* Rookie
Francesco Banya won the Dutch MotoGP in 2022 in Assen, as rookie Marco Bezzecki celebrated the first podium of his and the team VR46 first class, and Maverick Vinales – on the debut podium with Aprilia.
Bagnaia’s victory was Ducati’s first in Assen since Casey Stoner in 2008.
Meanwhile, a dramatic race for world champion Fabio Quartararo led to the Frenchman’s fall twice, an early clash with title contender Aleix Espargaro was followed by a nasty peak.
As always, it was crucial for the Quartararo to try to lead as soon as possible due to the difficulty of overtaking the Yamaha, combined with the usual temperature sensitivity of the front tires.
Related articles
But the young Frenchman failed to beat the flight Banya outside the line, then ran slightly at the exit of the first turn, falling to fourth.
Quartararo quickly overtook Jorge Martin and Aleix Espargaro, but the Aprilia competitor responded and the order remained for Bagnaia, Espargaro and Quartararo during the early stages of the race of 26 laps.
Probably alarmed, Quartararo made an unusual shot at Espargaro in Turn 5, but lost the front of his M1 and crashed into Espargaro, leaving the Frenchman on the ground and sending the Spaniard through the gravel.
Related articles
Espargaro joined in 15th place, and Quartararo in 24th and last before the pit stop. The incident will be considered after the race.
But the drama was not over for Quartararo, who then rose to the exit of the same turn 5, at medium distance.
Quartararo’s clash with Espargaro gave Bagnaia a one-second lead over new closest rival Marco Bezzecchi, with Martin returning in third place, followed by Maverick Vinales, Brad Binder and Jack Miller.
That line remained when the rain flags were suddenly raised ten laps to the end!
It was in such difficult circumstances that Miller often excelled, and as Martin faded from the podium battle, the Australian – who dropped to 10th after serving an early penalty for a long lap – finished fourth from Binder with half-a-to-ten laps.
Miller’s next on the finish line was Vinales, but trying to get into the chicane at the end of the penultimate lap led to # 43 wide and allowed Vinales, Quartararo’s runner-up for Yamaha in Assen last season and winner in 2019, to escape.
Teammate Espargaro made a brilliant comeback after the Quartararo incident, culminating with a superb double pass from Brad Binder and Miller in the final chic to grab fourth place in the final lap!
The choice of tires preferred the hard rear with Jack Miller (sixth on the grille), Johan Zarco (seventh) and Alex Rince (ninth) among eight riders to choose the soft ones.
Most chose the middle front, with only Ducati Bagnaia, Miller, Enea Bastianini, Fabio di Giannantonio and Luca Marini on the soft front.
Like Miller, Franco Morbidelli also had to endure a penalty for a long lap after twice driving slowly along the race line in Friday’s practice, but missed the window and received a second penalty. Then it crashed. In the same turn 5 as teammate Quartararo.
Darin Binder walked away from a heavy fall as his fellow rookie Raul Fernandez retired to boxing with what appeared to be a physical problem.
The summer break ends with the British Grand Prix in Silverstone on August 5-7.
Add Comment