Francesco Bagnaia confirmed his dominance on the opening day of the MotoGP Dutch GP. This afternoon, he led the practice session in Assen, just as he did in the first free practice this morning.
Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) was the initial leader of the session, starting 0.062s ahead of Raúl Fernández (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia), with Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) in third. Fernández then took the lead, with Bagnaia (Ducati) positioned in second, 0.070s behind. Viñales improved to maintain third.
💪 @TrackhouseMoto on top early! @25RaulFernandez has just gone top of the pile 📈#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/pYgxiyKVLs
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 28, 2024
Shortly after, Martín returned to the top of the table, with Bagnaia in second by 0.035s. Fernández dropped to fourth, surpassed by Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati), who would later lose third place to his brother Álex.
Within the first quarter-hour, Bagnaia claimed first place, with Viñales rising to second simultaneously. The top three were separated by just 0.057s. Martín secured second place ahead of Viñales, who at moments was also behind Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM).
The top three positions remained the same, but there were several changes behind them as riders improved their times in the first half of the session, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) in fourth, later dropping to fifth when Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati) moved to third and Álex Márquez to fifth.
The times continued to drop, and Marc Márquez moved to second, becoming Bagnaia’s main pursuer 20 minutes before the checkered flag. The Spaniard even managed to overtake Bagnaia briefly, but Bagnaia quickly reclaimed the top spot. At that point, Enea Bastianini (Ducati) climbed to third.
Over two tenths clear! 🔥@PeccoBagnaia just LOVES Assen and it shows ❤️#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/kwkrgrBXUL
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 28, 2024
The final minutes were frenetic. A crash by Bastianini caused some riders to lose fast laps. Bagnaia remained unbeaten, finishing as the leader with a lap of 1m31.340s. Viñales was second, 0.065s behind, while Álex Márquez finished third, 0.255s back. Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) and Martín completed the top five.
💨 @Bestia23 was going to improve again
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 28, 2024
But he hit the deck with less than 3 minutes to go 💥#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/KdriMKKRRK
Espargaró ended with a crash, again affecting some riders whose laps were canceled. Marc Márquez was sixth, Binder seventh, Bastianini eighth, Fernández ninth, and Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac/Ducati) completed the top ten, securing the last direct spot in the second qualifying.
In 11th, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) missed that goal by just 0.041s. Among the other riders who will have to go through Q1 include his teammate Álex Rins (14th) and rookie Acosta (15th).
Timesheets:
Perfect @PeccoBagnaia on Friday in Assen! ✌️
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 28, 2024
That's a free-practice clean sweep for the reigning World Champion as the Aprilias follow 👀#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/KJCTLElWht
