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Tag: Assen
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Hat-trick hero: Bagnaia retains Assen crown ahead of Martin, penalty for Marquez
It’s now 10 points in it at the top of the table and a little further back to #MM93 after a tyre pressure penalty sees the eight-time World Champion classified tenth.
Assen, 30 June 2024: Francesco Bagnaia‘s Motul TT Assen couldn’t have been better. The Ducati Lenovo Team rider did the double from pole, with a Sunday masterclass cutting the Championship deficit to just 10 points as Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) was forced to follow him home and focus on limiting the damage. Bagnaia is the first rider to win three successive MotoGP™️ Grand Prix races in a single season since he did it in 2022 with four in a row from Assen to Misano, it’s his third win in a row at the TT Circuit Assen, and he equals Casey Stoner’s 23 wins with Ducati to tie the MotoGP™ Legend as the two most successful riders with the Borgo Panigale factory. All that said, Martin will now look to use his right of reply in Germany.
Meanwhile, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) charged up from a tougher qualifying to complete the podium, denying Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing). Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) was also denied after crossing the line in fourth, with a tyre pressure penalty dropping him to P10.
As the lights went out, Bagnaia nailed the start to take the holeshot, with Viñales just holding onto second to deny Martin. Still, the #89 launched it to near perfection from his P5 after that three-place penalty, and soon enough he did get it done to take over in second. Marc Marquez, meanwhile, was on the march and soon put his own moves on Viñales to slot into third.
That duo stayed glued together as the battle behind was hotting up. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) had shot up past front-row starter Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), but soon it was Di Giannantonio on the move, and he made it past Acosta at Turn 1, caught the Marquez-Viñales duo and then pounced on the Aprilia at the final chicane. Next up: #MM93.
By 19 to go, the yellow flash of the VR46 machine went past, but with Marquez also seeming to gesture at the Italian and make it a little easier for him too. Expecting to have been in a group fight and set up for it? Wanting a reference to follow? Either way, the two Ducatis stayed close together, with Viñales on their tail and Acosta on his. Lap by lap, however, Bastianini was cutting the deficit to the podium battle.
He made it past the rookie by nine to go, and a lap later the group shuffled again. Diggia was wide, Marc Marquez didn’t seem to want to take advantage, and Viñales shot past both. Bastianini was then right on that trio once again, and by seven to go was past Diggia. A lap later he did a near carbon copy on Marquez to take over in fourth, with a bit of a closer racing kiss for the #93, who headed wide but recovered it in time to keep Di Giannantonio at bay. At the time, anyway, before the two started duelling, Acosta got involved once more, and it looked like Viñales and Bastianini had disappeared up the road. But not so.
At the final chicane, the ‘Beast’ struck for the podium and got past Viñales with four full laps remaining, and from there the group couldn’t quite stay with him. By the penultimate lap it then looked like a Viñales-Marquez duel for the podium, but there was still drama to come.
On the final lap, Acosta slid out at Turn 7, and then Viñales headed just wide enough to allow Marquez through, leaving it an Aprilia-VR46 drag to the line for fifth instead. But when all is judged and confirmed, Viñales was forced to drop one position due to exceeding track limits at the chicane, promoting Diggia to fifth, and then the tyre pressure penalty for Marquez saw the #93 drop to P10.
When the dust settles, Bagnaia’s masterclass puts the cherry on top of a weekend that saw him top every session bar Warm Up, but Martin took a valuable second. Bastianini takes back-to-back podiums to recover from a P10 qualifying, and it’s Diggia classified fourth ahead of Viñales, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) taking P6 after a quiet but valuable ride. Alex Marquez takes P7 ahead of a solid result for Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) in eighth, with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) next up ahead of the #93 completing the top ten. Check out the full results below.
Unfortunately, one piece of tougher news on the grid was for Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), who suffered a big crash at Turn 1 and was declared unfit for a right wrist fracture.
Now, the paddock heads for Germany. It’s ten points in it, a venue we’ve seen Martin deny Bagnaia before… and some of the most successful turf Marc Marquez has ever raced. Will the number 93 be able to find that form at one of his true signature tracks, or do his rivals have a statement of their own up their sleeves? Join us next weekend to find out!
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Bagnaia slams in new lap record to edge out Viñales at the Cathedral: MotoGP
Assen, 28 June 2024: With rumours, tension, and excitement swirling around the paddock at the Motul TT Assen as we get back in gear, the battle for direct entry to Q2 did not disappoint in the hour-long Practice session on Friday afternoon. Ending the day at the top of the timesheets it’s Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), who completed a perfect day in the Netherlands. The #1 set a blistering time early on in Practice before improving later in the session, setting a brilliant 1:31.340. In a remarkable stat, Bagnaia going fastest in the first session on Friday was also the first time he’s ever done that in the premier class, despite two premier class World Championships and a full CV by nearly every metric.
Nevertheless, it was close at the top by the end of the all-important afternoon Practice session, with Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) claiming second after improving yet again on his final fast lap – ending the day only 0.065s shy of Bagnaia. Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) had a positive end to Friday after a magnificent lap allowed the #73 to round out the top three, leading the chasing pack but with a small deficit to the top duo… and one he’ll be looking to bridge on Saturday.
