SPB: Bijman Wins Thrilling Home Race, Buis Makes a Crazy Start

What a first race for the EURO MOTO Sportbike series in Assen. Ruben Bijman (Freudenberg RoRa Paligo Racing) celebrated his first victory in front of his home crowd. Guest rider Jeffrey Buis (Track & Trades Wixx Racing) made the race even more spectacular. The Dutchman started from last place and was already in the lead after the first lap. In the end, he fell just 0.035 seconds short of victory. Jakob Rosenthaler (RT Motorsports) made a comeback, finishing third on the podium.

The first lap clearly belonged to Buis. Because he hadn’t met the qualifying standard on Saturday morning, the World Championship rider had to start the race from the back of the grid. What happened next surprised even him. Buis got off to a lightning-fast start, was already in fourth place after the fourth turn, and actually came back as the leader after the first lap. Sixteen places in just one lap.

“I was surprised myself to move from the very back to the very front so quickly after the start. That was a crazy first lap,” said Buis. It wasn’t easy after that, though. “I didn’t have as much power on the straights with the Suzuki, but I was able to make up ground again and again in the corners. That was really good.”

A five-rider breakaway quickly formed at the front, consisting of Buis, Bijman, Tobias Kitzbichler (ViVa by Peuker & Streeb), Stepan Zuda (Freudenberg RORA PALIGO Racing), and Rosenthaler. Bijman, in particular, was strong on the brakes and repeatedly fended off the attacks. The lead changed hands several times. After Buis, Bijman took the lead first; by the halfway point of the race, Zuda was in front, and shortly thereafter, Kitzbichler moved into the lead.

In the final laps, the five riders closed in on each other once again. With two laps to go, Buis edged past Zuda. Rosenthaler also stepped up the pressure and put himself in position for the final.

Then came the final lap. Bijman launched the decisive attack on Kitzbichler and passed him. Buis also tried his luck. Kitzbichler fought back, braked late, and his motorcycle began to wobble. The Austrian managed to avoid a crash, but had to swerve onto the grass beside the track and dropped back to fifth place.

Bijman seized the opportunity and secured his first victory in the Sportbike class, crossing the finish line just 0.035 seconds ahead of Buis. “It felt really good to lead for most of the race. I felt very strong on the bike and realized as early as the third lap that today was really my day. In the end, it turned into a really tough battle once again. That makes it all the more special that I finally managed to secure my first win—and right here at home in Assen,” Bijman said happily.

Rosenthaler Back on the Podium

Behind the two Dutch riders, Rosenthaler made a comeback. The Austrian gave it his all in the final stretch to secure crucial points in the title race and crossed the finish line in third place. He was just 0.425 seconds behind Buis. Zuda followed in fourth place, just eleven thousandths of a second behind. This meant the top four riders finished within less than half a second of each other.

For Rosenthaler, the podium finish was especially important after the difficult weeks he’d been through. “It’s not easy to get back to my former form after the injury. In Oschersleben, I was still struggling a lot with pain. Unfortunately, this weekend didn’t get off to the best start either, with the two crashes. But to be back on the podium now, despite everything, means I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel again,” said the Austrian.

Championship leader Zuda narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth, but still earned another 16 points. Kitzbichler managed to hold on to fifth place despite a scare on the final lap. He also set the fastest lap of the race. On lap five, Kitzbichler clocked a time of 1:45.447 minutes, making him the fastest rider in the race.

Behind them, Kiyano Veijer (Dutch Talent Racing) prevailed in the Dutch battle among the chasing pack and finished sixth ahead of Julian van Kalkeren (SRTD Pearle Gebben) and Tom Kuil (RT Motorsports). Mika Siebdrath (Freudenberg RORA PALIGO Racing) rode alone in ninth place for long stretches and held that position all the way to the finish. He was neither satisfied with the result nor did he have any feel for his front wheel or his bike during the race, he explained after the race. Maksymilian Palmowski (SP Race Project) rounded out the top ten.

Luis Rammerstorfer (Freudenberg RoRa Paligo Racing) had some bad luck. On lap nine, he collided with Rick Kooistra (SRTD Pearle Gebben). Both were able to continue, but lost a lot of time. Kooistra finished 14th, while Rammerstorfer crossed the finish line in 17th place. After the race, Rammerstorfer received a penalty: The stewards deemed his maneuver too aggressive. As a result, he must serve two long-lap penalties in Sunday’s second race.

EURO MOTO Sportbike, Race 1