Ducati Corse Media presents an update on Francesco Bagnaia’s impressive performance in Assen. Once again, he finished at the top of the MotoGP standings in the previous session before qualifying. Following closely behind are Maverick Vinales and Pedro Acosta. The reigning champion showed his confidence by setting a competitive time of 1.31.670s, with only 0.321s separating the top three riders. This final practice session allowed the riders to test their setups for the Sprint race later in the day, with qualifying immediately following.
Unfortunately, Marco Bezzecchi, the winner of the 2023 Sprint race, faced difficulties. He went off track and had a high-speed crash at Turn 7, leaving him perplexed about the setup of his bike. Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez also lost control at the same corner, mirroring Bezzecchi’s accident. As a result, the practice session was halted due to gravel on the racing line at Turn 7, ensuring the safety of the riders.
With only ten minutes remaining, all the riders went out on track to maximize their lap times. Vinales continued to demonstrate his raw speed, challenging the leader Bagnaia from the Ducati factory team. Rookie sensation Acosta also set his best lap time of the weekend so far. Marc Marquez opted for a soft rear tire on his final lap, improving his performance in all sectors but choosing to abort the lap. He secured the fourth position, followed by Jorge Martin and Franco Morbidelli from the Pramac team.
Fabio Di Giannantonio maintained his strong competitiveness, finishing in seventh place overall. Alex Marquez followed closely, finishing just 0.009s behind in eighth. Despite his earlier crash, Fernandez managed to secure ninth position, ahead of Aprilia factory rider Aleix Espargaro. Fabio Quartararo from Yamaha finished in 11th place, with Jack Miller from KTM and Enea Bastianini from the factory Ducati just behind.
Marco Bezzecchi, who faced potential injuries from his crash, finished in 14th, one second behind the leader. Brad Binder had a disappointing performance, finishing in 15th place. Miguel Oliveira finished 16th on his Trackhouse bike, ahead of the 2020 champion Joan Mir, who showed improvement with a 17th place finish for Honda. Alex Rins once again struggled on the Yamaha, finishing in 18th place, while Johann Zarco represented the leading LCR Honda team in 19th. Aprilia’s guest rider, Lorenzo Savadori, separated the LCR Hondas, with Taakaki Nakagami in 21st place. Luca Marini finished second to last, while Augusto Fernandez concluded the proceedings with a disappointing performance.
