Free Practice (1) results from the Dutch MotoGP at Assen, round 11 (of 20) in the 2022 world championship.
* Rookie
Official Assen MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Marc Marquez SPA Honda 1m 33.617s (2015)
Fastest race lap:
Fabio Quartararo FRA Yamaha 1m 32.869s (2021)
Jack Miller opens the Dutch MotoGP weekend on top of the timesheets during a soaking wet FP1 at Assen.
Reigning champion Fabio Quartararo, seeking to become the first Yamaha rider to win three in a row since Jorge Lorenzo in 2015, made a fast start, with team-mate Franco Morbidelli also making a rare 2022 appearance in P1.
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But it was Miller who then defied repeated front-end aquaplaning moments to put his factory Ducati quickest (by 1.3s) for most of the 45-minutes.
Conditions improved slightly in the closing stages, allowing the likes of Miller’s team-mate Francesco Bagnaia, Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and Repsol Honda’s Pol Espargaro to take turns at the front.
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Miller, who like most riders was using soft wets front and rear, repeatedly fought back and finished the session 0.109s ahead of Suzuki’s Joan Mir, with Pol Espargaro and Alex Marquez completing the top four.
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Quartararo meanwhile dropped to 17th.
Rookie Marco Bezzecchi was the first faller of the weekend, followed by fellow satellite Ducati rider Enea Bastianini. Both were caught out under braking at Turn 1, which proved easily the most treacherous corner on the circuit this morning.
The wet weather is expected to continue this afternoon.
Fabio Quartararo starts the Dutch TT at Assen, the final event before the MotoGP summer break, holding a 34-point lead over Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro and 61-point advantage over Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco.
That means, whatever happens on Sunday, the Yamaha star will remain at the head of the world championship table during the holidays, but the young Frenchman would no doubt love to close the opening ‘half’ with a repeat of last year’s Assen victory.
While Quartararo has built up breathing room at the top, the likes of Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini (-72 points) and especially factory Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia have suffered badly in recent rounds and will be desperate to steady the ship with a podium return in The Netherlands.
A dark horse could be Espargaro’s team-mate Maverick Vinales, who finished second to then team-mate Quartararo (from pole position) at Assen last season and arrives fresh from his best race showing on the RS-GP, until hitting ride height problems in Germany.
Meanwhile, the notorious Assen weather is set to keep riders and teams on their toes throughout the weekend.
Friday 24 June
8am-8.40am – Moto3 Free Practice 1
8.55am-9.40am – MotoGP Free Practice 1
9.55am-10.35am – Moto2 Free Practice 1
12.15pm -12.55pm – Moto3 Free Practice 2
1.10pm-1.55pm – MotoGP Free Practice 2
2.10pm-2.50pm – Moto2 Free Practice 2
Saturday 25 June
8am-8.40am – Moto3 Free Practice 3
8.55am-9.40am – MotoGP Free Practice 3
9.55am-10.35am – Moto2 Free Practice 3
11.35am-11.50am – Moto3 Qualifying 1
12pm-12.15pm – Moto3 Qualifying 2
12.30-1pm – MotoGP Free Practice 4
1.10pm-1.25pm – MotoGP Qualifying 1
1.35pm-1.50pm – MotoGP Qualifying 2
2.10pm-2.25pm – Moto2 Qualifying 1
2.35pm-2.50pm – Moto2 Qualifying 2
Sunday 26 June
8am-8.10am – Moto3 warm-up
8.20am-8.30am – Moto2 warm-up
8.40am-9am – MotoGP warm-up
10am – Moto3 race
11.20am – Moto2 race
1pm – MotoGP race
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