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).
MotoGP™ Qualifying Results
1 - Marc Marquez (SPA) HONDA 1'32.791
First Independent Team Rider:
2 - Cal Crutchlow (GBR) HONDA +0.041
3 - Valentino Rossi (ITA) YAMAHA +0.059
Moto2: 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).
Moto2™ Qualifying Results
1 - Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) KALEX 1'37.608
2 - Marcel Schroetter (GER) KALEX +0.073
3 - Luca Marini (ITA) KALEX +0.081
Moto3 The master of qualifying: Martin takes pole at Assen
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).
MotoGP