Smits Takes Double Glory at Assen, Bijman Penalized

Sunday at TT Circuit Assen turned into a stage for Twan Smits. The Dutch Yamaha rider was flawless, winning both EURO MOTO Superbike races and scoring his first-ever victories in the class. However, home euphoria was slightly dampened in Sportbike when Ruben Bijman lost victory due to a track limits penalty.

Smits began the day with trouble. His Yamaha R1 stalled during warm-up due to a faulty ECU fuse. The team quickly fixed the issue before the first race. Despite starting from pole, Smits was initially behind Lukas Tulovic, who had a better start. Tulovic, forced to keep his Ducati under 15,600 rpm due to technical restrictions, led early. But Smits remained patient, waiting for the right moment.

That moment came on lap seven. Smits passed Tulovic and never looked back, finishing ahead of Tulovic and Markus Reiterberger. This win was especially meaningful as he had a heavy crash at Oschersleben just two weeks prior and raced with a wrist brace.

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In race two, Smits led from the start. Reiterberger applied heavy pressure but made a mistake, earning a long lap penalty and dropping out of contention. Smits pulled away, finishing 5.7 seconds clear of Marcel Schrotter, who took second. This double victory marked his first two wins in the class, an outstanding achievement in front of his home crowd.

In Sportbike, Ruben Bijman looked set for victory, crossing the line first, but drama unfolded after the race. Stewards reviewed the final lap and found Bijman and Stepan Zuda exceeded track limits at turns 17 and 18. Both received a one-position penalty, handing the win to Tobias Kitzbichler. Bijman dropped to second but remained proud of his weekend performance.

“The last lap was going well, but at the second-to-last corner I might have exceeded track limits. I have to accept the decision,” said Bijman. “Still, it was a great weekend. Two podiums and my first win on Saturday is something no one can take away.”

Meanwhile, Dirk Geiger was again the star in Supersport. The 24-year-old German won race two in style, completing a clean sweep at Assen. He finished well ahead of Daniel Blin and Lennox Lehmann. This victory underscored Geiger's and his team's dominance in the class.