Motul TT Assen

FIM MotoGP World Championship

TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands

June 30, 2018

Qualifying Results (all on Michelin tires):

From Qualifying Two:

1. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:32.791

2. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:32.832

3. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:32.850

4. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:32.870

5. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:32.933

6. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:32.984

7. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:33.029

8. Johann Zarco, France (Yamaha), 1:33.072

9. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Suzuki), 1:33.120

10. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Ducati), 1:33.167

11. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:33.292

12. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Ducati), 1:34.015

From Qualifying One:

13. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 1:33.625

14. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:33.666

15. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (Yamaha), 1:33.666

16. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:33.672

17. Scott Redding, UK (Aprilia), 1:33.995

18. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), 1:34.125

19. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 1:34.145

20. Bradley Smith, UK (KTM), 1:34.149

21. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 1:34.268

22. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland (Honda), 1:35.192

23. Xavier Simeon, Belgium (Ducati), 1:35.646

24. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Honda), no lap time recorded

More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech3:

Zarco delivers thrilling Qualifying performance – Syahrin to launch Dutch GP from fifth row

Monster Yamaha Tech3 star Johann Zarco showed a fantastic effort this afternoon at the TT Circuit in Assen. During his first Q1 session of the year, the fast Frenchman snatched the top position last second and did an excellent 1’33.072 in Q2, which made him miss out on the pole position by just 0.281 seconds, starting the Dutch GP on Sunday from the middle of the third row.

Yet, Hafizh Syahrin was leading the Q1 session after his first flying lap but was unable to improve on his fast lap time as he run into traffic on track. Thereby, the Malaysian rookie missed out on his first second Qualifying of the ultra-competitive premier class field by only 0.066 seconds. Syahrin lowered his fastest lap from Friday morning by incredible 2.172 seconds and is set to attack from P15 on the grid for tomorrow’s 26 laps race at 14.00 local time.

Johann Zarco

Position: 8th – Time: 1’33.072 – Laps: 7

“Today has been a better day than Friday, but we had some ups and downs in the course of the practices, which makes it difficult to work consistently on improving myself. We have some good things, some bad things and it kept changing. Finally, we were coming from far in the Qualifying. On the last lap of Q1 I could save my Q2 and then we started well. We also finished well, I improved my best lap time by more than five tenths, so it’s a lot, plus we are not far from the pole position. Everyone is so fast, which complicates the job. Overall, I’m positive about this day and apart from the final position, the lap time was great. I need to find the pace and an easy feeling during Warm Up in order to be ready for the race tomorrow.”

Hafizh Syahrin

Position: 15th – Time: 1’33.666 – Laps: 8

“I was very close to Q2, just 0.066 seconds, which is unfortunate, but the time I did was behind another rider, who held me up later, so I couldn’t improve this little bit I needed to make the step. I saw my time and went to the front, but I knew that it required another try to go to Q2. Anyway, I’m really happy about the work we did in the team. I will try to get my rhythm for tomorrow’s race in the Warm Up and we try to keep focused on the race.”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:

GOOD QUALIFIERS FOR ALEIX WHO RIDES HIS APRILIA TO THE THIRD ROW WITH THE SEVENTH PLACE TIME, JUST TWO TENTHS FROM THE POLE

SCOTT TO START FROM THE SIXTH ROW

Saturday at Assen smiled on Aleix Espargaró and his Aprilia RS-GP. Competitive from FP3, Aleix went straight through to the qualifying session that would decide the front rows, making it into the top ten (eighth best time at 1’33.825). In Q2, the number 41 rider did even better, with a spectacular final lap that had all the riders competing with very close times. Aleix finished with a fantastic time of 1’33.029 (just 238 thousandths from the pole!) which was the seventh best time to place him on the best spot of the third row of the starting grid. For the moment, this is his best result in qualifying of the season.

