FIM Supersport World Championship

The Dutch Round of the championship saw a return to the classic ‘wild bunch' battles of the past, and at one stage 13 riders were all within the space of 3 seconds up at the front. Six were in with a chance of victory on the final lap, but in the end the win, his second of the year, went to Australian Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) who burst out of the final chicane on the last lap to get the better of team-mate Jonathan Rea, who had led for much of the race. Despite a Ten Kate 1-2, the result was in no way a foregone conclusion however and a number of other riders were all in with a chance of the win.

Starting with Joan Lascorz (Glaner Motocard.com Honda), whose third place was another impressive result for a man who this year is racing on a private Honda machine. The 23-year-old from Spain now leads the table from Pitt by a margin of 20 points. Broc Parkes and Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) took fifth and fourth place respectively at Assen, but were slightly outgunned by the Honda machines. Joshua Brookes (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsport Honda) was back on the pace at the last round, but his fifth place is now coming under attack from two British riders, Rea and Parkalgar Racing Honda's Craig Jones, also a potential winner in the Netherlands.

Superstock 1000 FIM Cup

The Superstock 1000 classification has taken on an unfamiliar look, as two possible title winners Claudio Corti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) and Brendan Roberts (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) both made errors and crashed out of the second round at Assen. As a result the race win and points leadership went to 18 year-old Maxime Berger (Hannspree IDS Ten Kate Honda). The Frenchman, who dominated last year's Superstock 600 series, has immediately got to grips with the 1000 category and with Sebastien Charpentier as his team manager, he now has a promising future in this championship as well. Belgium's Xavier Simeon (Alstare Suzuki) is just a couple of points behind his French rival, with Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) the same distance away from second place. Italians Davide Giugliano (Cruciani Suzuki) and former champion Alessandro Polita (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati) are currently in fourth and fifth place respectively, while the ultra-fast Monza circuit will probably be another penalizing track for René Maehr on the bright orange KTM RC8.

European 600 Superstock Championship

Two races down and two different winners in Superstock 600 as well, as the 19-year-old ex-250 GP rider Dan Linfoot (Beowulf Racing Yamaha) from the UK takes over at the top from 15-year-old French youngster Loris Baz (YZF Yamaha Junior Team). Italian Daniele Beretta (Cruciani Moto Suzuki Italia) will be looking to do well in front of his home crowd, while Patrick Vostarek (Intermoto) from the Czech Republic is the first Honda rider in the table in fourth place.

About Monza

The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is a place that has always produced outstanding racing, slipstreaming action at speeds of over 300 kph, demon late braking moves and uncertainty right down to the line. It is located near the town of Monza, north of Milan and is one of the most historic motor racing circuits in the world. It is notable for the fact that riders are on full throttle for a higher-than-average percentage of the lap due to its long straights and is clearly the fastest circuit on the WSBK calendar. Noriyuki Haga set a new record lap for motorcycles in Superpole last year, 1'44.941 (198.729 km/h) on a Yamaha, while Michel Fabrizio clocked 322.7 km/h at the end of the pit straight on a Honda, the highest speed ever reached by a production-based Superbike in the world championship.