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MotoGP

Resurgent Vinales leads first Assen MotoGP practice

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
3 min read

until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League

Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales set the pace in the opening MotoGP practice session for the Dutch TT at the iconic Assen circuit.

Though he made clear his continued discontent with his treatment at Yamaha following last weekend’s German GP, Vinales claimed that he could be fast at Assen “even with a Moto2 bike” – and his confidence was validated by a strong start to the weekend, as he led FP1 by six-and-a-half tenths at the halfway point.

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Honda’s Pol Espargaro jumped ahead a few minutes later, but Vinales – who said he would “exactly” copy Fabio Quartararo’s set-up this weekend – needed little time to retake the top spot, and would improve again moments before the chequered flag, posting a 1m33.072s.

Espargaro, who like Vinales is looking to emulate the settings used by his better-performing Honda team-mate Marc Marquez, improved moments after Vinales but settled for second, 0.111s off the pace.

Suzuki rider Alex Rins in third place was over three tenths down on Espargaro, with Quartararo a further tenth off in fourth.

Pramac rider Johann Zarco was the leading Ducati in fifth place, as neither of the factory team’s riders made it in the top 10. The same was true for KTM, its works duo no higher than 14th while Tech3’s Danilo Petrucci led the way in sixth place.

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Aleix Espargaro and Lorenzo Savadori made it two Aprilias in the top 10, in seventh and 10th respectively, split by the Hondas of Takaaki Nakagami and Marc Marquez. Nakagami had his two fastest laps deleted, and would’ve been fourth if his fastest lap had stood.

Replacing the injured Franco Morbidelli, who is set for surgery on his left knee on Friday, Petronas SRT Yamaha stand-in Garrett Gerloff was gradually getting closer to the pace when he suffered a mid-session fall.

World Superbike regular Gerloff did improve slightly after returning to the track, but wound up last, 2.9s off the pace.

Practice 1 Results

Pos Name Team Bike Gap Next Gap Leader Best Time
1 Maverick Viñales Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1m33.072s
2 Pol Espargaró Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.111s +0.111s 1m33.183s
3 Alex Rins Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +0.318s +0.429s 1m33.501s
4 Fabio Quartararo Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha +0.132s +0.561s 1m33.633s
5 Johann Zarco Pramac Racing Ducati +0.254s +0.815s 1m33.887s
6 Danilo Petrucci Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.052s +0.867s 1m33.939s
7 Aleix Espargaró Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia +0.054s +0.921s 1m33.993s
8 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda +0.011s +0.932s 1m34.004s
9 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.044s +0.976s 1m34.048s
10 Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia +0.05s +1.026s 1m34.098s
11 Jack Miller Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati +0.147s +1.173s 1m34.245s
12 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati +0.02s +1.193s 1m34.265s
13 Joan Mir Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +0.034s +1.227s 1m34.299s
14 Miguel Oliveira Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.123s +1.35s 1m34.422s
15 Valentino Rossi Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha +0.009s +1.359s 1m34.431s
16 Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.06s +1.419s 1m34.491s
17 Iker Lecuona Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.019s +1.438s 1m34.51s
18 Alex Marquez LCR Honda Castrol Honda +0.406s +1.844s 1m34.916s
19 Enea Bastianini Avintia Esponsorama Racing Ducati +0.337s +2.181s 1m35.253s
20 Jorge Martin Pramac Racing Ducati +0.039s +2.22s 1m35.292s
21 Luca Marini SKY VR46 Avintia Team Ducati +0.214s +2.434s 1m35.506s
22 Garrett Gerloff Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha +0.455s +2.889s 1m35.961s
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