If the 3-week spring break, due to the postponement of the Kazakhstan Grand Prix due to the floods which hit the region, was furnished by the headlines of the successive changes of positions on the chessboard of the 2025 transfer window, it is now time to resume accounting for the Championship of the MotoGP world championship, heading into its 8th round, which starts today at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands. This season, there is still one championship to win, with 13 Grands Prix, 13 Tissot Sprints and a maximum of 481 points before the succession of two classics, starting with the TT Circuit Assen which is celebrating its 75th Grand Prix since it has been on the calendar every year since 1949, with the exception of an absence in 2020 due to the pandemic…
More than just an Excel table, our graph allows you to immediately see the asymptotic shape of the curve
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), one of only two riders to have scored the maximum points during a weekend this season, with Maverick
Vinales (Aprilia Racing). The reigning double world champion did not miss his home meeting at Mugello, and is 18 points closer to the lead in the general classification, all the more confident since he won there last year. pass. On paper, he is therefore the favorite, and his speech proves it…
“After Mugello, having three weeks off to recover was a good thing. I rested a bit, but mostly continued training, riding my Panigale V4S on the track and then competing in a Monster Energy event at Silverstone with other drivers. Today, things are getting serious again and I am happy to resume the season at Assen, one of my favorite circuits, which I have tattooed on my arm. During the last GPs, we worked well and my sensations with the Desmosedici were very good. I remain on two consecutive victories, three if we count the Mugello Sprint, so, for sure, the conditions are met to continue to work well. I hope the weather will be good and allow us to work consistently since the first session on Friday, but in any case, I am ready to face the weekend in any conditions. »
In front of the Ducati official only appears the championship leader, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), humiliated by Borgo Panigale despite his top performances for two years. The one who bet on Aprilia from 2025 will undoubtedly be keen to show that he is the best, even if the meter track has hardly been favourable to him so far, the Madrilenian only having one podium at the Dutch TT, a victory from pole in 2018 in Moto3™ on the way to the crown. He finished P5 in 2023 for his best result in MotoGP™ on the circuit. In 2021, he qualified 14th, moved up to 12th place at the start of the race before dropping back to 19th place and retiring, consequences of his injuries sustained in Portugal earlier in the season. 7th in 2022, 6th in the Sprint and 5th in the GP in 2023, we will not draw any predictions from this…
Four other drivers seem able to come and play spoilsport, starting of course with Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) which, from Jerez, makes good money from its race weekends.
Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) are also capable of very good things, although a little less consistent at the moment.
But to write the eighth chapter of this 2024 MotoGP season, it will be necessary to cover the 4,542-meter track 13 times during Saturday’s Sprint and complete 26 laps on Sunday, on a track with a not very abrasive surface characterized by very fast sequences, especially in the second part.
Brembo sleeps soundly,
Michelin brought a harder front tire…
Among the current full-time riders, 9 have reached the podium at Assen in MotoGP, Marc Marquez (7), Viñales (4), Quartararo (2), Bagnaia (2), Bezzecchi (2), Miller (1), Joan Mir (1), Alex Rins (1), Aleix Espargaro (1), et
7 made the pole,
Marc
Marquez
(1),
Johann
Zarco
(1),
Bagnaia
(1),
Quarterly
(1),
Alex
Espargaro
(1),
Vinales
(1)
et
Bezzecchi
(1).
The last editions were won by Francesco Bagnaia (2023 et 2022), Fabio Quartararo
(2021), Maverick Vinales (2019), Marc Marquez (2018) and
Valentino Rossi (2017, his last victory).
The records are set in 1’41.472 for pole position (Marco Bezzecchi) in 2023, and 319.8 km/h for the speed (Andrea Iannone) since 2015!
