No one saw this coming: Daniel Rubin (Yamaha) pulled off a one-two finish at Assen—at least in terms of points. This now makes him a direct title contender for Max Enderlein. The Saxon rider had crashed during Friday’s free practice and injured his collarbone. His team immediately headed home so that the Yamaha rider could receive further medical care back home after receiving initial treatment at the hospital in Assen. After consulting with Dr. Uwe Fischer, the race doctor at the Sachsenring, Enderlein underwent surgery at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday at the hospital in Hartmannsdorf. Trauma surgeon Alexander Zahn set the fracture in his shoulder and stabilized the injured area with a plate and six screws. Enderlein will be discharged from the hospital on Monday and plans to do everything he can to return to the title race—at least partially fit—at the Hockenheim finale in three weeks.
Daniel Rubin’s one-two finish came as a big surprise to the 22-year-old Enderlein. “I followed everything that happened at Assen. The current standings are very interesting. I can’t say how well Rubin rode because I wasn’t there, but the result surprised me.” His Yamaha teammate has closed the gap to just 12 points behind him.
The actual winner of the second race was Glenn van Straalen (Suzuki), a guest rider from the Netherlands. However, as a guest, he is not eligible for points. Rubin, who appeared to cross the finish line in second place, was therefore awarded the full number of points. Sander Kroeze finished third, followed by two other Dutch riders, Vasco van der Valk and Scott Deroue . Kevin Wahr was flagged off in sixth place but was later disqualified. The Nagold native didn’t find out about this until he was already on his way home. His team still had to appear before the technical commission. The flywheel on the YZF-R6 was not approved. “If the points are gone, then the title is out of the question,” Wahr noted disappointedly. “Even with the points, it would have been tough. I hope I can get through the two races at the Hockenheim finale without any problems. Then I’d be happy.” And what about World Championship rider Rob Hartog (Kawasaki), who was disqualified in the first race? He crashed while battling for the win on the penultimate lap.
In the Superstock 600 class , the win went to Stefan Ströhlein (Yamaha), the rider with the number “16” on his fairing. Marco Fetz finished second, and Moritz Jenkner third. Fetz leads the standings ahead of Jenkner and Ströhlein. But given how the last few races have gone, a lot can still happen.