Title: Bagnaia sets the pace in MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix practice sessions
Francesco Bagnaia carried his impressive performance from Mugello to the practice session of the MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix. Bagnaia clocked a time of 1:32.401s, narrowly defeating Marc Marquez and Raul Fernandez, with only one-tenth of a second separating the top three riders on the challenging Assen circuit.
Marquez initially dominated the session, quickly adapting to the high-speed track of Assen on his Gresini Ducati. He became the first rider to break the 1:32s barrier, but it was Bagnaia who ultimately claimed the top spot, leaving Marquez in second.
Raul Fernandez showed renewed confidence as the top Aprilia rider on his satellite bike, securing the third position. 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo finished just behind in fourth place.
Maverick Vinales, who recently joined the Tech3 team, completed the session in fifth place, closely followed by his teammate Aleix Espargaro. Despite a challenging start, Espargaro managed to recover and secure sixth place.
At the end of the session, Di Giannantonio initially set the fastest lap, but due to exceeding track limits, he was demoted to seventh place. Alex Marquez also had a strong performance for the Gresini team, placing both riders in the top eight. KTM rider Brad Binder finished in ninth place.
The new lineup for Aprilia in 2025, consisting of Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi, finished in tenth and eleventh place, respectively, despite being half a second behind the leading trio. Enea Bastianini took twelfth place, followed by Trackhouse’s Miguel Oliveira.
In a surprising twist, rookie sensation Pedro Acosta secured the fourteenth position in the final standings, just two tenths behind Oliveira. Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli struggled once again, finishing one second behind Bagnaia in thirteenth place. Alex Rins also faced difficulties in maintaining a consistent pace on his Yamaha.
Jack Miller’s struggles with KTM continued as he finished in a disappointing seventeenth position. LCR Honda’s Taakaki Nakagami emerged as the top Honda rider in eighteenth place. Luca Marini secured the nineteenth position on his Repsol Honda bike, while GasGas rider Augusto Fernandez finished in twentieth place. The Honda duo, Johann Zarco and Joan Mir, ended the session at the back.
Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori concluded the proceedings in last place.
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