2023-06-23 14:03:45
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Welcome to the Netherlands, in Assen, the only venue to have hosted a Grand Prix every year since the start of the motorcycling world championship in 1949, until 2019, the 2020 Dutch TT having then been canceled due to the pandemic, which makes this year the 74th Dutch TT counting for the MotoGP world championship!
The original Assen circuit used until 1954 was 16.54 km, reduced to 7.7 km in 1955 and then to 6.1 km in 1984. The current layout has been used since 2006, with some adjustments including a resurfacing in 2021 In 2016, the Dutch TT took place on Sundays for the first time, whereas it had previously taken place on Saturdays so as not to disturb the masses on the track.
Last year, Francis Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi et Maverick Vinales climbed the podium in that order, which perhaps augurs well for a great fight between the first two, to which should be added George Martinin full upward spiral just like his teammate Johann Zarco. By the way, a victory for the latter before the summer break could secure his maintenance in MotoGP, after Ducati had imagined adding him to Alvaro Bautista in Superbikes. His team having been very mysterious at the finish of the German Grand Prix, we are not immune to a (good) surprise…
But let’s stop imagining and let’s see: given the current forces, Honda and Yamaha do not seem to be the favorites to be able to improve their glowing statistics on the “Cathedral of Speed” route, with 21 and 18 victories respectively. , and obviously even less MV Agusta (15), Suzuki (9), Gilera (7) and Norton (1). Honda’s last premier class win at Assen goes to Marc Marquez in 2018 from pole. Yamaha’s in the premier class at the Dutch TT dates back to Fabio Quartararo in 2021. A time so close and so distant at the same time…
The devil said Thursday, “If we’re not quick here, we won’t be anywhere.”. Until recent years, the Dutch traced fluid not favoring the engines (it is still the Honda 600cc engine which holds the record in Moto2!), it benefited until 2021 to the M1 which exploited its high speed of passage in curve. If the main characteristic of the circuit is still true, Ducati has made enormous progress on the turning of its Desmosedici, to the point of nullifying the traditional advantage of Iwata. Ducati has won two MotoGP™ victories, those of Casey Stoner in 2008 and Francis Bagnaia in 2022 ahead Marco Bezzecchiand therefore remains the favorite for this 74th edition.
Anecdotally, the 1975 Dutch TT 500cc race is the only premier class Grand Prix race where the first two riders to cross the line were credited with the same race time. Barry Sheene et James Augustine finished so close together that the timekeepers at the time, who used manual timing with an accuracy of 0.1 seconds, could not decide between them.
As for the weather, it rained late yesterday afternoon after several days of blue skies. A little light rain but persistent enough to soak the whole circuit, the sides of which remain damp this morning, even if the track is now quite dry and should remain so for most of the weekend.
Iker Lecuona et Stefan Bradl are there to replace Joan Mir et Alex Rins wounded, Lorenzo Savadori is wildcard for Aprilia, while Michelin provides a hard front tire with a new compound.
This morning, Marco Bezzecchi, Maverick Vinales, Alex Márquez, Johann Zarco, Fabio Quartararo, Luca Marini, Takaaki Nakagami, Jorge Martin, Jack Miller and Aleix Espargaro provisionally pre-qualified for Q2, which is not the case for Francis Bagnaia who we have seen getting angry on several occasions in his box.
There remains a maximum of 481 points to be scored and while waiting to discover more, as the 23 drivers prepare for this second 60-minute free practice session, under a clear sky after the rain of the day before and accompanied by temperatures of 26° in the air and 46° on the ground, let’s take advantage of these few live moments thanks to the official website MotoGP.com :
What will this 8th round of the season have in store for us on the Assen track? Before you know it, here is the table that summarizes the known facts so far.
Axes MotoGP™
2022
2023
P1 1’42.589 Jack Miller (See here) 1’32.246 Marco Bezzecchi (See here) P2 1’33.274 Francesco Bagnaia (See here) 1-32.063 Marco Bezzecchi (See here) FP 1’32.164 Aleix Espargaro (See here) (See here) FP4 1’32.478 Fabio Quartararo (See here) XXXXXXXX QP1 1’32.485 Brad Binder (See here) (See here) QP2 1’31.504 Francesco Bagnaia (See here) (See here)
Sprint
XXXXXXXXXX
(See here) Warm Up 1’32.424 Fabio Quartararo (See here) (See here) Course Bagnaia, Bezzechi, Viñales (See here) (See here) Record 1’31.504 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
When the red lights go out… you may have 60 minutes, but you don’t waste a second and that’s Jack Miller who starts this time the first, Francis Bagnaia Then Fabio Quartararo the last.
One hour on the clock! ⏰
We’re go for #MotoGP P2! ????#DutchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/MxUQ7JV1v7
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 23, 2023
At the tire level, some are still using the soft tire of the final morning rush, others have already put the mediums back, whereas with a 46° track the hard tires get the majority of the votes at the front.
