MotoGP, Assen Race LIVE: Full box for untouchable Francesco Bagnaia!

Here we are at the Dutch Grand Prix which takes place on the selective and historic Assen track. Since Friday, Pecco Bagnaia has been beating the pace with a record pole position and a victory in the Sprint, thus closing a dream Saturday. But here we are on Sunday. Before diving into the fray, here is the presentation of the starting grid.  

The champion Pecco bagnaia qualified on pole for the first time since Malaysia last year. He won the Sprint, and it is the first time that he has won two Sprints in a row. On Sunday, he will try to win his third consecutive victory at the Dutch TT, becoming the first rider to do so in the premier category since Mick Doohan who won five in a row from 1994 to 1998. It would also be his third consecutive GP victory, something no driver has done since bagnaia himself in 2022, when he won four in a row, including the first here at Assen. It is also the only circuit where bagnaia won in all categories, and where he took his first victory in Moto3.

George Martin, the championship leader, qualified second for his sixth top-three finish in qualifying so far this year. He finished second in the Sprint (his sixth Sprint podium so far this season) and on Sunday he will look to take his eighth MotoGP victory and first in the premier class at Assen. However, he will do it from P5 on the grid after a three-place grid penalty.

Maverick Vinales qualified third for his fifth top-three finish in qualifying so far this season. He finished third in the Sprint (his fourth Sprint podium so far in 2024) and will now aim to take his 11th MotoGP victory, and his second in the premier class at Assen after winning in 2019 with Yamaha . He will start second.

Alex Marquez qualified fourth for his best qualifying result since qualifying third in Qatar last year. He was classified P8 in the sprint after receiving a penalty for track limits. He will now aim to add to his collection of podiums in the premier category: two with Honda and two with Ducati so far. And he will be on the first row while Martin goes down to P5.

Aleix Espargaró qualified fifth for his fourth top-six in qualifying so far this year. He fell in the sprint and was injured on this occasion, forcing him to withdraw.

After going through Q1, By Giannantonio qualified sixth for his best qualifying result at Assen in the category. He finished fifth in the Sprint and will now aim to take his second victory in the premier class or his third podium.

Marc Marquez qualified seventh despite a crash in Q2. He also fell in the sprint but will now aim to win for the first time since Emilia Romagna 2021 (ago 980 days). It would be his first Grand Prix victory with Ducati and Gresini.

Morbidely qualified eighth. He scored a point in the Sprint by finishing 9th, but will aim to secure his first podium since his third place at Jerez in 2021.

Binder qualified ninth for his second best qualifying result so far this year after qualifying fourth in Qatar, Spain and Catalonia. He finished sixth in the Sprint and will now aim to reach the podium for the second time since the start of the year with Qatar (P2), or win for the first time since Austria in 2021.

After going through Q1, the rookie Acosta qualified 10th, equaling his worst MotoGP qualifying result since Spain. Arriving 10th in the Sprint, his ambition will be to become the youngest winner of the premier category in 20 years and 36 days Sunday, thus snatching the record from Marc Marquez (20 years and 63 days in Austin in 2013). This is his penultimate chance to break the record.

Enea Bastianini qualified 11th, matching his worst qualifying finish so far this season. He still finished fourth in the Sprint and will now aim for his sixth MotoGP victory.

fabio quartararo qualified 13th and finished P7 in the Sprint for his second best Sprint result so far this year after Spain where he was fifth. He will now try to get his first podium since Indonesia last year (P3).

Having made our presentations, let us end with the table which summarizes the facts known so far.

