Rennie Scaysbrook | June 26, 2022
Sunday
MotoGP
The Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia has shot back into the MotoGP title picture after taking victory in a chaotic Motul TT Assen. World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) clashed with his nearest rival on the points table, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) on Lap 5 at the TT Circuit Assen, then crashed again later in the race. It left Pecco to take a much-needed victory, with fellow Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) claiming a career-best second place and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) clinching third.
Bagnaia had some luck on his side with Quartararo (20) making his first mistake of the year. Espargaro’s fight back through the pack was inspiring.
From as low as 15th, Espargaro got back to fourth by the checkered flag, a charge he completed with an incredible double-move on Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), ahead of Miller, Martin, and Mir, who had contact with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as they lined up on the grid before a hit with Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) once the race had actually started. Oliveira shed bodywork in that incident but still finished ninth, ahead of Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Nakagami, Zarco, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) in the final points position.. Heading into the summer break, Quartararo’s Championship lead over the Aprilia pilot has been cut to 21 points, with Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) third at 58 points off the pace, and Bagnaia back up to fourth at just eight points further back.
2022 Dutch TT MotoGP Results
| 1 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
(Duc) |
|
| 2 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Duc) |
+ 0.444 |
| 3 |
Maverick Viñales |
(Apr) |
+ 1.209 |
| 4 |
Aleix Espargaro |
(Apr) |
+ 2.585 |
| 5 |
Brad Binder |
(KTM) |
+ 2.721 |
| 6 |
Jack Miller |
(Duc) |
+ 3.045 |
| 7 |
Jorge Martin |
(Duc) |
+ 4.340 |
| 8 |
Joan Mir |
(Suz) |
+ 8.185 |
| 9 |
Miguel Oliveira |
(KTM) |
+ 8.325 |
| 10 |
Alex Rins |
(Suz) |
+ 8.596 |
Moto2
The Moto2 World Championship sits on a knife edge going into the summer break after Augusto Fernandez picked up his second win in a row, at the Motul TT Assen. The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider has moved into a share of the points lead with Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), who finished fourth at the TT Circuit Assen. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) sits just a point further back after somehow staying on his bike and hauling his way back from as low as 16th to claim second on the day, with pole-sitter Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) completing the podium.
Fernandez held strong in a frantic Moto2 race. Beaubier (6) crashed out of fifth late in the race.
At the start of Lap 21, Beaubier crashed out of fifth position as he came under big pressure from Celestino Vietti.
2022 Dutch TT Moto2 Results
| 1 |
Augusto Fernandez |
(KTM) |
|
| 2 |
Ai Ogura |
(Hon) |
+ 0.660 |
| 3 |
Jake Dixon |
(GasGas) |
+ 0.725 |
| 4 |
Celestino Vietti |
(Kal) |
+ 0.758 |
| 5 |
Bo Bendsneyder |
(Kal) |
+ 1.485 |
| 8 |
Joe Roberts |
(Kal) |
+ 7.396 |
| 19 |
Sean Dylan Kelly |
(Kal) |
+ 44.544 |
| DNF |
Cameron Beaubier |
(Kal) |
|
Moto3
Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max’s Ayumu Sasaki has become a Moto3 race winner in a frantic finish at the Motul TT Assen. The ‘Crazy Boy’ converted pole position into victory on team owner Max Biaggi’s 51st birthday, although it was a triumph which he had to work extremely hard for. The GASGAS Aspar Team’s Izan Guevara led for the bulk of the 22-lap race around the TT Circuit Assen and managed to finish second despite being shuffled as far back as fifth on the final lap, while his team-mate Sergio Garcia held onto the World Championship lead by beating Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) to the podium by just 0.007 seconds.
Ayumu Sasaki finally clinched a Moto3 victory at Assen.
David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) took Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) out as they battled for the podium in the last half a lap, with John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) having his own crash just behind them, while Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) had highsided just laps earlier after fighting back from a Long Lap Penalty to be mixing it with the leading group again.
2022 Dutch TT Moto3 Results
| 1 |
Ayumu Sasaki |
(Hus) |
|
| 2 |
Izan Guevara |
(GasGas) |
+ 0.314 |
| 3 |
Sergio Garcia |
(GasGas) |
+ 0.392 |
| 4 |
Tatsuki Suzuki |
(Hon) |
+ 0.399 |
| 5 |
Xavier Artigas |
(CFMoto) |
+ 0.661 |
2022 Dutch TT News—Saturday
Pol Withdraws
Pol Espargaro’s miserable run continued at Assen as the Catalan withdrew from the Dutch TT on Saturday morning due to an injury to his left ribs sustained in a Friday spill at the Sachsenring.
