A venue decorated with more history than any other. The Cathedral of Speed. Assen. We’ve made the short journey north from Brno to an all-time gem for the Tissot Grand Prix of the Netherlands, and as we click into gear for Round 10 of the season, MotoGP’s enthralling title race has been turned up a couple of dials ahead of a colossal weekend of racing.
GAME ON: MM93 AND DUCATI BACK IN THE HUNTOut of Marc Marquez’s (Ducati Lenovo Team) 101 MotoGP wins, his 2026 Czech GP victory still stands out. It was a monumental effort to clinch those 25 points, and a haul that brings the World Champion right back into the championship chase frame. 40 points. It was 102 after the Italian GP. A seismic swing in momentum that no one expected. The #93 comes into Assen fresh from the confirmation he's put pen to paper on a new two-year Ducati deal and has admitted he’s right back in the title fight after being “finished” at Mugello. That’s why, with the Sachsenring on the horizon, Assen feels like a mammoth weekend for Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin to come up with a response.
It’s not just Marquez who is on the attack in the red corner. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) now has four consecutive P3 Sunday finishes and a first Sprint victory of the season pocketed too. Pecco sits 13 points adrift of teammate Marquez in the standings, and the Italian arrives at a circuit he won at in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) remains lead Ducati in the standings too, and the Italian lamented a poor opening lap in his pursuit of at least a podium in Brno, but it was a weekend where the VR46 Racing star reeled himself closer to the top.
Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) will be back after sitting out the Tissot Sprint and Grand Prix in Brno, hoping to continue to build up his strength and fitness on a demanding layout. On the other side of the sky blue corner, Fermin Aldeguer was pleased with his P6 in Brno, but knows he needs to start nailing qualifying to give him better chances of notching up more podiums in the upcoming rounds. And in fluorescent yellow, Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) is out to climb up the order in Assen after a P13 in Czechia.
RESPONSE REQUIRED: APRILIAIt’s fair to say Brno was a tough one for the championship frontrunners. After his ban for unsportsmanlike behaviour, Bezzecchi will be keen to get his head down and score big points in the Netherlands to get his title tilt back motoring. The Italian clinched a double rostrum at The Cathedral last year and in 2023 too, so if there’s a circuit he and Aprilia would like to head to this weekend, then Assen might be very close to the summit of the list.
Martin’s Sunday was always going to be tricky after his double Long Lap. P9 was the result, which means it’s now just eight points splitting the Aprilia teammates at the top of the tree – but they’re now looking over their shoulders at Ducati. Round 10 is massive for the Noale camp to respond.
Meanwhile, Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) lurks. The Japanese star’s maiden pole was backed up by a Sprint P2, and then a Sunday P2 where only a seven-time MotoGP World Champion beat him. That debut win feels close. Pan the camera left a few metres, and you’ll come to Raul Fernandez on the other side of the Trackhouse garage. A P7 on Sunday was a resilient effort from a very under-the-weather Spaniard in Brno, who did well to see out the weekend and pick up a decent haul of points. Fingers crossed the #25 is fighting fitter this weekend.
LOOKING TO MAKE UP GROUND: ACOSTA & KTMReliability woes struck for Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) across the weekend in Brno, and most crucially on the final lap of Sunday’s Grand Prix. A P5 result was on – not what Acosta comes racing for, but a decent collection of points nonetheless – before a technical issue ground the RC16 to a halt. Assen unearthed a P4 for Acosta last season, so another podium attack could be on the cards this time around. He and the Austrian factory will hope so. If their recent problems can be fixed, Acosta has the raw speed to claw his way into the scrap with the Aprilias and Ducatis – as we’ve seen on many occasions.
Unfortunately for KTM, it wasn’t a weekend where Brad Binder or the Red Bull KTM Tech3 duo of Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales had much to shout about. Can they find some speed in the grounds of the famous Cathedral?
CONFIDENCE GAINED: HRCJoan Mir’s P5 and fellow Honda HRC Castrol rider Luca Marini’s P8 signalled a promising weekend at the Czech Adrenaline Factory. It’s the first time Mir has notched up points in the Sprint and Grand Prix since Japan, and it was the Italian’s fourth top 10 in the last five Sundays. Solid. Couple that with another solid weekend at the office for Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) after the Brazilian rookie earned his best qualifying result, and you’ve got a Honda collective who will be bouncing into Assen with a bit more vigour. And, as announced pre-Czechia, 2013 Assen podium finisher Cal Crutchlow will continue to stand in for injured Johann Zarco in the Castrol Honda LCR ranks.
SEEKING UPWARD TRENDS: YAMAHA The positive for Yamaha in Brno was Toprak Razgatlioglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) scoring more points with a P14. On the flip side of the YZR-M1 coin, Fabio Quartararo’s crash and Alex Rins’ DNF made it another difficult Sunday for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, while Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) finished the Grand Prix in P16. Can Yamaha make a step forward in Assen? It’s a classic layout and one all the riders know well – with Razgatliouglu having much more experience here than Brno. And Miller knows how it feels to win at the Cathedral.
Ready for more? We’re back in business at the Tissot Grand Prix of the Netherlands, where the TT Circuit Assen never disappoints. Join us for more MotoGP this weekend and check out the SCHEDULE FOR THE DUTCH GP!