Weather-wise, we should avoid the rain…
While we wait to find out more, when the 23 pilots (Lorenzo Savadori is once again a Wildcard for Aprilia) are preparing for this first 45-minute free practice session, with wind, a rather overcast sky and temperatures of 20° in the air and 34° on the ground, let’s enjoy these few moments of live coverage thanks to the official MotoGP.com website:
Here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far.
| MotoGP™ Netherlands, Assen | 2023 | 2024 |
| FP1 | 1’32.246 Marco Bezzecchi (See here) | 1’32.401 Francesco Bagnaia (See here) |
| Practice | 1’32.063 Marco Bezzecchi (See here) | (See here) |
| FP2 | 1’32.405 Marco Bezzecchi (See here) | (See here) |
| Q1 | 1’31.993 Johann Zarco (See here) | (See here) |
| Q2 | 1’31.472 Marco Bezzecchi (See here) | (See here) |
| Sprint | Bezzecchi, Bagnaia, Quartararo (See here) | (See here) |
| Warm Up | 1’32.422 Fabio Quartararo (See here) | (See here) |
| Course | Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Espargaro (See here) | (See here) |
| Record | 1’31.472 Marco Bezzecchi (See here) |
When the red lights go out… the future official Ducati rider
Marc Márquez rushes first in front of his brother
Alexwhile the future Tech3 pilot
Maverick Vinales stays in his box.
Aleix Espargaro experiences a technical problem right from his box which causes him to fall, then sets off for a few meters before stopping again at the edge of the track.
In terms of tires, everyone is on medium at the rear, with soft or medium at the front.
Marc Márquez set a benchmark in 1’34.286 in his second flying lap, immediately beaten by
Francesco Bagnaia at 1’34,225.
The Spaniard regained the advantage in 1’33.693 on the next pass, this time surpassed by Raul Fernandezat 1’33,642.
Marc Márquez puts his work back on the table and displays 1’33.004 in his fourth flying lap, but again
Francesco Bagnaia regains the lead in 1’32.820… we’re already looking forward to 2025, even if, ultimately, Pecco’s time is canceled!
At the end of the first run, the hierarchy is therefore composed of
Marc Marquez, Jorge Martin, Maverick Vinales, Enea Bastianini, Alex Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Quartararo, Raul Fernandez, Francesco Bagnaia, Pedro Acosta, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Franco Morbidelli, Miguel Oliveira, Johann Zarco, Nakagami, Augusto Fernandez, Aleix Espargaro, Lorenzo Savadori, Johann Mir, Brad Binder, Luca Marini, Jack Miller and Alex Rins.
On the Yamaha side, Fabio Quartararo seems to have driven with the new engine, recognizable thanks to its short exhaust. Each of the two drivers of an M1 equipped in this way, the other having the long exhaust and the normal engine.
On resumption, Francesco Bagnaia takes command in 1’32.625 and everyone improves behind him, starting with the two brothers Marquez but also
Jorge Martin and Raul Fernandez.
A quarter of an hour before the checkered flag, Pecco Bagnaia progresses to 1’32.401 at the moment Marc Márquez is getting closer to 15/100, and we really have the impression of a duel of egos between the two future teammates…
Before the final confrontation, the table presents
Francesco Bagnaia, Marc Márquez, Maverick Vinales, Alex Márquez, Jorge Martin, Brad Binder, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Aleix Espargaro, Enea Bastianini, Fabio Quartararo, Brad Binder, Marc, Franco Morbidelli, Pedro Acosta, Miguel Oliveira, Alex Rins, Jack Miller , Takaaki Nakagami, Augusto Fernandez, Johann Zarco, Luca Marini, Lorenzo Savadori and Joan Mir.
Even though this session does not count for direct passage to Q2, some start in the last one with a new rear tire, or even a soft tire like Fabio Di Giannantonio, Fabio Quartararo and Marco Bezzecchi. This is not the case of Francesco Bagnaia whose tires are already 17 laps old, and which appears ultra-dominant despite the tenacious opposition of Marc Marquez…
Logically in these conditions, Fabio DiGiannantonio achieved the best time, in 1’32.314, but one can wonder what the real point of the maneuver was… especially since, in any case, his time was ultimately cancelled.
See you at 3:00 p.m. for the Pre-Qualifying Practice!
FP1 MotoGP standings for the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix in Assen:
Credit ranking: MotoGP.com
MotoGP Netherlands Assen
