Moto2 begins its eighth meeting of the season on an Assen track which was once a cathedral before being transformed into a chapel. But the place remains sacred and the intermediate category arrives presenting a title race which has never been so close. Only seven points separate the leader Morbidely of his dolphin Lüthi while the third Alex Marquez won the last round in Catalonia.
The games are therefore open and it won't just be these three who want to shine in the Netherlands. So, Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) scored its first success at Assen last year. With Tom Luthi, Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) and Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), the Japanese is one of four drivers entered this season to score a Top 3 on the Dutch track. Likewise, Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team) reached the podium in the last two races; the last time he achieved this was in 2009 (Donington and Brno).
Before launching hostilities, here is the chronometric inventory:
| #DutchGP Moto2 | 2016 |
2017 |
| FP1 | 1'38.375 Takaaki Nakagami (see here) | |
| FP2 | 1'37.962 Tom Lüthi (see here) | |
| FP3 | 1'37.427 Johann Zarco (see here) | |
| Qualification | 1'37.954 Tom Lüthi (see here) | |
| Warm up | 1'38.033 Takaaki Nakagami (see here) | |
| Course | Nakagami, Zarco, Morbidelli (see here) | |
| All time lap record | 1'36.346 Zarco 2015 |
The pack is launched after a certain delay following the mechanical setbacks experienced by the MotoGP victims of Ducati breakages. The time for Morbidely to ensure a future among the elite by moving up the ranks within his current Marc VDS Racing team. At least that's the certainty displayed by his boss in the box Michael Bartholemy who is also awaiting the renewal of Jack Miller.
Considerations far from the concerns of a Simone Corsi which opened the list of falls from the first minutes of the session. In 1'39.647, Tom Luthi signed the first reference. Alex Marquez responded with a 1'39.398. Mobidelli was thus warned about the form of his direct adversaries! So, just before completing the first quarter of an hour of the exercise, he showed off his muscles with a 1'39.272.
In this distance fight, the Swiss who had scored in all the races so far responded in 1'38.765. It is by wanting to echo this performance thatAlex Marquez fell in turn 16.
Gravel scatters everywhere as @ alexmarquez73 tucks the forehead! 😣#DutchGP pic.twitter.com/Q5kWoD4QsT
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) June 23, 2017
In the area of falls, Sandra Cortese offered his own on his Suter in turn 1. Ten minutes from the goal, Olive tree registered second with his KTM. Virgin was seventeenth with the Mistral610 and Quarterly twentieth. The last five minutes were marked by the accident of Yonny Hernandez who got up without damage. Jorge Navarro preferred, for his part, to taste the gravel of turn 3 and bagnaia favored those of turn 1. Nakagami, winner last year, remained on his wheels and finished in second place.
Under the checkered flag, Lüthi retained its advantage over Nakagami wheras'Olive tree showed his KTM in the leading trio. Schrotter ensured diversity with its Suter keeping in respect Morbidely despite everything in the top 5.
Baldassarri led the rest of the peloton in front Axel Pons et Alex Marquez. Simeon et Syahrin closed the top 10 at Pasini et Virgin on the Mistral 610. fabio quartararo is twenty-third.
#DutchGP Moto2 FP1: Chronos
1. Thomas luthi SWI CarXpert Interwetten (Kalex) 1m 38.492s
2. Takaaki Nakagami JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex)
1m 38.737s
3. Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 1m 38.783s
4. Marcel schrotter GER Dynavolt Intact GP (Suter) 1m 38.784s
5. Franco Morbidelli ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS (Kalex) 1m 38.942s
6. Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA Forward Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 39.189s
7. Axel Pons SPA RW Racing GP (Kalex) 1m 39.191s
8. Alex Marquez SPA EG 0,0 Marc VDS (Kalex) 1m 39.306s
9. Xavier Simeon BEL Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 (Kalex)
1m 39.315s
10. Hafiz Syahrin MAL Petronas Raceline Malaysia (Kalex)
1m 39.341s
11. Mattia Pasini ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 39.391s
12. Xavi Verge SPA Tech 3 Racing (Tech 3) 1m 39.495s
13. Jesko Raffin SWI Garage Plus Interwetten (Kalex) 1m 39.546s
14. Isaac Viñales SPA BE-A-VIP SAG Team (Kalex) 1m 39.590s
15. Luca marini ITA Forward Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 39.669s
16. Dominique Aegerter SWI Kiefer Racing (Suter) 1m 39.792s
17. Francis Bagnaia ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (Kalex) 1m 39.821s
18. Remy gardner AUS Tech 3 Racing (Tech 3) 1m 39.885s
19. Sandra Cortese GER Dynavolt Intact GP (Suter) 1m 39.986s
20. Jorge Navarro SPA Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 (Kalex)
1m 40.084s
21. Yonny Hernandez COL AGR Team (Kalex) 1m 40.146s
22. Simone Courses ITA Speed Up Racing (Speed Up) 1m 40.321s
23. fabio quartararo FRA Pons HP40 (Kalex) 1m 40.382s
24. Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 1m 40.455s
25. Andrea Locatelli ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 40.692s
26. Tetsuta nagashima JPN Teluru SAG Team (Kalex) 1m 40.757s
27. Iker Lecuona SPA Garage Plus Interwetten (Kalex) 1m 40.974s
28. Stefano manzi ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (Kalex) 1m 41.069s
29. Tarran Mackenzie GBR Kiefer Racing (Suter) 1m 41.386s
30. Edgar Pons SPA Pons HP40 (Kalex) 1m 41.497s
31. Augusto Fernandez SPA Speed Up Racing (Speed Up) 1m 41.708s
32. Khairul Idham Pawi MAL IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex)
1m 41.941s
# Moto2 FP1 🏁@ThomasLUTHI fastest in the first session ahead of @ takanakagami30 and @MiguelMoto3 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/5AzHkIDGYG
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) June 23, 2017
