MotoGP Live Ticker Assen: Battle for Pole! Qualifying for the premier class
Jorge Martin's manager, Albert Valera, just made it unmistakably clear at the MotoGP microphone: The Spaniard is on the open rider market for 2026 and is open to offers from other manufacturers. Given the exit clause in his contract with Aprilia, he does not consider himself bound to the contract until the end of 2026. Martin is therefore going on the offensive and actively offering himself for a move. This is adding new impetus to a potential legal dispute with Aprilia.
Things get really exciting again at the end: Fernandez sets a new best time of 1:31.517 minutes. Mir climbs to second place, but is then edged out at the last moment by Aldeguer, who is only 44 thousandths of a second faster than Mir on his final lap. The Honda rider remains stuck in Q1 in third place, along with Miller, Savadori, and Binder right behind him.
Aldeguer sets a new session best time of 1:31.637 minutes and moves into the lead. He and Fernandez are separated by just 19 thousandths. Miller moves up to third place, just 0.067 seconds behind Fernandez.
Fernandez improves to 1:31.656 minutes and maintains the lead ahead of Mir, who pushes Ogura into second place. Meanwhile, Rins collides with a slow-moving Bastianini and is forced to abort his lap. The situation is being investigated. This could result in a penalty.
The first qualifying session is in full swing, and Fernandez sets the early benchmark with a 1:32.047 on the first flying lap. His Trackhouse teammate Ogura, initially in second place, crashed at Turn 8.
In the end, Quartararo is the only rider in this session to break the 1:32 barrier. With a time of 1:31.876, he tops the practice session ahead of Bagnaia, Acosta, Bezzecchi, and Marc Marquez . Vinales, Morbidelli, Aldeguer, Alex Marquez , and Di Giannantonio complete the top 10, separated by 0.526 seconds. The good news: after the numerous crashes yesterday, there were no crashes this morning.
The riders are concentrating on working on their race pace and diligently completing their laps. The order of the field: Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Marc Marquez, Quartararo, Vinales, Aldeguer, Alex Marquez, Acosta, Morbidelli, Di Giannantonio. Less than half a second separates the top 10.
On Friday, Quartararo was the fastest with a time of 1:31.156 minutes. Now, with used tires, the pace is in the mid-to-low 1:32 range. On his fourth lap, Bagnaia moves to the top of the standings with a time of 1:32.102 minutes.
MotoGP also now has another 30 minutes to prepare for the race and complete a few fast laps before qualifying.
Most drivers start the session with used soft tires, both front and rear. Meanwhile, the skies over Assen have clouded over again. Temperatures are 21 degrees Celsius in the air and 28 degrees Celsius on the asphalt. It's still windy.
In the final stages of the race, both Fantic riders crashed at Turn 5: first Baltus, then Canet. Ortola took the lead in the standings with a time of 1:35.565 minutes, followed by Canet and Gonzalez. Baltus finished fourth, just 0.069 seconds off the fastest time.
Agius rounds out the top 5. Arenas, Dixon, Ramirez, Salac, and Moreira follow behind. The fastest ten riders are separated by a good half a second.
The next crash in Turn 5: Salac slides over his front wheel, but he's not hurt. He's dropped to fourth place in the standings. Gonzalez and Canet have overtaken him. Baltus continues to hold the lead.
Navarro crashes in the final chicane, where he already had a slip yesterday. He's okay, though. Baltus leads the standings with a time of 1:35.634 minutes. Salac is second, 0.408 seconds behind. Agius, Canet, and Gonzalez follow behind. He's still a bit behind yesterday's best time.
Next up, the Moto2 team heads out for its final practice session. Filip Salac led the way yesterday with a time of 1:34.869 minutes. How fast will it be now?
Almansa remains in front. His Leopard teammate Fernandez finishes second, tied with Rueda, who is third. Carpe and Roulstone round out the top five. Lunetta, Quiles, Nepa, Foggia, and Buasri occupy the remaining top ten positions. Foggia appears to have a late technical problem and is coasting to a halt.
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