Marco Bezzecchi took MotoGP pole in Dutch GP by 0.061s from Francesco Bagnaia, as Luca Marini ended up in third.
Q1:
It was a dry run in first part of MotoGP qualifying in Dutch GP with Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco set early pace with a 1m31.993s lap ahead of RNF Aprilia’s Miguel Oliveira as both dropped LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami to third in the order.
Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli was fourth from Gresini Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio and Honda’s Marc Marquez, who is to take a steady step this weekend. The second run did not start well for the Spaniard where he collided with Ducati’s Enea Bastianini.
Marquez seemed like going for a tow behind Bastianini at Turn 4, but collided with him at a slower speed. It ended his session, as Zarco’s initial pace earned him a Q2 spot along with Oliveira, while di Giannantonio in third to start from 13th with Nakagami just behind.
Morbidelli was 15th from RNF’s Raul Fernandez with Marquez only 17th ahead of Bastianini, whose moment just before the incident ruined his chances. Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori was 19th from LCR’s Stefan Bradl in place of Alex Rins.
GASGAS Tech 3’s Augusto Fernandez slotted in 21st ahead of Joan Mir’s replacement Iker Lecuona in the Honda, as Tech 3’s Jonas Folger rounded out the 23 MotoGP riders for Dutch GP at Assen.
Q2:
The second part in MotoGP qualifying in Dutch GP saw an early fall for Pramac’s Jorge Martin, as fast times started to come in. It was VR46 Ducati’s Marco Bezzecchi who set the pace with a 1m31.874s as he continued his fast run in qualifying too.
Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia was second from Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales, with KTM’s Brad Binder in fourth and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro in fifth. The second run saw fast times coming through when VR46’s Luca Marini crashed out at Turn 8 after his front row lap.
Bezzecchi, meanwhile, took MotoGP pole in Dutch GP after his 1m31.472s lap which broke the lap record as Bagnaia came close in second, finishing 0.061s behind. Marini was third in a Ducati 1-2-3, as Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo did well in fourth.
Binder dropped to fifth from Espargaro ahead of Aprilia teammate Maverick Vinales. Behind him, it was Zarco in eighth from Q2 with Gresini’s Alex Marquez ninth, Martin 10th, Oliveira 11th and KTM’s Jack Miller rounding the Top 12 runners.
Ducati lockout the front row 👏
But Yamaha, KTM and Aprilia are hot on their heels! ⚔️#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/SiwpX4Jy6G
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 24, 2023
UPDATE: Honda announced that Marquez will not take part in Dutch GP. “Marc Marquez will sit out the Grand Prix at the TT Circuit Assen after being declared unfit as a result of the injuries sustained at the German GP last week, which have been aggravated further in Assen,” said the note.