Pecco Bagnaia has taken pole at the MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix. The Italian from Ducati has imposed his pace for the second consecutive Saturday and has managed to break the absolute record of the track by rolling in a time of 1:31.504. Fabio Quartararo had to settle for second position after failing on his last fast lap attempt. Jorge Martín also lost any pole option by crashing at turn 5, but he will start tomorrow from a magnificent third position.
The day began with the announcement of the Pol Espargaró drops out for the rest of the race. The Repsol Honda rider continues to suffer from the injuries caused by his crash at the Sachsenring last week. His brother Aleix was the protagonist of the other side of the coin by leading the FP3 with a time of 1: 32.164. Hours later, the rain threatened to appear in a Q1 that started with problems for Enea Bastianini. The Ducati failed and the Gresini rider had to ride from that moment on with his second bike.
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Things weren’t easy for Joan Mir after going down with five minutes to go. Although Suzuki managed to get back on track, his pace was not enough to get the pass to Q2. Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder would be in the fight for pole after leading Q1 from very early on. During the first minutes of the second qualifying session, that fight seemed to be a matter of three. Jorge Martín was the first to beat the absolute track record when rolling in 1:37.708.
However, the honor of being the fastest man in Assen would be short-lived. With four minutes to go, Pecco Bagnaia surpassed him by more than two tenths and he returned to the pits considering his lap good. Fabio Quartararo was the one who was closest to beating him, but an error on his last flying lap that almost cost him the fall left him without options. Jorge Martín did not suffer the same fate a few minutes before, which left him out of the final battle.
Marco Bezzecchi will head the second row of the grid ahead of Aleix Espargaró who was not at all satisfied with his result. Jack Miller has achieved sixth position, although he could receive a penalty for riding too slow on the line after hitting the ground. This action ended up putting Maverick Viñales at risk, a rider with whom the Australian had to apologize after finishing the session. Johann Zarco, Miguel Oliveira, Álex Rins and Brad Binder completed the ‘top 10’.
Photos: Ducati