Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), the current Championship leader, secured the top position in the initial practice session at the TT Circuit Assen. His lap time of 1’32.311 placed him ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) by 0.098 seconds. This performance marks a return to form for Bezzecchi, who was back in action following an incident at Brno.
The session saw a competitive field, with 20 riders completing their laps within less than a second of each other. Bezzecchi’s strong showing comes after recent pressure on Aprilia, particularly following Ducati’s successes at the Balaton and Brno weekends.
Key moments and rider performances
Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), a winner of the last two Grands Prix, experienced the first crash of the weekend. He went down at the final chicane but was able to remount his bike and continued the session. Marquez ultimately finished in P10, despite the early incident.
Bagnaia, Bezzecchi’s future teammate, secured the second spot with a late lap, narrowly separating Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing). Martin, Bezzecchi’s current teammate, finished in third position. This strong start for Aprilia, with Bezzecchi and Martin initially holding the top two spots, was noted as promising for the weekend, especially since Aprilia often does not reveal its full potential in early sessions.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) claimed fourth place. He was followed by Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team), who achieved a podium finish at Brno and secured fifth position with a late effort. The Trackhouse duo, including Ogura and Raul Fernandez, who finished sixth, contributed to all four Aprilias being within the top six positions.
Another notable incident involved Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR), who had a low-key fall earlier in the session at the long Turn 2 right-hander. Despite the crash, Moreira finished in P12. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) improved his position to P7 with a final flying lap.
Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) secured eighth place, ahead of Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in ninth, and Marquez in tenth. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) finished in P11. The top honours for Yamaha went to Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), who placed P16.
Championship implications and recent events
Bezzecchi’s lead in the Championship standings is currently eight points ahead of his teammate Martin. This follows Bezzecchi’s suspension from the recent Czech Grand Prix. Marquez has significantly reduced Bezzecchi’s advantage in the past two rounds, closing the gap by 62 points and now sitting 40 points behind the leader.
Marquez’s recent performances, including victories in three of the last four races, have brought him back into contention for the title. Di Giannantonio is 23 points behind Bezzecchi in the standings. The session also saw Marquez and his teammate Bagnaia testing new rear aero components.
The Assen event is the first race since the early ban on front holeshot devices in MotoGP. A new grid format, featuring increased spacing between rows, is set to be introduced from the next round at Sachsenring. Alex Marquez, who withdrew from Brno due to injuries sustained at Catalunya, is attempting a return to MotoGP. Johann Zarco remains absent due to knee ligament injuries from the same event, with Cal Crutchlow replacing him at LCR for a fourth time. Augusto Fernandez is participating as a wildcard entry for Yamaha, debuting a new aero package.
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Source: motogp.com
Sam Whitlock is a Sports News Writer at News-GB.org. He moved from local newspapers into digital sport. He focuses on rugby union, golf and boxing and is known for clear, deadline-driven reporting. He holds a degree in Journalism from the University of Gloucestershire and completed an NCTJ diploma. Now based in Gloucester, he plays amateur rugby and follows the fight game. “Clarity beats cleverness in breaking sport news.”