Alvaro Bautista of Ducati has beaten Kawasaki's Jonathan Rea to pole position at the Dutch World Superbike round in Assen, Netherlands, regaining the advantage in the process.
Rea set the fastest time of the weekend on his first flying lap before teammate Alex Lowes bested the six-time world champion by over a tenth. Rea then pitted immediately, while championship leader Alvaro Bautista closed in on provisional pole.
Yamaha's Andrea Locatelli found pace on his second flying lap and jumped ahead of Dominique Aegerter for P4. With every other rider back in the pit lane, Rea opted to start his second run early, regaining the top spot.
Bautista responded to the challenge, taking provisional pole before nearly improving again on his next attempt. Rea set three red sectors and challenged Bautista but narrowly missed out on the pole in sector four but finished ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu who ended third quickest.
The pole position is an important advantage for Bautista, who is currently leading the championship standings. With his strong performance at Assen, Bautista will be looking to extend his lead and put pressure on his rivals as the season progresses.