MotoGP™ roared back into life at the Motul TT Assen with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) taking to TT Circuit Assen like a duck to water - leading the field by 0.156s. It could be a crucial weekend at Assen with Bagnaia leading the way ahead of Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), who will become the #1’s teammate next year. The #93 was just 0.065s shy from the top spot and ended Friday morning ahead of the ever-impressive Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing), who shot up the timesheets and snatched the final spot inside the top three.
Lap time cancelled for @FabioDiggia49 due to track limits! ⚠️
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 28, 2024
He drops to 7th as @PeccoBagnaia becomes the leader of FP1 🔄#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/xkOxwAyaGa
The late charging Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) took fourth position and a step in the right direction for the Frenchman. Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Viñales was in fifth place in FP1, just weeks after Viñales announced his plan to join Tech3 next season. The #12 crossed the line to place ahead of teammate Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), who suffered drama before he could set a time – dropping his Aprilia in the pitlane. Espargaro was sixth ahead of Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team's Fabio Di Giannantonio, who was phenomenal in FP1, topping the timesheets before his fastest lap was removed – demoting the #49 to seventh.
Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) took eighth after setting a strong 1:32.647 to finish the session in front of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder in ninth. Meanwhile, the current Championship leader, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) rounded out the top 10 with the #89 announcing his plans to move to Aprilia next season after the Italian GP.
Here is the reason why @FabioDiggia49's lap time was cancelled 👇#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/RyqDMqtM1j
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 28, 2024
Further down the field, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) took 12th position with work to do in Practice later on. Meanwhile, a handful of places behind was Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), who was down in 14th position as he tried to master the TT Circuit Assen for the first time on a MotoGP™ bike.
Next up the Q2 spots will be up for grabs with Practice for MotoGP™ kicking off at 15:00 local time (UTC +2), so make sure you don’t miss any of the action on motogp.com!
Top 10:
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) | 1:32.401 |
| 2 | Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) | +0.065 |
| 3 | Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) | +0.100 |
| 4 | Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) | +0.193 |
| 5 | Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) | +0.277 |
| 6 | Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) | +0.287 |
| 7 | Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) | +0.352 |
| 8 | Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) | +0.366 |
| 9 | Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) | +0.462 |
| 10 | Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) | +0.526 |