It was a dramatic session throughout which all came down to the final 15-minute time attack. Bagnaia was at the top as red sectors began to pop up everywhere, and it was Viñales who took over for the first time this weekend. Bagnaia soon responded on his next flying lap, however, securing that P1.
There would be drama heading into the final run elsewhere though, with Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) having a close moment with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), but utlimately no hard done.
Further back, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) took fourth and showed great pace throughout the session – completing over 20 laps. However, the #41 suffered a crash in the closing minutes at the final corner, ending his session just before the flag came out. He’s been given the all clear and passed fit to race, but remains a little bruised. Behind the Spaniard was compatriot Martin, who rounded out the top five.
Sixth place went the way of Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), who had an incredible front-end save during the session – improving on his 22nd lap. Brad Binder was next up, flying the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing flag inside the top 10 with his teammate Miller down in 18th place at the end of Friday.
Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) held onto eighth place and a spot inside Q2 despite suffering from a crash of his own with three minutes to go. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) took ninth as his solid form continues to hold, with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) taking the final spot inside the top 10 and the final direct entry spot into Q2.
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) was the rider in P11 just missing out, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and his teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio. They’ll be some of the first looking to attack in Q1 to move through. Join us on Saturday morning for that, before the Tissot Sprint lights up the TT Circuit Assen.
FP2: 10:10 (UTC +2)
Q1: 10:50
Q2: 11.15
Tissot Sprint: 15:00 -
Dutch Grand Prix: Assen, where myth and magic collide at the ‘Cathedral’
The iconic Assen TT cirdcuit. Photo: MotoGP Assen, 26 June 2018: Since the beginnings of the Dutch TT way back, much has changed, but not the heart and soul of one of the most iconic races on the calendar. Amongst the green fields of the picturesque Drenthe province nestles a true classic, now an 18-apex racetrack made of equal parts courage and precision. It has been a hundred years since motorcycles first raced near the town of Assen, and the track we know today began to appear half a century ago with the finish line the very same today, unchanged since the 1950s. The only track to have remained on the calendar since 1949, the TT Circuit Assen is drenched in magic and myth, and this is the 70th time the event has counted towards the World Championship; a year to remember.
Jorge Lorenzo. Photo: MotoGP In 2018, the MotoGP™ grid arrive in the Netherlands in the shadow of one man: Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team). After two dominant victories in which the ‘Spartan’ was uncatchable and unmatchable, he’s now ahead of teammate Andrea Dovizioso in the Championship for the first time since he joined the Borgo Panigale factory. If he wins at Assen, he will become only the second Ducati rider to win three races in a row, after Casey Stoner. But the Circuit van Drenthe hasn’t always been kind to the number 99 with Lorenzo having taken only one premier class win at the track, in 2010, but for every bad memory, such as a broken collarbone sustained at the track in 2013, there’s a counterpoint, such as the Spaniard’s ride through the pain barrier that same weekend, taking a superhuman fifth place.
Valentino Rossi. Photo: MotoGP His teammate Andrea Dovizioso will be wanting to reverse the swing of momentum within the garage, however. The number 04 doesn’t have the most impressive record at the track, but he may have an ace card if it rains, having always been one of the best in difficult conditions.
But that’s often been true of the master of Assen, Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), who has made the magic happen no less than ten times. Pencilled in as a threat at the Dutch track even before the season begins, the rider from Tavullia will be looking to paint the stands yellow. In addition, as well as contributing ten wins to the ‘Doctor’’s stunning record, the TT Circuit Assen was also the stage of his most recent victory, taken in 2017. That’s the last time a Yamaha stood on the top step, and the Iwata marque – and Rossi – will be keen to update the season on that stat. With three podiums in a row, the stage is set.
His teammate Maverick Viñales will also, like Dovizioso, want to strike back against the other side of the garage. And Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) will want to take his first podium of the season after a run of bad luck. But Assen hasn’t been the best for either – something not true of reigning Champion and points leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).
Marc Marquez. Photo: Honda Racing Will Marquez be racing to win? With a considerable lead in the Championship, the number 93 just needs to keep bagging the points. But with Assen ‘Rossi territory’ in a way and already having staged a showdown between the two in 2015, will that be the blueprint? Or will it be 2016, when Marquez rode to a safe second behind a stunning maiden win for Jack Miller?
Alma Pramac Racing rider Miller will be hoping for history to repeat itself. After two tougher rounds coming off the back of eight consecutive top ten finishes, the Queenslander will be pushing hard to get back in the mix. But the race for top Independent Team rider will be hard fought once again – former Assen podium finishers, teammate Danilo Petrucci and LCR Honda Castrol rider Cal Crutchlow, will be tough to beat – as will Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3).
Then, finally, there’s that all-important battle for Rookie of the Year. Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) leads as it stands, but Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) is close behind – can he take over at the TT Circuit Assen? Especially if fortunes favours the Malaysian rainmaster with the weather?
Watch magic and myth collide at the ‘Cathedral’ from Friday 29th June, with race day now Sunday 1st July. Gone are the days of racing on a Saturday and gone are the tree-lined lanes that formed the track – but the TT Circuit Assen remains drenched in history.