After improving the setup on his RS-GP, Scott Redding did a good Q1 session, lapping with decidedly better times than he had in the previous sessions and finishing with a 1’33.995 that places him on the sixth row.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“I am truly very happy. It is only the qualifiers, but the seventh spot on the grid, just two tenths from the pole position time, is a fantastic result. I had fun riding because after a difficult season start, we tried to approach the weekend with a little more serenity, trying to improve consistently session after session, and it worked. We did a great job yesterday and we continued today. We achieved a good race pace and in qualifying we also showed that we are on point. For tomorrow, we’ll have to maintain this approach. We all have a very similar pace and with a good start we have a chance to battle for important positions, but it will also be important to finish the race.”

SCOTT REDDING

“Today was a good day for us. We gained a bit of stability, which is what was missing yesterday. We focused on finding the tyre selections that will give me the most confidence, without making any radical changes but building up to the result step by step. As for pace, we are able to be consistent, whereas we are lacking a few tenths with the new tyre. In FP3 this morning we missed a reference point. On this track and with this wind, being behind someone really makes a difference. Tomorrow it will be important to stay in the group. The times are rather close, with the exception of some very fast riders. If we can manage not to lose any ground, we’ll be able to make a play in the finale.”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

TT Assen

MotoGP 2018 Round 8

Career pole number 75 for Marquez in Assen, tough qualifying for Pedrosa

So close was today’s qualifying session in Assen that the riders on the front row ended up within just 0.059”, whilst the top-10 were split by less than 4 tenths of a second.

Well aware of how tight things were going to be today, and will be tomorrow, Marc Marquez worked hard with his crew to prepare for both the race and for the time-attack, which earned him his 75th career pole and 47th pole in MotoGP (his first in MotoGP at Assen).

The Championship leader topped all three sessions today, showing good race pace and blistering speed.

Opposite feelings in the other side of the garage, where Dani Pedrosa was unable to improve on his pace from yesterday and tomorrow will have to start from the sixth row of the grid.

Marc Marquez 93

POLE POSITION 1’32.791

“So far this weekend, things are going better than we were hoping for. The pole has not been one of my strongest points this year, and actually this will be the first time I’ll start form the top spot, because in Austin I earned the pole but was moved back to fourth. I was very happy with the rhythm I could keep in FP3 and FP4 and now I’m even more happy for the Q2 result. We’re trying and working in a good way. At this track stability is one of the main targets to achieve and step by step we improved that a bit. Our first goal is a podium finish but honestly we now have the possibility to fight for the victory. We must remain focused and work well in tomorrow’s warm-up to try and make another little step to improve the stability and to make the final choice for the tyres.”

Dani Pedrosa 26

18TH 1’34.125

“Today was very difficult. I missed the passage to Q2 this morning and then in Q1 my pace wasn’t fast enough. In the afternoon I also struggled with the wind. My start position is clearly not good but we must try and stay positive for the race and tomorrow fight to recover. It will be important to make the right tyre choice and then get a good start.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:

TOP 5 FOR RINS IN VERY CLOSE QUALIFYING SESSION

Alex Rins: 5th – 1:32.933 (+ 0.142)

Andrea Iannone: 9th – 1:33.120 (+ 0.329)

• Alex Rins finds strong pace in afternoon.

•Andrea Iannone caught out by close times.

•New engine spec. proving beneficial.

Hot pace and hot weather was the theme for the second day of action at Assen. The morning’s FP3 session gave a taster of what was to come with the top three riders covered by six thousands of a second, and the top five covered by six hundredths of a second! Andrea Iannone improved on his Friday time and was also quickest in sectors 2&3. Alex Rins found himself bumped out of the Top 10 in the closing moments.

Alex Rins used FP4 to prepare for the Q1 session, this allowed him to put in an excellent performance and a time of 1:33.600 to make it through to the final Q2 session.

The Q2 session was as frenetic as predicted with the Top 10 covered by 0.376.

