#DutchGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Bezzecchi bounces back into title fight with Sprint win
The tables continue to turn in the 2023 MotoGP™ Championship story. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) took his debut Sprint victory to close in on his title rivals Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). Bagnaia had no answer for his Italian counterpart as the World Champion was forced to settle for 2nd place in the 2023 Motul TT Assen Sprint. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team) crossed the line in 3rd place but was awarded a three-second penalty for exceeding track limits. This promoted Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) to 3rd as he returned to the top three.
Crunch time in Assen
With two of the title-fighting trio on the front row and the other down in P10, a lot was riding on the inaugural Assen Sprint. Bezzecchi lined up on pole position, eager to get the better of Championship leader Bagnaia.
The lights went out and it was a lightning start from Bagnaia who slotted up the inside of Bezzecchi at turn one to take the holeshot. Binder got a flyer off the line as well, shooting himself up into P3 at turn one from P5 on the grid. Binder quickly found his way past Bezzecchi too, with Bagnaia locked in his sights. One lap later Bezzecchi pushed his way through on Binder, with Quartararo waiting to pick up the pieces in P4.
Bezzecchi swiftly pushed past Binder and it didn’t take long for the pole sitter to close down on Bagnaia’s lead. The young Italian put in the fastest lap of the race so far to drag himself and Binder up to the World Champion with 10 laps to go. Whilst on Bagnaia’s rear wheel, Bezzecchi wasted no time in getting past the no.1 plated Ducati, flying past on the back straight.
Bezzecchi then proceeded to stretch out the field as he put down a pace that no one could match around the Assen circuit. The Italian controlled the pace at the front, keeping Bagnaia consistently just under a second at bay. The VR46 man then sailed to victory, leaving his title rival in his tracks and denying him Sprint glory.
A slither of hope for Yamaha
Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo kept himself in podium contention from start to finish during Saturday’s Sprint. The Frenchman did all he could to get the better of Binder for the final spot in the Sprint top three but didn’t quite enough in the tank, as Binder instead homed in on Bagnaia.
The South African kept the 2nd-placed Bagnaia honest to the line, but a few too many ventures out of track bounds meant a three-second penalty for the South African, which demoted the KTM man to P5 behind the 4th-placed Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing). Whilst it wasn’t the way Quartararo would’ve wanted to achieve it, it was an important top three for the Yamaha squad.
Martin on the move with title hopes on the line
With his Championship rivals locked in battle at the front, Jorge Martin had a mountain to climb from the fourth row. Whilst the action unfolded at the front of the Sprint, Martin had shot his way up into P6 after the first lap had been ticked off.
The Spaniard was the fastest man on track on lap 2, shooting his way up into the top 5. That was all she wrote for the Sachsenring victory however, as he was unable to improve any further and lost 5th place to Aleix Espargaro by the time the flag had dropped.
Almost a second back from Martin was his Spanish compatriot Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) who finished in P7 ahead of Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) who took the final Sprint points.
If Saturday’s action at the Motul TT Assen is anything to go by, you do not want to miss any of the action on Sunday’s billing as the race gets underway at 14:00 local time (GMT +2).
Top 10:
1. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team)
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – +1.294
3. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) – +1.872
4. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) – +2.245
5. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – +4.582
6. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) – +5.036
7. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) – +5.876
8. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) – +10.056
9. Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) – +10.102
10. Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) – +10.52
MOTOGP – RACE: Bagnaia bites back in brilliant battle at Assen
A lot was riding on the Motul TT Assen as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) went from struggling for form in Practice 1 to adding another win to his 2023 title tilt, outpacing Tissot Sprint winner Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) on Sunday. Bezzecchi went into the Grand Prix race as the rider to beat with incredible pace around the Assen circuit, but was forced to settle for second place on Sunday. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) once again crossed the line in third but was demoted out of the top three for exceeding track limits, this time on the last lap, which promoted Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) into third to take an important Grand Prix podium.
Action underway in Assen
The grid settled on one of the most iconic circuits on the 2023 MotoGP™ calendar, as with points to be won ahead of the summer break. The pressure was on for the title-fighting trio as third-placed rider in standings, Bezzecchi, was looking strong in the Netherlands after taking pole and the Sprint win. With just 31 points covering the top three, there was plenty to play for with Championship leader Bagnaia sat alongside Bezzecchi on the front row and third overall, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), facing a mountain to climb from the fourth row.
When the lights went out it was Binder who flew his way into the lead of the race from fifth on the grid, diving up the inside of Bagnaia at Turn 1 to snatch the holeshot at the apex, elbows out as ever. Binder led the way on lap one ahead of Bagnaia and Bezzecchi, with Aleix Espargaro and Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) keeping themselves in contention in fourth and fifth.
