Unbelievable: Nicholas Spinelli won race 1 in Assen worthy of Hollywood.

Nicholas Spinelli was the unlikely winner of the first race of the Superbike World Championship in Assen, achieving victory in his first time competing in the championship. The race was called off seven laps from the end due to a lot of oil on the track, with the Italian leading but seemingly on the verge of losing many positions. It is worth noting that Spinelli is competing in this round of the championship as a substitute for the injured Danilo Petrucci.

Complicated conditions at the start of the race. The track was wet, but the sun was shining. Some riders opted for at least one slick tire, but at the start it began to rain heavily, promising to mix things up.

🚀 #WorldSBK RACE 1 IS UNDERWAY here at Assen! 🚀@jonathanrea takes the lead position at the first corner🔥#DutchWorldSBK 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/wZKPxvQrKI

— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) April 20, 2024

Good start from Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) to maintain the lead from pole position, while Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven/Ducati) moved up to second. Still in the first lap, Rea lost positions, while Spinelli (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) surprised with rain tires and not only moved up to first, but also pulled away.

At the end of two laps, the Italian rookie already had an impressive nine-second advantage over Axel Bassani (Kawasaki), with Iannone in third and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW) in fourth. The positions at the front were changing, and only two riders consistently held podium positions: Spinelli and Bassani. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) was in second on the fourth lap, when Spinelli already had a lead of over 24 seconds. The rain stopped and the sun began to shine, promising to shuffle the deck again – especially for Spinelli, who had two rain tires. On the fourth lap, Iannone crashed and retired.

If the leader was still very far ahead, the rest of the pack was very close, with constant position changes. With the end of the rain, Spinelli’s lead began to gradually decrease. Razgatlioglu reached second place and Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) was in third on the eighth of the 21 laps. The leader was 21 seconds ahead, and only the first sector allowed him to distance himself from his pursuers.

As the laps went by, it became evident that it would be very difficult for Spinelli to win: the margin was getting shorter and shorter, with rain tires being a disadvantage as the track dried. Bautista was in second place, managing to gain a slight advantage over Razgatlioglu.

On lap 14, a change in second place, with Razgatlioglu overtaking Bautista in a spectacular way, thus taking on the pursuit of Spinelli. A twist seven laps from the end. Just when it seemed that Spinelli would be overtaken and swallowed by the pack inevitably, a red flag was shown due to the conditions of the asphalt: there was oil on the track left by Locatelli’s Yamaha when the engine failed moments before.

The race direction decreed that the race would not be resumed, as two thirds of the distance had already been completed. Thus, Spinelli was declared the winner, with Razgatlioglu in second and Bautista completing the podium. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) completed the top five ahead of Rea.