'It’s a special place' - Marco Bezzecchi takes pole at Dutch Grand Prix, while Marc Marquez crashes out in Q1

24.06.2023 - 11:21 eurosport.com

Marco Bezzecchi took pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix after a superb Q2 display in a record lap time at Assen. The Mooney VR46 rider's time of 1:31.472 ensured he would take pole for Saturday's sprint and main race, becoming the 13th different pole sitter in the last 13 races on the circuit.

Ad Bezzecchi took his place at the top of an all-Italian podium, as reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati finished 0.061 seconds further adrift after eight laps, while Mooney rider Luca Marini was 0.158 seconds back in third.

Grand Prix Germany‘He did nothing wrong’ — Nakagami says Marquez not at fault for latest crash19/06/2023 AT 09:28 However, it was far from plain sailing for Bezzecchi and was briefly overtaken by Fabio Quartararo, but the Yamaha rider would finish fourth and 0.199 seconds behind.

It was still a hugely impressive performance from Quartararo, who will start on the second row for the first time this year.

Sporting rowing sprint Marc Marquez Fabio Quartararo Francesco Bagnaia Jorge Martín Marco Bezzecchi Luca Marini Germany Netherlands Italy

Ducati boss David Tardozzi has criticised Marc Marquez for his gung-ho attitude and believes the Honda rider’s approach to racing should change. Marquez is yet to complete a Grand Prix this year after suffering a series of falls, and Tardozzi believes the Honda rider takes too many risks. Ad “He tries to do more things than the motorcycle allows him to do,” the Ducati told ASvia crash.net.

Marc Marquez: Honda chief suggests six-time MotoGP champion can leave contract a year early if he is unhappy

Honda MotoGP head Alberto Puig has appeared to tell Marc Marquez that he is free to leave his contract a year early. Marquez has a four-year deal with the team that is due to run until 2024, but his team announced that he would not take part in the Dutch Grand Prix after a succession of crashes at the last GP in Germany. Ad The six-time MotoGP champion was able to take part in yesterday’s sprint race at the track in Assen, but after an accident in qualifying with Enea Bastianini, he started in 17th and was unable to improve upon that.

Heartache for South Africa's Brad Binder as post-race penalty strips him of third

South African MotoGP star Brad Binder finished the Dutch Grand Prix in fourth place, having been demoted after crossing the finish line in third.

Francesco Bagnaia storms to fourth win of season ahead of Marco Bezzecchi in Assen with impressive showing

Francesco Bagnaia stormed to victory at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen and extended his championship lead. The Ducati rider took the lead on Lap 3 and gradually extended it to around one second to claim his fourth win of the season.

Brad Binder rues 'couple of millimetres' that denied him podium at Dutch MotoGP sprint race - 'Didn't even notice'

Brad Binder was left rueing misjudging the track by a “couple of millimetres” after he was cruelly denied a podium place at the Dutch MotoGP sprint race. The Red Bull rider was handed a three-second penalty on the final lap for exceeding track limits by the tiniest of margins. Ad That saw him drop into fifth place from third, boosting Fabio Quartararo into the podium places, and the South African admitted afterwards that he was confused at the end of the race.

Bezzecchi pips Bagnaia to win Assen TT sprint

ASSEN, Netherlands : Marco Bezzecchi of VR46 Racing underlined his dominance at the Assen TT on Saturday after the pole sitter beat Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia for his first sprint victory of the season.