MotoGP Dutch GP: Bagnaia shades Marquez in first practice

Reigning MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia topped the opening practice for the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix, after Fabio Di Giannantonio had his session-topping lap cancelled.

After a three-week break forced by the postponement of the Kazakhstan GP to September, MotoGP returned to action on Friday morning at the iconic TT Assen venue.

Following weeks of rider market shocks, Di Giannantonio looked like he’d set the pace in the first practice of the weekend as he looks to secure his MotoGP future.

The VR46 Ducati rider was fastest with a 1m32.314s set in the closing seconds, but had that lap deleted for exceeding track limits, dropping him to seventh.

This promoted factory Ducati rider Bagnaia to top spot with a 1m32.401s he posted with just under 20 minutes remaining in the session.

He headed future factory Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez by 0.065 seconds, with the Gresini rider’s future announced days after the Italian GP at the start of June.

Raul Fernandez completed the top three for the Trackhouse Racing Aprilia squad, while Fabio Quartararo was fourth as Yamaha brings a new engine to Assen for both the 2021 world champion and his team-mate Alex Rins.

Marquez set the pace early on in the 45-minute session at a 1m34.286s, which was instantly bettered by Bagnaia on a 1m34.225s.

Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The pair traded top spot once more, with a 1m33.004s from Marquez beaten by a 1m32.820s by Bagnaia – though this was quickly deleted for a track limits violation.

Marquez then posted a 1m32.980s with just over 10 minutes of the session gone, which stood as the reference for a brief time before Fernandez produced a 1m32.962s.

This was quickly bettered by Bagnaia with a 1m32.625s, with the Italian following that up with a 1m32.401s which would ultimately stand as the best time of the session.

With 15s to go on the clock, a soft tyre-shod Di Giannantonio lit up the timing screens and managed a 1m32.314s before it was cancelled.

Bagnaia didn’t change tyres during the session, putting 19 laps on his medium rear, while Marquez and Fernandez completing the top three ran fresh medium rubber.

Quartararo fitted a fresh soft rear for his fourth-fastest time, while fresh mediums for the Aprilia duo of Maverick Vinales – who will join KTM next year – and Aleix Espargaro saw them complete the top six.

Di Giannantonio was shuffled down to seventh after losing his best lap time, with Gresini’s Alex Marquez, KTM’s Brad Binder and championship leader Jorge Martin (Pramac) rounding out the top 10.

Martin, like Bagnaia, stayed on the same medium rear tyre he started the session on through to the chequered flag.

Dutch GP - FP1 results:

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Rider	#		Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	1		Ducati	19	1'32.401		176.959
2	M. Marquez Gresini Racing	93		Ducati	19	+0.065 1'32.466	0.065	176.834
3	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25		Aprilia	17	+0.100 1'32.501	0.035	176.767
4	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20		Yamaha	17	+0.193 1'32.594	0.093	176.590
5	M. Viñales Aprilia Racing Team	12		Aprilia	19	+0.277 1'32.678	0.084	176.430
6	A. Espargaro Aprilia Racing Team	41		Aprilia	16	+0.287 1'32.688	0.010	176.411
7	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49		Ducati	18	1'32.314		177.125
8	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73		Ducati	20	+0.246 1'32.647	0.333	176.489
9	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33		KTM	22	+0.462 1'32.863	0.216	176.078
10	J. Martin Pramac Racing	89		Ducati	21	+0.526 1'32.927	0.064	175.957
11	M. Bezzecchi Team VR46	72		Ducati	20	+0.578 1'32.979	0.052	175.859
12	E. Bastianini Ducati Team	23		Ducati	19	+0.628 1'33.029	0.050	175.764
13	M. Oliveira Trackhouse Racing Team	88		Aprilia	21	+0.693 1'33.094	0.065	175.641
14	P. Acosta Tech 3	31		KTM	21	+0.882 1'33.283	0.189	175.285
15	F. Morbidelli Pramac Racing	21		Ducati	20	+1.002 1'33.403	0.120	175.060
16	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42		Yamaha	18	+1.287 1'33.688	0.285	174.528
17	J. Miller Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	43		KTM	19	+0.860 1'33.261		175.327
18	T. Nakagami Team LCR	30		Honda	20	+1.559 1'33.960	0.699	174.022
19	L. Marini Repsol Honda Team	10		Honda	21	+1.695 1'34.096	0.136	173.771
20	A. Fernandez Tech 3	37		KTM	17	+1.719 1'34.120	0.024	173.727
21	J. Zarco Team LCR	5		Honda	20	+1.835 1'34.236	0.116	173.513
22	J. Mir Repsol Honda Team	36		Honda	18	+1.843 1'34.244	0.008	173.498
23	L. Savadori Aprilia Racing Team	32		Aprilia	18	+2.154 1'34.555	0.311	172.927
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