Alex Rins went top early on, and Andrea Iannone took the provisional pole with 47 seconds left on the clock. But in the final seconds Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s riders were bumped to 5th and 9th respectively. A second row start for Rins demonstrates the positive improvements he has made over the weekend.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager

“We’re quite happy about Alex’s result today because he managed very well to come from Q1 into Q2, and then he had a brilliant Q2 with a massive improvement on his lap time, he really did a great job. His race pace is also quite fast, so a good start and staying with the front group will be important tomorrow. Andrea was a bit unlucky in Q2 because he has good speed and is very fast here, but he couldn’t use the first tyre, and on the second tyre he did a very good lap time. But it’s been a really fast qualifying and the times were so close. Tomorrow’s start will be more difficult, we’ll work on his settings to improve his feeling for the race.”

Alex Rins

“I’m really excited about this result, from yesterday we’ve been working really hard on race pace and not really trying to find one fast lap, but finally we got it! In Q1 I was riding alone, trying to get my race pace. And in Q2 I was trying to find the best lines. I’m really happy about this result, and our rhythm for the race is very good, so I just need to make a good start. The stability of the bike has improved.”

Andrea Iannone

“I think we worked well today, we improved from FP2. But we couldn’t find much more than yesterday, and we struggled a little bit with the settings. We need to improve just a little bit more in some areas. But in any case we’re not so far from the other riders. Everybody is really close and the second part of the race will be the most important for us tomorrow. I’m confident about tomorrow but in the other races we have struggled to stay with the top riders as the race goes on. We’ve worked well during the weekend so we’ll try our best and we’ll fight.”

More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:

 Reale Avintia Racing riders ready to race in Holland

MotoGP Dutch GP – Circuit Assen TT

MotoGP riders enjoyed today another day of sunny and warm conditions for the second day of free and qualifying practice for the Dutch TT.

Tito Rabat continued working hard with his crew to improve his feelings with his Reale Avintia Racing Ducati. The Spaniard improved his pace today, but it was not enough to be in Q2. Rabat will start the 26-laps-race tomorrow from the 14th place of the grid, but he is eager to finish ahead and score some good championship points.

So far, the weekend in Assen has been very difficult for Xavier Simeon. The Belgian rider was looking forward to start the weekend in Holland following his good performance and pace in Barcelona. But, although he improved his best lap time today, it was not enough and he will start the race from the last row of the grid.

Tito Rabat | 1’33.666 | P14

“It has been a difficult weekend so far, but I’m happy with the way we are working here. We did our best in a circuit where I struggled a lot since I jumped to MotoGP. My best lap time in qualifying was not bad, but now we have to think how to improve even more during warm up to get some more speed an fight for a good result in the race.”

Xavier Simeon | 1’35.646 | P23

“I’m frustrated. Nothing worked today and we tried many different things with the bike, but my improvement was not enough. The bike is very difficult to drive here in Assen and, with the set-up we have right now we are not able to go any faster. I’m not happy because we are far away. After Barcelona where I was closer, we did a step back. I hope to find something during wam-up tomorrow and be stronger during the race.”

More, from a press release issued by Alma Pramac Racing:

DutchTT Assen – Qualifying

#DutchGP Qualifying. Petrux and Jack to start from row 4 and row 6 respectively

The qualifying for DutchGP ended with row four for Danilo Petrucci and row six for Jack Miller.

Petrux won the direct qualification to Q2 thanks to his Friday’s super lap-time and after the first run he was in P3. In the second time attack, however, the rider from Terni can not find the ideal conditions to achieve the goal of the first two rows.

Jack’s race pace is positive and gives confidence to the Australian rider who first after the first run of Q1. In the second run, however, he made a small mistake that did not allow him to qualify for Q2 for just 72 thousandths of a second.

11th – Danilo Petrucci 1,33,292

“I’m disappointed with this qualification. Our aim was to be in the first two rows but we didn’t succeed. I made a mistake waiting for the others in the second run and the tyres cooled down. I pushed hard on the last lap but the tyres didn’t have the ideal temperature to set a good lap time”.

16th – Miller jack 1’33,672

“I expected more from these two days of practices. I couldn’t qualify for Q2 for less than a tenth of a second. The pace is still good and tomorrow I will try to do a good race. It’s clear that starting from 16th position will not be easy”.

