Aprilia Racing’s Aleix Espargaro has shown he will be a contender in the Motul TT Assen after setting the pace in the MotoGP™ Warm Up session. Espargaro had been the fastest rider in Free Practice and while a yellow flag might have hindered him in Q2, when he qualified fifth, the Spaniard was back on top on Sunday morning at the TT Circuit Assen by setting a 1:32.424. World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo claimed second on his Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ entry with a 1:32.548, and Aleix Espargaro put a second Aprilia Racing RS-GP into the top three having clocked a 1:32.680. While the field was split between either the Michelin soft or Michelin hard tyre on the rear, those three all opted for the latter, with Quartararo running used rubber on the back.
An Aprilia 1-3 in warm up with @FabioQ20 in the middle! ⚔️@AleixEspargaro leads the field as we're all set to go racing! ????#DutchGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/WF8tSu0XMk
— MotoGP™???? (@MotoGP) June 26, 2022
The rest of the top 10 was a Ducati sweep. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) clocked a 1:32.799, Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) a 1:32.819, Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) a 1:32.854, Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) a 1:32.855, pole-sitter Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) a 1:32.886, Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) a 1:32.914, and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) a 1:33.038. Despite an overnight shower, it was a dry track which greeted riders for the final, 20-minute session before lights go out this Sunday afternoon at 14:00 (GMT +2).