it. From that point onwards, the pressure on Smits disappeared and the Dutch rider was able to control the remaining laps with a comfortable advantage.

Smits eventually took the chequered flag 5.701 seconds ahead of Marcel Schrötter, while Tulovic completed the podium 6.513 seconds behind Smits. His fastest lap in the second race was a 1:37.367, again set on lap two. After waiting for his first EuroMoto Superbike victory, Smits had now taken two wins on the very same day.

“We had two really good races. I just tried to get out in front and ride the race at my own pace, which we did in both races. And yeah, we won, so I’m just super happy.”

The perfect response after Oschersleben

The Assen results were particularly important following the events of Oschersleben. Smits specifically highlighted the work of Team APRECO in recovering from the major accident and preparing for the home round.

“Big thanks to the team for all their efforts after the big accident in Oschersleben, which was tough for everyone. We bounced back in the best way possible.”

The maximum 50 points collected in Assen have also significantly strengthened Smits’ championship position. After five rounds, he now sits third in the EuroMoto Superbike standings with 131 points.

Championship leader Lukas Tulovic has 202.5 points, while Marcel Schrötter sits second with 156 points. Smits is therefore 25 points behind Schrötter, while holding a narrow one-point advantage over Markus Reiterberger in fourth.

After two zero scores in Oschersleben, taking his first and second Superbike victories in front of the team’s home crowd was exactly the response Smits and Team APRECO needed.