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Row 2 start for Andrea Dovizioso, fourth in Dutch TT qualifying at Assen. Tenth place and fourth row for Jorge Lorenzo

Andrea Dovizioso will start tomorrow’s Dutch Grand Prix at the Assen TT circuit from the second row of the grid after setting fourth quickest time in qualifying, just 79/1000ths of a second away from Marquez in pole position.

This morning the Ducati Team’s Italian rider was unable to improve on his time set yesterday and he ended up tenth overall in the combined standings, but in any case he went through into the afternoon’s all-important Q2 session.

Jorge Lorenzo was tenth quickest in qualifying and will start the eighth round of the season from the fourth row of the grid tomorrow. In the morning the rider from Mallorca was seventh quickest in the combined free practice standings.

The Dutch Grand Prix, which gets underway at 14.00 CET, will be held over a race distance of 26 laps.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04): 4th (1’32.870)

“A gap of 79 thousandths of a second from pole position is very small, but in some cases, like this one unfortunately, it can be very big! In any case I’m very happy because starting from the first two rows of the grid here at Assen is always very important, and also because I didn’t expect to do a lap of 1m32s on this circuit. The qualifying session was a bit strange, with all the riders waiting, but luckily I was at the back of the group and I had Rossi just ahead of me. I’m happy with the feeling with my bike: this morning the wind direction changed from yesterday and we struggled a bit, but in the afternoon we managed to improve. For tomorrow we’re set up pretty good and, even though there are several riders who have a good pace, we are confident we can do a good race.”

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99): 10th (1’33.167)

“In general we did a good qualifying session because throughout the day we constantly managed to improve our lap times and to be honest I didn’t think we could have got our time down so much. Unfortunately my position on the grid is not good at all. I was surprised to see myself in tenth place because I thought I was further up, but then I noticed that almost all the other riders were towing each other in the group with Marquez and this helped them to improve their times a lot. I think that in a normal situation we could have been on the first or the second row, but in any case for the race we’re all pretty close and anything can happen, so it’ll be important to get a good start. We’re continuing to lose a few tenths in the final sector and so tomorrow we’ll try and resolve this problem during the warm-up.”

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

MOVISTAR YAMAHA TO START DUTCH GP FROM FIRST TWO ROWS

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales will be starting the TT Assen race from third and sixth position on the grid respectively.

Assen (The Netherlands), 30th June 2018

The high temperatures at the TT Circuit Assen today matched the hot action in the final stages of today‘s Q2 session. With many riders waiting to make a move until the last minute, the outcome of the qualifying was anybody‘s guess. Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales rode on the limit on their last flying lap and secured third and sixth place respectively.

Rossi had more than one mission during today’s Q2 session. Having suffered a fast crash in FP4, he used his first run to complete three laps to get back into the groove and recover his feeling with the bike, before putting his head down during his second stint.

Leaving the garage with four and a half minutes left of the session, the Doctor found himself in tenth position and had time for two attempts to better his ranking. He left it late but found a good spot on the track for his final try and clocked a 1’32.850s, just 0.059s from pole, to take third place, on the front row.

Similar to his teammate, Viñales delayed his start in the hope of finding some clear space on track. His first hot lap put him in fourth place, but he dropped down the order as the pace quickened. Unable to improve his time on his next try, he dug deeper and posted a 1’33.557s that put him in fifth place, before heading back into the pits with six minutes remaining.

He hurried out of pit lane one and a half minutes later eager to give the time attack another go, but the level of competition proved to be fierce. Multiple riders set red sectors in the final minute of the session and dropped below the 1’33 mark. The Spaniard was one of them and posted a 1’32.984s final lap, earning him sixth place, 0.193s from first.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

Today’s two practice sessions weren’t as easy as yesterday. Valentino suffered a crash in FP4 and Maverick didn’t have the same feeling on the bike as yesterday, so this made qualifying more challenging. Vale took a bit of time in qualifying to get a good feeling on the bike again, before pushing in the final stages. It wasn’t easy to recover his feeling within a few laps, but he still qualified on the front row. Doing that so soon after a fall is a good result and shows his fighting spirit. Maverick has been fast throughout all the sessions, riding with the race configuration. Even though he missed the first row, starting from sixth position is not a bad result, especially considering how close the times of the top riders are. Tonight we’ll check if there’s any possibility to improve both riders’ bikes’ settings, which we will verify during the warm up. We expect tomorrow to be a hard race, with many riders capable of challenging at the front, but we’ll make sure to be ready for the fight.

