Dutch MotoGP: Bagnaia rules supreme at Assen

It was a complete Francesco Bagnaia show as he claimed the pole and dominated the Sprint from start to finish. The defending champion crossed the finish line 2.3 seconds ahead of his title rival Jorge Martin from Pramac and Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales. Initially, the first three positions on the starting grid for Sunday’s race were supposed to remain the same as the Sprint result but Martin was handed a three-place grid penalty. 

Dutch MotoGP Sprint: Flawless Pecco

Ducati’s ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia enjoyed an almost perfect start, leading the pack throughout the entire Sprint. Initially, Martin closely pursued the Ducati leader, suggesting another intense showdown between the two racers. However, by the midpoint of the 13-lap Sprint, Bagnaia had entered a class of his own with his blistering pace. While Bagnaia and Martin had a comfortable lead ahead, Gresini’s Alex Marquez managed to, secure third place for the initial two laps. Vinales was not content to stay behind, reclaiming third place, and from there, it was cruise control for the top three till the finish line.

The fourth place was hotly contested by Alex Marquez and KTM’s Brad Binder with Enea Bastianini of Ducati, Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro and Fabio Di Giannantonio from VR46 looking for any opportunity to create an upset. Before the KTM racer could overtake the Gresini rider, Bastianini zipped past him and then a lap later snatched fourth place from Alex. 

Dutch MotoGP Sprint: Miss firing Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez, known for his aggressive riding style, faced a setback during the qualifiers and later in the Sprint. Beginning from seventh position, the Gresini rider had moved up two places within the first few laps. However, as the race was looking promising for the Spaniard, he misjudged Turn 3, entered too fast, and consequently slipped, sliding out of the Sprint. This incident marked the first time this season that he failed to score points.

The qualifiers weren’t much to rave about either for Marquez as he crashed in Turn 7 while overtaking. According to Marquez, he touched a bump and crashed out. 

Dutch MotoGP Qualifying: Martin gets grid plenty 

Jorge Martin remains the championship leader, yet he has received a three-place grid penalty from the FIM stewards. Initially set to start second, the Pramac rider will now begin from fifth position, promoting Vinales and Alex Marquez to second and third places, respectively. The stewards penalized Martin for holding up other riders by riding slowly.

The qualifying session was tightly contested between Martin and Bagnaia, with the latter needing to set a new track record to secure pole position, which he achieved. Bagnaia recorded a time of 1 minute and 30.540 seconds, narrowly beating Martin by 0.081 seconds.