MotoGP™ Netherlands, Assen	2023	2024
FP1	1'32.246 Marco Bezzecchi (See here)	1'32.401 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Practice	1'32.063 Marco Bezzecchi (See here)	1'31.340 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
FP2	1'32.405 Marco Bezzecchi (See here)	1'31.670 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Q1	1'31.993 Johann Zarco (See here)	1'31.372 Pedro Acosta (See here)
Q2	1'31.472 Marco Bezzecchi (See here)	1'30.540 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Sprint	Bezzecchi, Bagnaia, Quartararo (See here)	Bagnaia, Martin, Vinales (See here)
Warm Up	1'32.422 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'32.309 Fabio Di Giannantonio (See here)
Course	Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Espargaro (See here)	Bagnaia, Martin, Bastianini
All time lap record	1'31.472 Marco Bezzecchi (See here)	1'30.540 Francesco Bagnaia

Welcome to the Assen track where it’s race day! It's 22° in the air and 40° on the track. The sky is a little cloudy;

The fans are ready, we are ready...and you, are you ready for the duels that await us at the top?

Before the wild animals are released, check your counters, to make your predictions...Who do you think will win today???

For our memory…a reminder of the forces present!

Is it victory day for the youngest of the Marquez brothers??

Or would it be the day for Di Giannantonio who has been very fast since the start of the weekend??

Or for Martin... who must widen the gap in the championship, Bagnaia having returned yesterday with his victory 15 points behind the Pramac driver...

26 laps will be completed

Warm-up lap!!

It's off and it's Bagnaia who takes the lead ahead of Vinales and Martin. AMarquez and MMarquez complete the top5

Violent fall of Rins coming out of the first turn.

Very fast Martin gets the better of Vinales.

MMarquez gets rid of his brother and takes 3rd position.

Marini on the mat…

Acosta attacks AMarquez and it passes, he is 5th now.

Quartararo 13th, Zarco 17th.

The choice of tires…

Bezzecchi Falls.

Still 23 laps to cover, the top10 consists of: Bagnaia, Martin, MMarquez, Vinales, Di Giannantonio, Acosta, AMarquez, Binder, Bastianini and RFernandez. 

Di Giannantonio faster than rookie Acosta…

Bagnaia takes off and now has a lead of 1.185s over Martin. The only rider to ride as fast as the Ducati rider is Di Giannantonio...in the last lap, the VR46 rider even drove faster...he continues his effort and surprises Vinales as he passes, thus recovering 3rd position

Mir falls in turn 4

Di Giannantonio continues his comeback, he attacks MMarquez!! The Gresini driver does not resist him for long, he even lets him pass... the driver of the VR46 is virtually on the podium...

Which tire choice will pay off today???

16 laps are to be completed before passing under the checkered flag, and ahead Bagnaia maintains the pace with 1.009s ahead of his pursuer, Martin. Di Giannantonio, MMarquez and Vinales complete this top5.

Quartararo is 11th, Zarco 15th

Bagnaia traces his wake and relegates Martin to 1.404s behind. And the gap is widening more and more... 1.678s in the next hour

There are 11 laps left to complete

Long lap for Oliveira: track limits crossed

Things are heating up between Bastianini and Acosta…

With 9 laps remaining, the top10 is as follows: Bagnaia, Martin, Di Giannantonio, MMarquez, Vinales, Bastianini, Acosta, Binder, AMarquez and Fernandez.

Oliveira performs his long lap, but it is “poorly done”, he has to do it again…!!

Di Giannantonio misses and thus loses his 3rd position...it's Vinales who recovers 3rd position, MMarquez, 4th

In fact, a ragtag battle will begin between Vinales, MMarquez and Bastianini for the gain of 3rd position. Bastianini wins over the eldest Marquez, the top 5 is made up, 5 laps from the goal: Bagnaia, Martin , Vinales, Bastianini and MMarquez.

Bastianini wins on Vinales, the Ducati rider is provisionally on the podium, on the 3rd step

There are 2 laps left before Bagnaia celebrates his 2nd victory of the weekend... he has a 2.937s lead over Martin.

Last round….

Acosta Falls.

Victory for Bagnaia ahead of Martin and Bastianini.

Penalty for Vinales, the latter having bitten the limits of the track in the last lap… he thus gives up a position, he is therefore 6th

The Martinator finally held the line even though the weekend promised to be shady...

MotoGP, Assen Race: classification

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credit classification motogp.com