VALENTINO ROSSI

I’m so happy about the front row because I crashed in FP4, so I lost some feeling. It wasn’t easy, but I did three laps with the first tyre and recovered my line and my rhythm, and after that it was a ‘waiting game’. Everybody was waiting but I was in a good position. It was exciting because it was a really hot lap! Normally the top riders are really close, but this weekend even more so. You have many riders and three or four different bikes that can fight for the victory, so this makes it really important to start from the front row. Now we just wait for tomorrow. We hope the weather will stay like this. We have to improve some details and also the tyre choice will be very important, because all the three options are not so bad. It will be important to find the right way.

MAVERICK VIÑALES

It was more difficult to be competitive compared to yesterday, but today we tried to give our best as always. We were focused more on riding with a heavy bike, so I had some issues when I pushed for a hot lap time, but anyway I think we can do well tomorrow. We still need to discuss the tyre choice with Michelin and the team. Starting from sixth is not bad, and for sure I will try to make a good start. I’ll be on the attack in the early laps and try to repeat what we’ve done in the practice sessions. We’ve worked a lot to prepare for the race, let’s see if it pays off. There are many riders with the same rhythm with different tyres, so it’s going to be an interesting race and tricky for sure. I know we can be there, if we work well tonight and choose the correct set-up.

More, from a press release issued by KTM:

RED BULL KTM TEAM HUNTING FOR SPEED AFTER SEVENTH ROW QUALIFICATION RESULT AT ASSEN

QUALIFYING 7th Rd. MotoGP 2018, TT Circuit Assen (NED)

In warm, sunny and breezy conditions at the TT Circuit Assen Red Bull KTM set lap-times close to the top ten through the Free Practice sessions on Saturday but will line-up for the Motul TT Assen with Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro on the seventh row of the grid.

MotoGP

The kinks and curves of the historic layout in the north of the Netherlands – now 70 years as part of the grand prix series – again reverberated to the howl of MotoGP but for Red Bull KTM the DutchGP meant just a second visit to the iconic circuit.

Pol Espargaro gave much encouragement on the KTM RC16 with the 10th best lap in FP3 and stayed close to the top of the leaderboard with 13th in FP4 and just before entry into QP1 where the Spaniard took 21st; just unable to replicate the same pace with a softer rear tyre. While Bradley Smith – a rider who first competed at Assen back in 2006 – concentrated on optimum set-up for the RC16 and will sit just one position ahead of his teammate for Sunday’s 26 lap sprint. Both riders were less than 1.5 seconds from Marc Marquez Pole Position effort.

Smith: “We made another good step today and found another half a second and almost managed a 1min 33. We did our job and we are improving. We made some good lap-times but everybody’s level just keeps getting higher. The overall result might look like a bad day but we are only 1.3 from first so it is our ‘normal’ gap. It will be a long race tomorrow, and a physical one in these temperatures and with the tyre ‘drop’. We have to focus, be smooth and fast and bring home some points.”

Espargaro: “FP3 and FP4 was really good and consistent with a good rhythm but in QP1 it was windy and I just struggled to get grip and acceleration. I used the soft tyre and I could not get anything special from it or turn through the long corners we have here in Assen. So I was suffering a lot and I think we need to try a harder compound on the rear; in FP4 I had a good feel with used hard rear. We need a good start tomorrow to overtake a few guys and then set our rhythm, which is pretty good.”