The former Moto2 champion was in some discomfort in FP1 and FP2 as he attempted to manhandle his RC213V around the track’s numerous high-speed changes of direction. Then upon waking up on Saturday, it soon became clear he could no longer ride through the weekend.
Pol Espargaro is out of the Dutch TT, still in pain following his German GP crash.
“I feel sorry for the team to not be able to ride the bike,” Espargaro said. “It’s more painful to hear the bikes on track without me there than the pain in my body. But when I woke up this morning I struggled to walk, to breathe. Jumping on a MotoGP bike you need to be 100 percent. Otherwise, it’s impossible. The injury got worse yesterday. I want to check in the hospital because I feel something isn’t good. I want to make sure it doesn’t get worse during the summer break and I can come back in good conditions.”
Zarco likely to stay put for 2023
Rarely mentioned as one of MotoGP’s leading names, Johann Zarco has been one of the unsung heroes of the year so far, sitting third in the standings coming to Assen, and crucially the top Ducati. And all of this while acting as the factory’s guinea pig, the only rider from their stable persisting with the front ride height device in the opening ten races.
Zarco will likely be in pink, purple and white again in 2023.
Zarco’s efforts will be rewarded with a contract extension, most likely in the Pramac team. “They know how I think,” he said coming into the weekend. “They know the chance to stay with Ducati is the best thing for me to build up my results and get a victory. It’s not signed, but just by talking, it’s almost 100% sure. I joked with (Paolo) Ciabatti and (Gigi) Dall’Igna that if they have hesitation between an Italian and Spanish rider to put next to Pecco, they can put a French one!
“But I have a good relationship with Pramac. When a satellite team with a factory bike has good results like we’re doing, it’s great. If I win races and can be a contender for the title, then it will be even better to be in the factory.”
MotoGP pondering schedule changes?
Series organizers Dorna launched a survery for fans to complete during the German GP. Viewers and fans were asked whether they would like to see a shake up to the structure of a race weekend, with fresh ideas like points awarded for qualifying, and shorter sprint races held alongside the main event.
Could sprint races be on the cards for MotoGP soon?
On the possibility of changing how points are awarded in the series, Fabio Quartararo said, “I think qualifying is good because it’s only a few laps and then we decide in the race as I think this is quite a mythical part of a weekend. So I think about sprint race is not a great idea.
“Maybe the only thing I can say is put an extra point like Formula One for the fastest lap of the race.
The Sprint race is giving a nice show, but with how intense MotoGP is at the moment I don’t see myself to do a race on Saturday and be ready for the Sunday.”
Saturday
MotoGP
Francesco Bagnaia has stormed to pole position for the Motul TT Assen, shattering the All Time Lap Record as he looks to breathe new life into his MotoGP™ World Championship title bid. The Ducati Lenovo Team rider set a 1:31.504 to beat the old benchmark at the TT Circuit Assen by more than three tenths of a second. Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) qualified second and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) was also on lap record pace as he grabbed the final berth on the front row.
Bagnaia was beautiful once again for pole in Holland.
Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) went under the lap record too, setting a 1:31.796 which puts him fourth on the starting grid, while Free Practice pace-setter Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) grabbed fifth with a 1:31.868. That was just 0.364 seconds away from pole and Espargaro must have felt he had more, considering he vented his anger at Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) when the Australian triggered a late yellow flag with a spill at De Strubben. Miller, who would be classified sixth on the 1:32.124 which he set on his first run, then had an even bigger moment with another Aprilia when Maverick Viñales came up behind him at high speed on the final flying lap. The Ducati rider would later be handed a Long Lap Penalty by stewards for riding slow on the race line.
Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) took seventh on a 1:32.175, and will be joined on Row 3 by Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar). The Red Bull KTM Factory duo had both gone the long way in qualifying and Brad Binder would eventually claim 10th on the grid, ahead of Viñales and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu).
2022 Dutch TT Results—Saturday
| 1 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
(Duc) |
1:31.504 |
| 2 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
+ 0.116 |
| 3 |
Jorge Martin |
(Duc) |
+ 0.204 |
| 4 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Duc) |
+ 0.292 |
| 5 |
Aleix Espargaro |
(Apr) |
+ 0.364 |
| 6 |
Jack Miller |
(Duc) |
+ 0.620 |
| 7 |
Johann Zarco |
(Duc) |
+ 0.671 |
| 8 |
Miguel Oliveira |
(KTM) |
+ 0.768 |
| 9 |
Alex Rins |
(Suz) |
+ 0.803 |
| 10 |
Brad Binder |
(KTM) |
+ 0.863 |
Moto2
Jake Dixon has scored the Moto2 pole position after an unbelievably close Q2 session at the Motul TT Assen. Not only did he beat his teammate Albert Arenas by 0.011 seconds in an Inde GASGAS Aspar Team qualifying one-two at the TT Circuit Assen, Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) and Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) were each only 0.020 seconds slower again. Ogura may have missed the front row but he has a tantalising chance to move into the World Championship lead on Sunday afternoon given Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) could only manage 11th on the grid after a crash.
