Superpole 1: Two Orgis, one Mohr – Alt on the back row

Florian Alt, Kevin and Leon Orgis, Lorenzo Zanetti, Jan Mohr and Milan Merckelbagh met at 1 pm at the exit of the pit lane at the TT Circuit Assen to take part in the Superpole 1 session. It had been raining that morning, but the track was now dry. There was no sign of the sun, and the temperatures were pleasant compared to the previous day’s heat.

All six riders took to the track straight away and set off together in pursuit of the top three places. Only by securing one of these positions could they make the cut for Superpole 2 and stand a chance of a starting place in the first three rows. However, as there are only four starting rows in total at Assen, the tension remained relatively low. Exercising the necessary caution, the riders gradually worked their way towards their personal best times in the changed track conditions.

Leon Orgis

Foto: Thorsten Horn

Alt briefly took the lead, but was immediately overtaken by Kevin Orgis, who clocked a time of 1:38.983. Behind Alt, Jan Mohr – the only Austrian in the Euro Moto Superbike class – set the third-fastest time. After two or three timed laps, most of the riders headed back to the pits. There wasn’t much time left for experimentation.

Leon Orgis was the first to head back out onto the track and snatched the fastest time from his brother Kevin with a time of 1.38.705 minutes. The others watched from the pits before Alt and Mohr reacted, hoping to turn the Superpole standings around in the final three minutes. Kevin Orgis joined them too. A fast lap was still possible before the black-and-white chequered flag brought the fun to an end.

Jan Mohr took the lead with a time of 1:38.616. However, Kevin Orgis was that famous fraction of a second – 0.010 – faster. Together with Leon Orgis, they progressed to Superpole 2. Alt, Zanetti and Merckelbagh were left out in the cold.

Jan Mohr

Foto: Thorsten Horn