Jonathan Rea earns best result of season to date at Assen as Nicholas Spinelli claims shock victory on debut

A rain shower before the start gave riders a tyre selection dilemma, with Spinelli – called into the Barni Ducati team as a replacement for the injured Danilo Petrucci – opting for intermediates.

With most of the main contenders choosing slicks with the expectation the track drying out, Spinelli was able to power through from 11th on the grid to open a lead of 4.5s by the end of the first lap.

The 22-year-old extended his advantage to almost 26s seconds after six laps but as the track began to dry, he was soon being hunted down by reigning champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW Motorrad).

Rea, who sealed his first pole position for the Pata Prometeon Yamaha team at a circuit where he has won a record 17 times in tricky conditions, led into the first corner on the opening lap but dropped as low as 10th before fighting his way through into the top six.

As the race unfolded, Spinelli’s lead was being rapidly wiped out by Bautista and Razgatlioglu, who had broken free of Remy Gardner (GRT Yamaha), Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team), Rea and Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad).

Razgatlioglu went through to second with a pass on Bautista into the final chicane with seven laps to go and inevitably would have taken the lead from Spinelli by the end of the next lap.

However, the race was red-flagged with six laps left due to oil on the track at Turn 15 and a result was declared.

Spinelli emerged as a shock winner by 1.9s from Razgatlioglu and Bautista, with Gardner 2.7s further back in fourth.

Lowes was next ahead of Rea, who held of Van der Mark for sixth.

Nicolo Bulega, who led the championship going into round three at Assen, was 11th on the Aruba.it Ducati.~

Andrea Iannone was a faller on the Team Go Eleven Ducati.

World Supersport champion Bulega still leads the standings, albeit by a single point from Bautista and Razgatlioglu, who are tied in second with 91 points.

Rea is in 15th place on 18 points after his second points-scoring finish of the season.

The Superpole race takes place on Sunday at 10:00 BST with Race 2 at 13:00 BST.