Meanwhile, Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) had made a good start to his Grand Prix, flying up to fifth from seventh on the grid. The opposite was true for Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as he then crashed out from behind the Aprilia, leaving Viñales to shoot off. He was the fastest rider on the circuit, too, past Marini on a charge until he crashed out.
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) also suffered early dramas, he enjoyed a return to the top three in Saturday’s Tissot Sprint but got a terrible start in Sunday’s Grand Prix dropping down to 12th place from 4th on the grid, and then crashed out alongside Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) in a premature end to their races.
Survival of the fittest
Meanwhile at the front, Bagnaia took the lead from Binder with 24 laps to go, making light work of the South African to put down a blistering pace at the front. The Italian began to put the hammer down, with Binder latched onto his rear wheel and Bezzecchi next up, the top three beginning to break away from the rest of the field. The laps ticked away and it seemed Bagnaia was controlling the pace, stretching out the leading battle. But Binder and Bezzecchi were still very much on the chase, and with 10 to go Bezzecchi had enough of following the KTM. The Italian decided it was his turn to follow the race leader Bagnaia as he pushed the South African to one side to take over in second, the mission now: catch Pecco.
It went down to eight-tenths, back up to a second, and then down to nine-tenths. Then it was 1.3, 1.1… but Bezzecchi couldn’t breach the gap. Binder wasn’t going down without a fight either, as he tried all he could to bite back. By the last lap, it was clear: Bagnaia had controlled the race perfectly, just staying clear of Bezzecchi as the two came home separated by just over a second. But the fight for third rolled on…
Fine margins make the difference in MotoGP™
By the last few laps, Binder had company from Aleix Espargaro and Martin, with the three glued together. First it looked like the Aprilia was closest to try and strike on the KTM, and the number 41 homed in on the first part of the final lap. But Binder put in a masterclass defensive performance and fended off the two behind to cross the line in third… or did he? Fine margins decided the South African’s fate once again, however, as a track limits breach on the final lap warranted a +1 position penalty, demoting him to fourth.
Espargaro had his hands full on the last lap with Martin trying to find his way through, too. It was an epic drag to the line that saw the Prima Pramac Ducati pull alongside the factory Aprilia as they crossed the line side by side, with almost nothing in it – but that almost nothing was enough to see Aleix Espargaro awarded that final place on the rostrum. Binder is classified fourth, and Martin fifth.
Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) finished sixth ahead of Marini as the Italian got mugged through the final chicane mid-race, losing four positions at once. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMISTU) bagged P8, some distance up the road from Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and rookie Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3), who rounded out the top 10 in a solid Sunday effort.
It was a big weekend for Bagnaia’s 2023 Championship campaign as the Italian not only displayed the ability he and Ducati have to overcome a lack of feeling in Practice but also showed his Championship rivals he means business in 2023. MotoGP™ now takes a short break for the summer before returning to action at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix from the 4th to the 6th of August. Make sure to keep up to date with all of the action as it unfolds on motogp.com!
Top 10:
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team)
2. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) +1.223
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) +1.925
4. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)+1.528
5. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac
6. Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) +12.437
7. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) +14.174
8. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU) +14.616
9. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) +29.335
10. Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) +33.736
“It felt a bit like a survival race today. I had a good start but then some issues in the first few laps and a moment at the final chicane. It was hot and difficult out there and I didn’t feel great on the bike. I tried to recover positions and wanted to get some points. It’s been a solid first half of the season but I want to make a step in the second half because I think I have the potential and will try to improve.”
Augusto Fernández P10
“It was undoubtedly a great weekend. On a track where we do not test, and with a lot of things to try, just missing a top-10 finish in such a close race is truly wonderful. It’s a shame about a small problem at mid-race that forced me to slow down, just when I was rather easily recovering to move into tenth place. But nothing can take away this performance that does a world of good for me and for Aprilia, demonstrating the quality of our hard work.”
Lorenzo Savadori P11
“I could have done without this before the break, we were having a good race; maybe I could have made up some more places, but unfortunately the front closed in on me at turn 5. This weekend we had a lot of ups and downs, but what counts is that we are doing well in the races, yesterday I had a good race and today I took another step. I think I could have gotten a good result because my sensations were good, only that I’m still lacking corner turn-in, when I try to do a bit more the bike closes in. The ’23 bike behaves differently from last year’s, we still need to adjust, but I think that during this weekend we made some important changes; my setup from last year unfortunately didn’t work so we had to start from scratch. Now I’m going on vacation, with a bit of a bad taste in the mouth because of the result!”
Enea Bastianini NC
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Assen.