After the first flying lap, Luca Marini proves to be the fastest in 1’35.003 ahead of Fabio Quartararo, Marco Bezzecchi and Francesco Bagnaia.
On the next pass, George Martin recorded a best time immediately canceled, giving way to Fabio Quartararo in 1’34.191 ahead Francesco Bagnaia, Takaaki Nakagami et Brad Binder.
Never mind, next round George Martin This time effectively took the lead in 1’33.869 but the Frenchman replied immediately in 1’33.676.
Inside the top 5 after this morning ????@FabioQ20 will be desperate to keep it inside the Q2 places at the end of today! ????#DutchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/V0krOC8iuJ
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 23, 2023
The Yamaha rider makes a good start to the weekend but it’s once again Marco Bezzecchithe fastest this morning, who took the lead in 1’33.558 after his fourth flying lap.
In his fifth attempt, Alex Márquezthird this morning, took command in 1’33.396 ahead of Fabio Quartararo.
After this first salvo, the sectors lit in red become rarer but Fabio Quartararo continues its effort and registers 1’33.282 at the end of the first quarter of an hour, a time which already ensures an excellent pace of race.
Marco Bezzecchi however, recorded 1’33.164 but his time was cancelled.
At the end of the first run, the hierarchy is therefore composed of Fabio Quartararo, Marco Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez, Maverick Vinales, Luca Marini, Brad Binder, Jorge Martin, Francesco Bagnaia, Augusto Fernandez, Enea Bastianini, Alex Espargaro, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Miguel Oliveira, Franco Morbidelli, Marc Marquez, Jack Miller, Raul Fernandez, Lorenzo Savadori, Iker Lecuona, Stefan Bradl, Johann Zarco and Jonas Folger. However, no one improved their morning time.
Watch out, watch out ⚠️
There’s a dinosaur about ????????#DutchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/VvhmtMAxjn
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 23, 2023
On recovery, the leather airbag George Martin is triggered during particularly hard braking, showing how driving a MotoGP is not an easy task…
Don’t worry, @88jorgemartin hasn’t suddenly turned into a bodybuilder! ????
It’s just that his airbag went off! ????#DutchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/1ppOF4rQJ6
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 23, 2023
Francis Bagnaia is then the first driver to improve his first time of the morning. The Italian achieves 1’33.418, which temporarily positions him in 10th place in the combined classification.
Augusto Fernandez then experienced his second crash of the weekend, this time at turn #1. Pilot and machine are OK and manage to set off again.
Alex Márquez gets a very nice heat by losing the rear of his Ducati GP 22…
A little more sideways than @alexmarquez73 would have wanted! ????#DutchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/DkWEyCJOBn
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 23, 2023
At the start of the third run, only the pilots of the VR 46 still lit the first sectors in red, but they were quickly joined in this area by Maverick Vinales which registers 1’33.139 at the very top of the table. The Aprilia rider continues his effort and descends in 1’32.960.
In the aftermath, Marco Bezzecchi registered 1’33.200 but that does not change the morning classification.
While the majority of drivers return to the box after the third run, Aleix Espargaro is already on track with a new soft rear tire and jumps from eighth to first place in the session, in 1’32.741.
The Catalan who had been ousted by Francis Bagnaia of the top 10 in the combined thus recovers the fourth position for the direct passage in Q2.
Miguel Oliveirasixth in the session, also improved his morning time but remains 12th overall.
15 minutes from the checkered flag, we go into Time Attack mode with new soft rear tires, like the Brad Binder who scored the second fastest time of the session, sixth overall.
It is now this ranking that interests us, still dominated by Marco Bezzecchi For now.
George Martin rose to second position ahead of Maverick Vinales. As a result, Takaaki Nakagami et Francis Bagnaia no longer appear there.
Nine minutes from the end of the session, Marco Bezzecchi enter the dance and light the first three sectors in red before losing time in the last.
Francis Bagnaia reenters the top 10, in seventh position, Fabio Quartararo progresses there until the fourth, Luca Marini in the sixth. On the next pass, Francis Bagnaia reassures his fans by positioning himself second with seven minutes left in the session, the opportunity to return to the box again to prepare for a final run.
At this moment, the top 10 is composed of Marco Bezzecchi, Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, Maverick Vinales, Fabio Quartararo, Luca Marini, Alex Márquez, Aleix Espargaro, Johann Zarco and Brad Binder.
Everyone starts in single file for the last five minutes…
Aleix Espargaro is on an excellent lap but stumbles on Franco Morbidelli while Marc Márquez suffered his first crash of the weekend at turn #3, losing the front. For the Honda rider, the cup seems full…
Maverick Vinales achieves the second fastest time while Johann Zarco is currently 10th while many sectors light up red for a last attempt…
Marco Bezzecchi then improved his morning time in 1’32.063 ahead of Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia.
We then witness a KTM offensive: Jack Miller jumped to third place, Brad Binder in the eighth, which ousts Johann Zarco you top 10.
MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix P2 results at TT Assen:
Credit Ranking: MotoGP.com
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