Italian racer Marco Bezzecchi was on top again in MotoGP Free Practice Two (FP2) Friday afternoon at TT Circuit Assen, in The Netherlands. Riding his Mooney VR46 Racing Ducati, Bezzecchi lapped the 2.8-mile (4.5 km) track in 1:32.063, which was a little short of Francesco Bagnaia’s All-Time Lap Record of 1:31.504 from 2022.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Bezzecchi heads Martin and Miller, Quartararo into Q2
Key contenders ready for battle on Saturday as Quartararo gets back into Q2 but Marc Marquez suffers a tougher Day 1 on his return
Friday, 23 June 2023
Championship fight remains as unpredictable as ever as Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) catapulted himself to the top of the timesheets on Day 1 of the Motul TT Assen. After the two Practice sessions, the Italian’s 1:32.063 saw him maintain a firm hold on the top spot by the end of the day. The stage is set in Assen as the Italian is joined by some key rivals at the top: Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) put his GP23 into P2, with the Spaniard eager to continue his Sachsenring form, and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) rounds out the top three following a late time attack during Practice 2… just ahead of reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).
Miller crashes the party
As Friday’s running drew closer to the end, the time attacks came flying in with the riders conscious of the importance of finishing inside the top 10 to bag a Q2 spot. Bezzecchi maintained a firm grip on the top spot though, with no one able to topple the Italian after he’d also topped P1 in the morning.
Martin had an eventful P2 session seeing him shortcutting the circuit on numerous occasions but put in a strong lap in the closing stages to finish the day 0.143s away from Bezzecchi.
Meanwhile, it was looking as Bagnaia was struggling to find a setup that worked for him around the Assen circuit, with the Italian showing visible signs of frustration during Practice 1. With the Champion sitting in P12 after the morning session, the Ducati garage worked away before P2 to give Bagnaia the feeling that he needed, and the bike was looking much more stable. Bagnaia blasted his way to the top three initially, but Miller had something to say about that.
The Aussie sandwiched himself between the title-fighting trio, pushing Bagnaia down to P4 in the closing stages. The job was done for both teams with secured Q2 spots in the bag ahead of Saturday’s qualifying action.
On the comeback
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) finished the first Practice in a comfortable P2, and showed strong pace in the 2nd Practice to finish the day in fifth overall. The Spaniard will be looking for a return to the podium after taking 3rd place at Assen just one year ago, his first rostrum with Aprilia, and at a track where he boasts one of the best CVs on the grid,.
Despite riding with that toe injury picked up when running, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ ) showed signs of progress aboard his Yamaha M1 after taking P6. The Frenchman will be relieved to be missing Q1 this time out, and will be hoping his smooth riding style will be able to put him right back in the mix at the fast, flowing Assen circuit.
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) finished the day in P7 ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder, with both KTMs through this time round. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) showed flashes of brilliance throughout the day to secure P9, with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) snatching the final Q2 spot.
Looking for more
It was a bump in the road for three-in-a-row podium finisher Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) as the Frenchman failed to secure himself a place in Q2 by just 0.088s, and he’ll have to battle his way through Q1 after finishing in P11.
The Frenchman will be joined by the two CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team riders of Raul Fernandez and Miguel Oliveira who finished 12th and 13th respectively.
Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) also failed to make the Q2 cut after finishing in 15th and 19th. Both riders made trips to the gravel trap, with Marquez hitting the deck just two corners into his only time attack of the day as P2 came to a close.
SHOWTIME
With some huge names in Q1, the stage is set for Qualifying and then the Tissot Sprint at the Cathedral of Speed. Make sure you don’t miss a single detail as the action unfolds! Here’s when it all gets underway in GMT+2:
MotoGP™ FP: 10:10
MotoGP™ Q1: 10:50
MotoGP™ Q2: 11:15
Tissot Sprint: 15:00
Moto2™: Dixon stakes early claim on victory with a clean sweep on Friday
Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) is the rider to beat in Moto2™ at the Motul TT Assen as the Brit heads into Saturday’s action on top of the combined standings after setting a blistering 1:36.463. The Spanish Armada was in hot pursuit as Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) stayed within two-tenths of the GASGAS rider, however.
Ai Ogura (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) is showing he’s returning to the form we know he’s capable of, bagging P4 after Friday practice, with Sam Lowes (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team) rounding out the top five ahead of Albert Arenas (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in P6.
Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) takes seventh overall thanks to his best from P1, ahead of Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) and Championship leader Tony Arbolino (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team) in P9. Home team Fieten Olie Racing GP had a good start with Barry Baltus completing the top ten.
Tune in for more as Moto2™ Practice 3 starts at 09:25 local time (GMT+2), before qualifying from 13:45!
Moto3™: Masia makes his mark on Friday
It’s advantage Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) as the Motul TT Assen kicks off the weekend with Moto3™ Practice. The Spaniard put down a 1:41.579 to keep the field at arm’s length, with Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) 0.350s behind. Just 0.053s behind his fellow Italian was Romano Fenati (Rivacold Snipers Team) whose wide, swooping lines are playing perfectly to the fast, flowing characteristics of the Assen circuit.
As the clock counted down to the chequered flag a flurry of fast laps came flying in during Practice 2. David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) and Xavier Artigas (CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP) put the hammer down to secure 4th and 5th respectively, with rookie David Alonso (Valresa GASGAS Aspar M3) rounding out the top 6 ahead of Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse).
The intense rush for a time attack caught out Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets MSI) as the Brazilian crashed out with 3 minutes to go for the 2nd time in the afternoon. The youngster just managed enough to secure P8 on combined times. Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) is down in P9, just ahead of Championship leader Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who suffered a crash at Turn 16 with just under 30 minutes of P2 remaining.
Moto3™ continues on Saturday, make sure not to miss any of the action with Practice 3 at 08:40 and qualifying at 12:50 local time (GMT +2).
