MotoGP: Is history being made as the paddock heads to Assen?

Le MotoGP one of its temples is back for the Dutch Grand Prix at Assen.after a short trip from Brno, where the 101st victory of Marc Márquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) in MotoGP has placed the World Champion right back at the heart of the fight for the title and the future...

Going from a 102-point deficit after the Italian Grand Prix to just 40 points two weekends later is a monumental turnaround that no one saw coming, including at Aprilia where Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) and Jorge Martín (Aprilia Racing) have accumulated incidents, as have Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) moreover, forced to drop to 6th place in the overall standings.

From now on, 4th, Marc Marquez He himself admitted to getting back into the championship race after feeling "finished" at Mugello. That's why, with the Sachsenring approaching, Assen represents a crucial weekend for Marco Bezzecchi et Jorge Martínwho absolutely must react, although still leading the championship with a modest advantage of around twenty points over Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).

Corn (Mais) Marc Marquez He was not content with this fantastic comeback; he also put his stamp on the future, after officially extending his contract with Ducati for two more seasons.

In short, one round away at the Sachsenring, one of his favorite left-hander circuits, King Marquez almost monopolized the headlines, overshadowing the very good performances ofAi Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and its first pole position, then a second place in the Sprint, then another second place in the Grand Prix, as well as those of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) which has achieved four consecutive third places in Grand Prix and which secured its first Sprint victory of the season. Pecco is only 13 points behind his teammate in the standings and arrives on a circuit where he won in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The many twists and turns of Brno are therefore preparing for another high-tension weekend on the mythical TT Circuit of Assen, a track steeped in more history than any other, the Cathedral of Speed.

In the midst of this battle of wits, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) remains the best Ducati in the championship for the moment, by 17 points. The Italian regretted his poor first lap at Brno, which probably cost him a podium finish, but he nevertheless continued to close the gap on the leaders. Solid and consistent, the proud Roman is, however, seeing his lead shrink as he tries to carry the Borgo Panigale torch, due to the meteoric rise of Marc Marquez, and to a lesser extent of Francesco Bagnaia.

Still on the side of Bologna's second-string players, Fermin Aldeguer He expressed satisfaction with his sixth place finish in Brno, while acknowledging that he will now need to improve his qualifying performances to increase his podium opportunities in the upcoming rounds. Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) will be back after missing the Sprint and the Brno Grand Prix, looking to continue his physical build-up on a particularly demanding circuit.

As for Franco Morbidely (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team)… let’s not talk about it!

At Noale, the relatively easy domination of the early season suddenly turned into a catastrophe, opening the door wide to the red peril, and despite three RS-GPs in the top 5, four in the top 8, serenity is no longer the order of the day!

It's fair to say that Brno was a difficult weekend for the championship leaders. Following his suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct, Marco Bezzecchi will want to turn the page and score big points in the Netherlands to reignite their title campaign. The Italian rider finished on the podium twice at Assen last year, as well as in 2023. If there's one circuit Aprilia wanted to visit this weekend, Assen is probably at the top of the list, making this tenth round crucial for the Noale-based manufacturer.

The Czech Grand Prix Jorge Martín It looked complicated from the start with its two Long Laps to complete. He ultimately finished ninth, meaning that only eight points now separate the two Aprilia riders at the top of the championship.

A strong response from the two leaders in black is therefore expected, especially since just a few meters away, in the other half of the Trackhouse garage, Raul Fernandez He also delivered a solid performance. Seventh on Sunday despite being in less than ideal health, the Spaniard managed to limit the damage and score valuable points. Let's hope number 25 is in better form this weekend…

A response is also expected from Peter Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) which had a weekend disrupted by reliability issues at Brno, culminating in a breakdown on the last lap of the Grand Prix.
A fifth place seemed a foregone conclusion. Admittedly, it wasn't the result the Shark was aiming for, but it still represented a good total of points.
Last year, Assen gave him a fourth place. Another assault on the podium therefore seems possible, provided that KTM has resolved its recent technical problems, as the Spaniard possesses the necessary speed to challenge the Ducatis and Aprilias, as he has already demonstrated on several occasions.

However, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as well as the Red Bull KTM Tech3 riders, Enea Bastianini et Maverick VinalesThey had a much quieter weekend in the Czech Republic: will they stay outside the Cathedral of Speed in Assen?

At Honda, fifth place Joan mir (Honda HRC Castrol) and his teammate's eighth Luca marini allowed us to leave Brno with a smile.
This is the first time since Japan that the Spaniard has scored points in both Sprint and Grand Prix races, while the Italian has achieved a fourth Top 10 finish in the last five Sundays – solid results to which we can add another convincing weekend for Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR), who achieved his best MotoGP qualifying result, and Honda arrives at Assen with renewed confidence, still with the interim rider Cal Crutchlow Castrol Honda LCR as a replacement Johann zarco.

Finally, for the Yamaha riders, the main source of satisfaction in Brno was their fourteenth place finish. Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), which allowed him to add some points to his tally.
On the other hand, the fall of fabio quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), abandonment ofalex rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and sixteenth place Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) confirmed another difficult Sunday for the Japanese manufacturer despite a flowing track historically favourable to the M1.

Can Yamaha take a step forward at Assen?