MotoGP, Quartararo lightning in pre-qualifying at Assen. Bagnaia 5th ahead of Marquez
Anything goes in the MotoGP pre-qualifying at Assen . Fabio Quartararo closes Friday with the best time in 1'31”156. The Frenchman, in fact, also makes a positive impression with his pace, making him a possible protagonist in the Dutch GP. Balance reigns, considering the manufacturers: in addition to the 2021 world champion Yamaha, in fact, there are three other brands in the first four places. Ducati smiles thanks to Alex Marquez (Gresini), second and more incisive than in FP1 . Third is Pedro Acosta with KTM, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi, best Aprilia rider.
A two-faced afternoon at Lenovo Ducati. Francesco Bagnaia finished fifth and confirmed his excellent pace, lapping at decent times with very worn tires. Marc Marquez, on the other hand, struggled. The Spaniard was sixth, but did not seem to shine and, at the end of pre-qualifying, he also suffered his second fall of Friday, after the crash in the morning. No serious consequences for the world championship leader. Fabio Di Giannantonio finished seventh, ahead of Maverick Vinales, who had a good race pace. In addition to the riders already mentioned, Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco also made it to Q2.
It soon becomes clear that it is not an easy session. Numerous slides in the first few minutes: Alex Marquez, Zarco, Aldeguer, Morbidelli, Bastianini and Espargaro go down, also due to the medium compound tire that struggles to find the right grip. The afternoon session suffers two interruptions. The first occurs halfway through the session, when Ogura falls and his Aprilia catches fire. Then, 15 minutes from the end, it is Savadori's turn to suffer a violent highside, ending up dangerously thrown into the middle of the track. A lot of fear, but fortunately nothing serious.
Here are the top 10 who will go directly to Q2 in Assen:
- Quartararo (Fra/Yamaha) 1'31”156
- A. Marquez (Spa/Gresini Ducati) +0.102
- Acosta (Spa/KTM) +0.193
- Bezzecchi (Ita/Aprilia) +0.196
- Bagnaia (Ita/Ducati) +0.254
- M. Marquez (Spa/Ducati) +0.299
- By Giannantonio (Ita/VR46 Ducati) +0.372
- Vinales (Spa/Tech3 KTM) +0.448
- Morbidelli (Ita/VR46 Ducati) +0.592
- Zarco (Fra/Lcr Honda) +0.620
These will be the 12 riders forced to go through Q2: R. Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia), Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati), Rins (Yamaha), Oliveira (Pramac Yamaha), Bastianini (Tech3 Ktm), Miller (Pramac Yamaha), Mir (Honda), Binder (Ktm), Savadori (Aprilia), Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia), Chantra (Lcr Honda), Espargaro (Honda)
La Gazzetta dello Sport