Dixon left it to the last possible second to snag pole from his teammate Arenas.
2022 Dutch TT Moto2 Results—Saturday
| 1 |
Jake Dixon |
(Kal) |
1:36.736 |
| 2 |
Albert Arenas |
(Kal) |
+ 0.011 |
| 3 |
Sam Lowes |
(Kal) |
+ 0.031 |
| 4 |
Ai Ogura |
(Kal) |
+ 0.051 |
| 5 |
Alonso Lopez |
(Bos) |
+ 0.106 |
| 7 |
Joe Roberts |
(Kal) |
+ 0.148 |
| 18 |
Cameron Beaubier |
(Kal) |
+0.796 |
| 24 |
Sean Dylan Kelly |
(Kal) |
+1.146 |
Moto3
Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) has taken pole position for Round 11 of the Moto3 World Championship at the Motul TT Assen after a late crash for fellow Japanese rider Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing). The latter had been fastest with a minute remaining in Q2 at the TT Circuit Assen, and looking like going even quicker again when he had a spill which opened the door for his compatriot. Sasaki, who is still far from full fitness after a nasty incident at Mugello back in May, then seized top spot with a 1:41.296. Suzuki – who would be declared fit after a check at the medical center – will at least start from the middle of the front row due to the 1:41.362 he set on his first run. The form man in the Championship, Izan Guevara (GASGAS Aspar Team), joins them at the head of the field for lights out.
Ayumu Sasaki took the pole in Moto3.
2022 Dutch TT Moto3 Results—Saturday
| 1 |
Ayumu Sasaki |
(Hus) |
1:41.296 |
| 2 |
Tatsuki Suzuki |
(Hon) |
+ 0.066 |
| 3 |
Izan Guevara |
(GasGas) |
+ 0.206 |
| 4 |
David Muñoz |
(KTM) |
+ 0.368 |
| 5 |
Dennis Foggia |
(Hon) |
+ 0.469 |
2022 Dutch TT News—Friday
The MotoGP Merry-Go-Round
There were further developments in the rider market between the German and Dutch Grand Prix. Miguel Oliveira is edging toward a place in the RNF Aprilia squad while Pol Espargaro is all-but-confirmed at Tech3 KTM for next year. And most surprisingly of all, Alex Marquez is closing in on the Gresini Ducati seat, with Enea moving to either the factory Ducati team, or Pramac.
“Concerning the discussions between Alex Marquez and Gresini, we know that it’s an ongoing discussion,” admitted Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati’s Sporting Director on Friday. “But it’s something managed by the team, not Ducati.”
Alex Marquez on a Ducati? Apparently, the deal is closer to being done than we may think.
In Marquez’s place, Alex Rins is the favorite to land a seat at LCR Honda. “The material conditions will be the same, the material will be the same (as the factory team),” he said on Friday. “Yes, it is true that the teams are the same and we have spoken with LCR, because they have not given us the option of speaking with Repsol. Since I’ve been in MotoGP I’ve been at Suzuki and it’s going to be a big change to get to the V4 engine, but in the end we’re ready and we’re not afraid.”
Bagnaia analyzing
The cerebral Francesco Bagnaia is not the kind of character to shrug off one crash, never mind a series of them. The Italian suffered a costly crash in Germany, his fourth DNF in 10 races. He subsequently spent the days between the German and Dutch GPs attempting to understand where he went wrong at the Sachsenring.
There can be no more of this if Bagnaia is going to recover the points hole he’s found himself in.
“The three times I crashed this year, the first time in Qatar I was pushing,” he said of his analysis. “I was pushing because I was behind, I was trying to recover and I crashed. In the other two times (at Le Mans and in Germany), in the same moment I said, ‘I will be more calm, breathe and then come back’. I crashed.
“Maybe with our bike, my feeling is that when you are not pushing on the tires maybe it’s easier to crash. It’s easier, also for the concentration. I want to say that I never lose my concentration during the race, but maybe thinking to be more calm and to breathe is not a thing that helped me.”
Toprak’s MotoGP test
Reigning World Superbike Champion Toprak Razgatioglu had his much-anticipated outing on a Yamaha M1 at Aragon on Tuesday. The 25-year old completed 40 laps in sweltering conditions in the morning with test rider Cal Crutchlow also present, before rain brought a premature close to affairs.