Sebastian Risse (Technical Director MotoGP): “Overall we had some bright moments today. P11 in FP3 was a great thing and also a bad thing at the same time! We struggled here after having a good test and having brought some new things to Assen. I think we have been focussing on improving the bike and that means we have missed some of the fine-tuning necessary at the races. The work is for the benefit (long term) of the project but at the moment, looking at the results, it hurts. I hope we can turn things around tomorrow and looking at race pace I think the situation is a bit different. It is very tight, everybody is pushing but anything is possible. It might not be our highlight of the season here but we’ll do what we can and then look towards the next race.”

Moto2 & Moto3

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Miguel Oliveira registered 17th place in Moto2 Qualifying Practice, leaving the top KTM Moto2 runner to be Swiss Innovative Investors’ Sam Lowes with 6th position. In Moto3 SKY Racing Team VR46’s Nicolo Bulega will start from the front row after capturing the 3rd best lap-time on the KTM RC250 GP in the first QP session of the day.

Oliveira: “It was a qualifying session similar to that of the last few GPs. In Free Practice we are very close to the fastest times and top positions, whilst in QP others improve and we stay in exactly the same place as in practice, either with new or used tyres. However, as always our race pace is good and we know that in normal conditions we are up there. Tomorrow I will have to win back many positions and try not to get into trouble on the first few laps, in order to be able to progress. It’s a shame about the results of recent QPs, because the team are trying everything and we are working very hard, but it is not easy to find a solution. We’ll see how the race goes tomorrow, because here at Assen it’s hard to overtake. If a group forms then I hope I can be up there.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Close at the Cathedral: Marquez takes pole in TIGHT Q2

Everything goes down to the final 30 seconds in one of the closest top tens ever – and it’s a familiar name on top

It’s reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who will be starting from pole at the Motul TT Assen – his first at the venue in the premier class, only second of the 2018 season and 75th overall – but the pack were incredibly close together after qualifying at the ‘Cathedral’ delivered an absolute classic. The top ten are within 0.376 seconds and the biggest gap between any two riders is just 0.063, setting the scene for a stunning race day once again. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) who starts second and as top Independent Team rider, with 10-time winner at the venue Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) completing the front row.

The mad dash for pole was true to its name as the final 30 seconds saw everything shuffle and shuffle again, with Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) and Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) initially seeming to have the advantage before that final lap for the majority of those in the session – and the emergence of Marquez at the top. But it’s just 0.041 back to Crutchlow and 0.059 back to Rossi, with Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) heading the second row despite only being 0.079 off pole.

The Italian is joined on Row 2 by the first of the Q1 graduates as Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) impressed on his first run and his second to secure P5 as top Hamamatsu factory machine. Friday’s fastest Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) starts sixth and still within two tenths of pole, with the Spaniard hoping for a better launch off the line than in Barcelona.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) continued his solid weekend as he converted automatic entry to Q2 into seventh on the grid – as well as making it five manufacturers in the top seven. Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), who topped Q1 after a stunning final dash, starts from the middle of the third row – just getting the better of Iannone, who lost out in the last few seconds.

That was also true of Italian and Catalan GP winner Jorge Lorenzo, who starts tenth after having been the early pacesetter. Less than four tenths off, the ‘Spartan’ will be looking for a lot more on Sunday and keen to make another lightning launch off the line.

Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) and Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team) took P11 and P12, with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) taking top rookie honours in P13. Both he and fellow debutant Haifzh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), who starts fifteenth, will be looking to gain some ground in the fight for Rookie of the Year – with current leader Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) missing the race and declared unfit after suffering a small fracture in his left hand.

Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) will be two men keen to blast past that rookie battle as early as possible in the race – starting P16 and P18 respectively after a tough weekend for both so far.

That’s a wrap on Saturday for the premier class – can Marquez extend his lead from pole? Can Rossi repeat the feat from third? Or can a darker horse a little future back get into that incredible fight, and take it down to the wire at the awesome Geert Timmer chicane…

The lights go out at 14:00 (GMT+2).

With the top ten this close, there’s no time to lose

Pole for brilliant Bagnaia at Assen

Pecco’s perfect weekend continues, with Schroetter and Marini lining up alongside the Championship leader on the front row

After topping every Free Practice session at the Motul TT Assen, Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) set a 1:37.608 to win the battle for pole position, beating Marcel Schroetter (Dynavolt Intact GP) and his VR46 teammate Luca Marini by less than a tenth of a second.

