The Italian will start from the top of the grid for the fourth time this season with the aim of definitively transferring his dominance to racing performance on Saturday
Francesco Bagnaia was again the best in a standings. This time, the Italian Ducati rider took pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen, the ‘cathedral of motorcycling’, and did so with a track record.
The transalpine will thus start from the first grid position for the fourth time this season, with the challenge of finally transferring its dominance to race performance on Saturday.
World Champion Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo took second, while Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin completed the front row. Rookie Marco Bezzecchi was fourth, beating Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaró.
With the threat of rain, the drivers started aggressively in Q2 and it was Martín who set the early pace, but the Spaniard was overtaken by Bagnaia, who also took pole in Germany last week but crashed in the race.
“It was very difficult for me today. This morning (during practice) I wasn’t so happy… in the afternoon it was much better,” said the Italian. “Pecco (Bagnaia) was just great, as he always does in qualifying,” said Quartararo, who also set a lap record, but had to settle for second place. “I did my best… our house is looking good. Let’s hope for a good start and a nice race before the summer break.”
Enea Bastianini’s small championship hopes were dealt a serious blow after the Gresini Racing driver suffered a mechanical failure early in Q1 and never fully recovered as he could only finish 16th on the grid.
Quartararo, who is chasing his fourth win this season, is 34 points ahead of Aleix Espargaro at the top of the general classification, with Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco trailing a further 27 points in third.
Source: La Verdad
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