Razgatlioglu enjoyed the MotoGP test but won’t be going anywhere in 2023.
Despite Yamaha’s preference to bring him to the MotoGP paddock, the Turk will stay in World Superbike for another year in 2023. Asked if he thinks Toprak has the talent to make it in MotoGP, Fabio Quartararo was unequivocal. “For me he is an extremely talented rider. You can see on his riding style, how much he pushed the bike,” said the Frenchman. “I’ve seen also the save he did in Estoril on the last chicane. The way he’s riding the Yamaha on the limit, I think he has the potential to jump in MotoGP.
“Of course it’s a total different story than superbike. I think he knows from the test of Aragon that it’s a much more rigid bike, much more different to ride, but for sure if he’s in full motivation, and he can really be on MotoGP, I think he can be a really fast rider.”
Friday
MotoGP
The Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia has claimed early bragging rights at the Motul TT Assen, with the fastest MotoGP lap in Friday Free Practice. The weather cleared up for FP2 at the TT Circuit Assen and Bagnaia, who is looking for a return to his race-winning form after two consecutive zeroes, went as quick as a 1:33.274 on slick Michelin tires.
The ever-consistent Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) claimed second and that put him just ahead of the man who he is trying to overhaul in the World Championship, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who was third-quickest.
Bagnaia barged his way to the top spot right at the end of Q2 at Assen.
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ensured that four different constructors would be represented in the top four when he laid down a 1:33.611.
Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) rounded out the top five on a 1:33.833, ahead of Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) on a 1:33.899, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) on a 1:33.938, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) on a 1:34.127, and Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) on a 1:34.286 in ninth. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Ducati) had been second fastest on a 1:34.312 when he had a low-speed spill at De Strubben in the final minutes and would be shuffled back to 10th by the time the music stopped.
2022 Dutch TT Results (Updated)—Friday
| 1 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
(Duc) |
1:33.274 |
| 2 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
+ 0.305 |
| 3 |
Alex Rins |
(Suz) |
+ 0.337 |
| 4 |
Jack Miller |
(Duc) |
+ 0.559 |
| 5 |
Joan Mir |
(Suz) |
+ 0.625 |
| 6 |
Maverick Viñales |
(Apr) |
+ 0.664 |
| 7 |
Brad Binder |
(KTM) |
+ 0.853 |
| 8 |
Johann Zarco |
(Duc) |
+ 1.012 |
| 9 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Duc) |
+ 1.038 |
| 10 |
Enea Bastianini |
(Duc) |
+ 1.042 |
Moto2
Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) has set the pace in Moto2™ FP2 at the Motul TT Assen. In an impressive display by the American, he put one over last weekend’s dominant race winner, Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) by setting a 1:37.393 in a dry afternoon session for the intermediate class at the TT Circuit Assen. Still, Fernandez is not far away from the best pace, despite a mid-session crash, while both Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) and Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) are lurking near the top of the timesheet also.
Joe Roberts has it well and truly hooked up right now and went P1 on Friday in Moto2.
2022 Dutch TT Moto2 Results—Friday
| 1 |
Joe Roberts |
(Kal) |
1:37.393 |
| 2 |
Augusto Fernandez |
(Kal) |
+ 0.136 |
| 3 |
Albert Arenas |
(Kal) |
+ 0.176 |
| 4 |
Ai Ogura |
(Kal) |
+ 0.317 |
| 5 |
Fermín Aldeguer |
(Kal) |
+ 0.447 |
| 16 |
Cameron Beaubier |
(Kal) |
+0.917 |
| 27 |
Sean Dylan Kelly |
(Kal) |
+2.678 |
Moto3
David Muñoz’s career might just be a few Grands Prix old but he was showing no signs of inexperience in the two wet Moto3 Free Practice sessions on Friday at the Motul TT Assen. The youngest rider in the field at just 16 years of age, he was fastest in both FP1 and FP2 on his BOE Motorsports KTM, getting down to a 1:49.491 in the afternoon running at the TT Circuit Assen. Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) and Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) completed the top three for both FP2 and the day overall.
David Munoz. Remember the name. He went P1 in Moto3 on Friday and he’s only 16.
2022 Dutch TT Moto3 Results—Friday
| 1 |
David Muñoz |
(KTM) |
1:49.491 |
| 2 |
Tatsuki Suzuki |
(Hon) |
+ 0.181 |
| 3 |
Ryusei Yamanaka |
(KTM) |
+ 0.232 |
| 4 |
Scott Ogden |
(Hon) |
+ 0.456 |
| 5 |
Andrea Migno |
(Hon) |
+ 0.579 |
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