Marco Bezzecchi fastest in chaotic practice session in Assen

The afternoon practice is special, as the fastest top 10 riders earn direct entry to Q2. Riders immediately took advantage of good track conditions, with lap times improving quickly during the first few minutes.

From the start, the riders were pushing hard, with Pedro Acosta taking the lead so far. The time ranges were going from 1:35 to 1:33s. The tyre configurations were wide, with riders either choosing both medium or a medium and soft combination.

Many riders were attacking the lead of the session, but Acosta managed to get the lead back and he was even the first rider to break into the 1:32s.

First yellow crash of the session was caused by Alex Márquez crashing at turn 5. Luckily it was a low-speed corner and the rider was okay. Fabio Di Giannantonio continued his fast riding form from morning practice, as he took the lead of the session.

Soon after, many riders were attacking for first place, but it was Pedro Acosta who managed to find improvement and go to the top. Bagnaia, who was also attacking, was slower in the last sector, ending in 5th place. But Marco Bezzecchi, who topped the morning practice, managed to get into second place.

Shortly after, Marco Bezzecchi finally got into the lead, with Acosta closely behind him. Many riders returned to the pits, while a few stayed and used the empty track.

With 15 minutes into the session, the top 10 looked as follows: Bezzecchi, Acosta, Martin, Di Giannantonio, Fernández, Ogura, Bagnaia, M. Márquez, Miller, Binder.

As the riders returned on track, one of the riders who managed to find some improvement was Fermín Aldeguer. As the riders got into the tempo again, some of them were ready to attack the lead, like Jorge Martín, who improved his time and was the first to be in the 1:31s time range.

Bezzecchi, who was also attacking for improvement, was slower in sector 4 and was left without an improvement. But Martín didn’t have enough and started another fast attempt together with other riders.

Martin managed to get a faster time and stayed in the lead, while Raúl Fernández improved to third place. But it didn’t take long before Bezzecchi attacked the lead and moved to first place, with Fernández improving to 2nd place.

With the session halfway done, the riders returned for another break in the pits. The top 10 looked as follows: Bezzecchi, Fernández, Martin, Aldeguer, Acosta, Ogura, Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia, M. Márquez, Razgatlioglu.

Again, some of the riders stayed longer on track, like Ai Ogura, who used this time to improve his time, eventually taking the lead of the session. Marc Márquez also used the empty track to find more speed, as he moved to 3rd place. Meanwhile, Joan Mir finally managed to break into the top 10.

The second yellow flag was caused by Fermín Aldeguer, who crashed at turn 11 and 12. The rider slid into the gravel.

With 13 minutes left in the session and the yellow flag still out, the riders started to return on track for their final push.

The leaders of the session changed quickly, while Aldeguer went into the medical centre for further check-ups after his crash. So far it was Bezzecchi who was in the lead, with Fernández in second and Ogura in third.

With 6 minutes left, the top 10 looked as follows: Bezzecchi, Fernández, Ogura, M. Márquez, Di Giannantonio, Martin, A. Márquez, Acosta, Moreira, Aldeguer.

The third yellow flag was caused by Jorge Martín losing control of his bike and sliding on the grass. However, the riders who went for a quick lap had their laps cancelled as Martín crashed in the last sector.

But the yellow flag quickly turned into a red flag as Alex Márquez had a high-side crash at turn 5. Alex was sent to the medical centre for a check-up. Luckily, he was soon declared conscious, but it was seen that he was in pain.

As the red flag ended, the riders returned on track, but their times weren’t as fast. With the chequered flag, they were finishing their attempts. Mostly the riders outside the top 10 couldn’t find improvement, while only Quartararo could have found some improvement, but he made a mistake, throwing his last attempt away.

The top 10 finished as follows: Bezzecchi, Fernández, Acosta, Ogura, Bagnaia, M. Márquez, Di Giannantonio, Bastianini, Martin, A. Márquez.