P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Pecco Bagnaia’s chances of hacking into Jorge Martin’s 18-point MotoGP championship lead look good at the Dutch TT after an extremely strong Assen Friday for the reigning champion and a fraught afternoon for Martin
Pecco Bagnaia has a good opportunity to close in on Jorge Martin’s 18-point MotoGP championship lead at the Dutch TT following a strong performance at Assen, where he led both Friday practice sessions with an impressive pace and set a new track record. Conversely, Jorge Martin had a subdued morning and struggled in the afternoon, potentially facing a penalty for an on-track incident with Jack Miller’s KTM. Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro performed well, with Alex Marquez also showing a strong run. However, Aleix Espargaro’s session ended abruptly with a dramatic crash, resulting in his removal from the track on a stretcher. Other notable performances came from Marc Maquez, Brad Binder, and Enea Bastianini, while Fabio Quartararo narrowly missed out on Q2. Yamaha’s latest engine debut showed promise, propelling Quartararo to 11th place and Alex Rins to 14th. Dedanne Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio experienced challenges with track limits, while crashes involved Joan Mir, Luca Marini, Lorenzo Savadori, and Augusto Fernandez.”