Bagnaia set his quickest time on his third flying lap to sit top of the timesheets as the Red Flag came out after a fall for Niki Tuuli (SIC Racing Team), with the Finnish rider crashing heavily at Turn 5. After a short delay, this meant there would be a three-minute mad dash to see if anyone could top the Italian’s benchmark – but it wasn’t to be. After announcing he would be staying with the Dynavolt Intact GP team for another two years, it was Schroetter who remained in P2 to secure his third consecutive front row start., and Marini also held station in third, earning a terrific first front row start of his Grand Prix career with just 0.081 seconds covering the front row at Assen.

Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) crashed heavily at Turn 7 towards the end of the session, but the Spaniard was able to set a 1.37.717 to qualify fourth for Sunday’s race. Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP) lines up alongside his compatriot in fifth place, with Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors) the leading KTM in sixth.

Catalan GP pole man and race winner Fabio Quartararo (Lightech – Speed Up Racing) spearheads the third row in seventh after another solid session, with Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team) impressing in eighth and Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) – despite a crash – in ninth.

Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was tenth on his Kalex machine, only 0.287 back from Bagnaia’s time, with Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) and Khairul Idham Pawi (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) in 12th – his best qualifying session of the season.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – who sits one point behind Bagnaia in the Championship – will start 17th for the second race running, can the Portuguese rider reproduce his Barcelona start in the Netherlands?

Less than a second splits Bagnaia to Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in 22nd, with Sunday’s race looking like it will be a classic Moto2™ race. Tune in when the intermediate class do battle at 12:20 local time (GMT +2).

The master of qualifying: Martin takes pole at Assen

Spaniard secures a record 14th Moto3™ pole position, with Bastianini and Bulega joining him on the front row

Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) will start Sunday’s lightweight class race from pole position for a record 14th time in his Moto3™ career, setting a 1:42.039 to beat Catalan GP winner Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) by 0.310 seconds. Martin suffered a heavy fall in Friday’s FP2 session but bounced back in sublime fashion on Saturday to spearhead the Moto3™ grid for the fifth time this season. Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) , meanwhile, rounds out the front row as his resurgent form continued, with the Italian taking his best qualifying of the year by some margin and his first top ten of the season.

Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) was a solid fourth place in qualifying after being in and around the top three throughout the weekend. The Spaniard crashed at Turn 5 late in the session, but looks to have the pace to be right in the hunt on Sunday. Joining him on the second row is Leopard Racing’s Lorenzo Dalla Porta, just 0.055 off Canet’s time, with John McPhee (CIP – Green Power) leaping up from P18 to sixth on his final lap of the session. Can the Scotsman go one better than he did in Barcelona, with Assen the venue that hosted his last podium finish?

Second place man in the Championship Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) qualified seventh, bouncing back after a crash in FP3 to get back in the mix. Just behind the Italian is compatriot and Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PrustelGP), who starts eighth and was lucky to stay upright coming into the final chicane near the end of the session, almost hitting the back of his teammate Jakub Kornfeil. Bester Capital Dubai’s Marcos Ramirez joins Championship protagonists Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio on the third row of the grid, 0.725 off pole.

Albert Arenas (Angel Nieto Team Moto3) crashed early in the session after running wide at Turn 9, with Kazuki Masaki (RBA BOE Skull Rider) almost destroying his KTM machine at Turn 7 after a huge crash early in the session – both riders ok, and Masaki just able to head back out for a shakedown at the end of the session.

Dennis Foggia (Sky Racing Team VR46), Kornfeil, Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) will serve 12-place grid penalties for riding slowly in 3 or more sectors, with Adam Norrodin (Petronas Sprinta Racing) starting from the back of the grid for the same, but repeated, offence.

So, it’s pole position master Martin who is the quickest man going into Sunday’s race, make sure you don’t miss what promises to be another phenomenal Moto3™ battle at Assen. Lights go out at 11:00 local time (GMT +2).