MotoGP Assen: Moto2 race preview

Fernandez arrives on favoured turf with the number 37 now well in contention after another Moto2 showcase on Sunday. Can Vietti, Ogura or Canet fight back?

After a bumpier start to the season, it’s now very much in gear for Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Augusto Fernandez as the number 37 laid down a dominant performance at the Sachsenring. His gap to the top is now just 12 points after a DNF for championship leader Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46) and a tougher weekend for Idemitsu Honda Team Asia’s Ai Ogura in Germany, and guess where his favourite track is? The TT Circuit Assen, where he’s won before and took a podium in 2021.

Vietti, Ogura and Aron Canet (Flexbox HP 40), the latter with a few more days to get back to fitness, will be keen to spoil the party ahead of summer break, however. Elf Marc VDS’s Sam Lowes also put a long run of bad luck to bed at the Sachsenring and will expect to be fast at Assen. The Brit may way feature once again - as may compatriot Inde Aspar’s Jake Dixon as it’s a venue he knows well.

Some big news will also see the second Red Bull KTM Ajo of Pedro Acosta sidelined after that second place in Germany, with the rookie breaking his leg in training and set to miss the Dutch TT.

Liqui Moly Intact GP’s Marcel Schrötter, meanwhile, missed out on a home podium but was very close… and his run of top four, five or six finishes continued. Can he feature once more at the Motul TT Assen?