The chances of Pecco Bagnaia reducing Jorge Martin’s 18-point advantage in the MotoGP championship seem promising at the Dutch TT after a strong performance in Assen on Friday. Bagnaia, the current champion, led the morning session for the first time in his MotoGP career and continued his success in the afternoon session, securing first place with a new track record of 1m31.340s. Meanwhile, Martin had a lackluster morning and finished fifth in the afternoon, nearly half a second behind Bagnaia.
During the afternoon session, Martin faced a potentially dangerous situation when Jack Miller’s KTM touched his Pramac Ducati, causing Miller to lose a wing. Martin’s slow pace on the racing line may result in a penalty. Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro, riding for Aprilia, respectively claimed second and fourth place, with Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez impressively sandwiched between them.
Unfortunately, Espargaro’s session came to an abrupt end with a serious accident at the final chicane. He collided with his bike’s screen head-on and fell heavily on his back in the gravel. The medical team attended to him and transported him away from the scene on a stretcher.
In sixth place was Marc Maquez, following his brother by two tenths of a second. Brad Binder was the only KTM rider to secure a spot in Q2 so far. Pedro Acosta had a disappointing opening day, finishing in 15th place. Despite crashing with his Ducati in the final minutes, Enea Bastianini advanced directly to Q2, something he narrowly avoided in previous attempts.
Raul Fernandez, piloting a one-year-old Aprilia Trackhouse, and Martin’s teammate, Franco Morbidelli, completed the initial Q2 lineup. Fabio Quartararo narrowly missed a spot in Q2 but showcased Yamaha’s latest engine with an 11th-place finish. His teammate Alex Rins finished 14th. Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio, representing Ducati VR46, were separated by the two Yamaha riders, with Di Giannantonio struggling with track limit violations that affected his performance.
Joan Mir suffered a crash during the session, joining Repsol Honda teammate Luca Marini at the back of the pack. They were followed by Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori and struggling Tech3 rider Augusto Fernandez.
