The Ducatis seemed to be in trouble at the end of FP3, but in the end it will be a Desmosedici GP that will shoot at the post at Assen. Pecco Bagnaia did a great job of fine-tuning in the fourth free practice session, improving the feeling with his red and then in qualifying he pulled off a truly impressive lap.
For the second attempt he anticipated the competition, entering the track first to prevent anyone from attempting to take his hook. And it took him just one lap to unleash a sensational 1’31 “504, a new record for the Dutch track, which was immediately clear that it would be difficult for anyone else to beat.
Among other things, there is a statistical curiosity: today is the 63rd pole position in the history of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer and at Mugello Pecco had also signed the 63rd success. 63 is therefore a recurring number, since it is also the one it wears on the front fairing. For the Piedmontese, on the other hand, this is the fourth pole of the season, the tenth in his career in the premier class.
The last to surrender was Fabio Quartararo, who in the penultimate lap reduced the gap from the Ducati rider to just 116 thousandths. Then, despite the now particularly used tire, he tried again and miraculously managed to avoid being thrown off his M1 at turn 5. The most interesting thing, however, is that in terms of pace the first two seem to be really close to each other. race optics, so it promises to be a great show.
To complete the front row there is a surprise, because after a somewhat shady weekend, when it was time to attack the clock, Jorge Martin’s paw arrived. The Prima Pramac Racing driver is a little sore, because he was the victim of a slight infection on his operated hand, but this did not stop him from being the first to drop below the track record. But then he crashed at turn 5 and therefore could not replicate at the times of the first two.
Great performance also for Marco Bezzecchi, who will open the second row. The driver of the Mooney VR46 was good at going to catch Bagnaia’s hook in the right lap and in this way he closed just 292 thousandths behind his brand mate. A great performance for the rider from Romagna, who preceded Aleix Espargaro’s Aprilia, who was unable to make a second attempt at the end, always being slowed down by the yellow flags.
Sixth is Jack Miller, but the Ducati rider risks running into a penalty again like at Sachsenring, as well as crashing at turn 5 without being able to improve in the second run. The Australian was moving slowly and hampered Maverick Vinales’ Aprilia, which was probably one of the disappointments of this qualifying, having failed to do better than the 11th fastest time after shining this morning in FP3.
The third row opens with Johann Zarco’s Ducati, almost seven tenths of a second behind Bagnaia’s pole position. After passing the cut of Q1, the KTMs instead went to slip respectively in eighth and in tenth position with Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder.
Between the two RC16s is Alex Rins’ Suzuki, who once again failed to capitalize on the good he had shown in free practice in qualifying. But already being in the third row isn’t bad, as he’s recovering from a fractured left wrist. The picture of the riders who competed in Q2 is then completed with the best of the Hondas, that of Takaaki Nakagami, who paid an abyss, however, almost 1 “5.
Unfortunately, none of the Italian drivers involved in Q1 managed to get the pass for Q2. The first of the eliminated was for example Luca Marini. The driver of the Mooney VR46 attempted the assault several times at the time of the KTMs, but in the end he paid too much in T3 and was out for 237 thousandths.
Joan Mir’s was not a good qualifying either: the Suzuki rider was the protagonist of a crash at turn 5, then he set off again and tried all the way to the checkered flag. Tomorrow, however, he will have to field his GSX-RR in the center of the fifth row, in 14th position.
Then we find the two Gresini Racing Ducatis, with Fabio Di Giannantonio who for the umpteenth time managed to get behind Enea Bastianini. The Rimini rider, however, was really unlucky: his Desmosedici GP died as soon as he came out of the pitlane, forcing him to race back to the pits and wait for the mechanics to restore the second bike, which in the meantime had been set up in the wet.
At this point, “Bestia” was able to complete only one run, albeit quite long, and was unable to do better than 16th place on the grid, preceding Andrea Dovizioso’s Yamaha RNF, who will share the sixth row with his compatriot and with Stefan Bradl’s Honda.
Another difficult day for Franco Morbidelli, who finds himself in 20th place on the grid with his Yamaha, eliminated by over half a second. Instead, you have to scroll down to 22nd place to find Lorenzo Savadori, with the Aprilia wild card who, however, was able to get behind the rookies Raul Fernandez and Darryn Binder.
We must also remember the absence on the track of Pol Espargaro, who this morning decided to stop his Dutch weekend here. In fact, in a crash at Sachsenring last week, he injured his side and the pain today was still too strong.
Q2 standings
Q1 standings
#MotoGP #Bagnaia #smashes #Assen #record #takes #pole