Nobody could stop Marco Bezzecchi, dominating since the beginning of the weekend, in qualifying in Assen, Pecco Bagnaia revived after a difficult Friday by taking second place ahead of Luca Marini.
Behind this 100% Italian hat-trick, this front row locked by Ducati for the second time this season after Argentina, Fabio Quartararo returned to the second row, after a session marked by an atypical incident involving Marc Márquez and Enea Bastianini .
Zarco and Oliveira pass the cut, strange incident between Márquez and Bastianini
Forced to go through Q1 for the second time this year, Johann Zarco was the favorite to get out of it. The French faced in particular Enea Bastianini, still limited by a painful right shoulder, and Marc Márquez, also physically impaired after his heavy fall at the Sachsenring, and who assured Friday wanted above all to avoid the last line.
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Zarco took the lead on his first lap, ahead of Franco Morbidelli, who was on his wheel and didn’t want to let go, even when the Pramac driver went off track and then into the long-lap path. Takaaki Nakagami took the lead by 0.004, before being beaten by Miguel Oliveira.
Zarco was only third but quickly replied and completed a lap which placed him 0″353 ahead of his first pursuer. After this first stint, Nakagami was third ahead of Morbidelli and Fabio di Giannantonio. Márquez only occupied the sixth position, ahead of Bastianini.
The drivers took to the track again and Di Giannantonio created a surprise by moving up to second place, for only a few moments as Oliveira regained his good, remaining 0.094 behind Zarco.
Márquez lost his slim chance of entering Q2 with an astonishing fall as he crashed into Bastianini, the two having looked behind them without slowing down in the same proportions. The ensuing yellow flag robbed several drivers of an improvement and the leading pair remained unchanged, with Zarco and Oliveira securing the remaining two places in Q2.
Third in this Q1, Di Giannantonio will be 13th on the starting grid, ahead of Nakagami, Morbidelli and Raul Fernández. Marc Márquez will have to settle for a modest 17th place, ahead of Bastianini.
Dutch GP MotoGP – Q1
Bezzecchi maintains the advantage ahead of Bagnaia
Marco Bezzecchi was the natural favorite for pole after having led all practice sessions since the start of the weekend but Brad Binder created the surprise by being the first leader in Q2, ahead of the VR46 driver, Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo . Zarco was only sixth and Bagnaia, in difficulty on Friday, made a first lap at moderate speed, while Jorge Martín fell at turn 5.
Bezzecchi took power on his fast second lap, which put him ahead of Bagnaia and Viñales. Binder was only fourth ahead of Aleix Espargaró and Quartararo, while Zarco slipped to ninth position and Martín finished the run with no lap times under his belt.
The drivers returned to their garage before a final stint. First to return to the track, Quartararo took the lead, 0.104 ahead of Bezzecchi, who then regained the lead for 0.298, a new track record. Binder got between the two men and Quartararo was able to move up to second place… before Bagnaia and Luca Marini positioned themselves between Bezzecchi and him.
A crash by Marini at turn 8 caused a yellow flag and prevented many improvements. Bagnaia for his part made a mistake on his last lap, locking Bezzecchi’s pole. Despite his fall, Marini came to complete an Italian hat-trick and Ducati motorcycles.
Quartararo took fourth place, his best result of the year and his first qualification on the front two rows since the Valencia GP last year. The Niçois was ahead of Binder and Aleix Espargaró. Always present on the podium since 2018, Viñales had to settle for seventh place, ahead of Zarco and Álex Márquez. Martín only signed the tenth fastest time after his fall, ahead of Oliveira and Jack Miller.
Dutch GP MotoGP – Q2