Marquez falls again as Bezzecchi sweeps Friday Dutch TT practice

VR46 Ducati MotoGP rider Marco Bezzecchi completed a clean sweep of the premier-class Friday practice sessions at Assen, as Marc Marquez crashed once again.

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Key moments:

> Perfect day for Bezzecchi
> KTMs, Aprilias and Quartararo join Ducatis in Q2
> Marquez comes up short after fall

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Six-time champion Marquez, racing not fully fit this weekend after his multi-crash disaster weekend at the Sachsenring, was well outside of the automatic Q2 spots coming into the final minutes of the hour-long session.

But while he seemed to secure the golden ticket in starting a late flying lap behind Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales, rapid all day, Marquez immediately tucked the front going through the long Ossebroeken left-hander while trying to stay in touch with the Aprilia RS-GP.

💥 @marcmarquez93 has no luck at all at the moment #DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/lIljst01kW

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 23, 2023

He was seemingly unhurt, but under no illusions that the session could be salvaged.

Bezzecchi, who had led virtually all of FP1, improved by just a tenth and a half in the second session – but it was still plenty good enough to keep him in the top spot.

Behind him, in the in-form Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) made it a Ducati 1-2, but the manufacturer’s former employee Jack Miller prevented a Ducati top-three lockout, elevating himself into third place with a last-gasp improvement in the wheeltracks of Gresini Ducati’s Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Championship leader Pecco Bagnaia was fourth, exactly two tenths behind Bezzecchi, followed by Vinales and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo.

Vinales’ Aprilia team-mate Aleix Espargaro took seventh place, followed by KTM’s Brad Binder, VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini and Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez – the latter duo making it five Ducatis out of eight with automatic passage to Q2. The younger Marquez had had a massive moment on the rear earlier in the session.

A little more sideways than @alexmarquez73 would have wanted! 😮#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/DkWEyCJOBn

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 23, 2023

Johann Zarco (Pramac) was the quickest rider to miss out on Q2 passage, followed by the RNF Aprilia duo.

Marquez’s fall meant LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami was comfortably the best of the RC213V riders, but he was still nearly four tenths off a Q2 spot in 14th.

The only other rider to crash besides Marquez was Tech3 Gas Gas rookie Augusto Fernandez, whose second fall of the weekend came at Turn 1, Haarbocht.

Marquez’s team-mate for the weekend, Honda World Superbike regular Iker Lecuona, was ultimately 22nd, two tenths behind Marquez and Honda tester Stefan Bradl and 1.657s off the pace.

Practice 2 Results