The Motul TT Assen delivered action nobody could predict as the Championship continued its rollercoaster course. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) came out of the weekend all guns blazing as the Italian took 2nd place in the Tissot Sprint and went one better in the Grand Prix to take the victory and extend his Championship lead with the odds stacked against him.
Needless to say it was Bagnaia who came away from the weekend having scored the most points with Italian snatching 9 points in the Sprint and 25 in the race to bag a total of 34 points towards his Championship campaign. Bagnaia's Championship rival Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was looking like the favourite in Assen after Practice and qualifying. The Italian brought home full points in the Tissot Sprint whilst taking another 20 during the Grand Prix to close in on the 2nd placed Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) with just one point between them.
Martin had a big task on his hands to join his Championship rivals as he started the Sprint and Grand Prix from the fourth row, with Bezzecchi and Bagnaia starting 1st and 2nd. The Spaniard picked up 6th place in the Sprint and 5th in the race, seeing him score 15 points across the weekend. Whilst the Sachsenring victor remains 2nd in the standings, he now has a 36 point gap to Bagnaia ahead and just 1 point between him and Bezzechi in 3rd.
KTM enjoyed some strong pace in Assen with their golden boy Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) taking 5th in the Sprint and 4th in the race after being demoted out of the top three on both occasions for exceeding track limits. Despite the misfortune, Binder did score enough points to move himself from 5th to 4th in the Championship standings.
Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) was the rider demoted down to 5th after a difficult weekend saw him walk away empty handed. The Frenchman crashed out of the Grand Prix and finished outside the points in the Sprint only managing 13th place.
Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) maintained their Championship positions in 6th and 7th with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) jumping up from 9th to 8th.
The Spaniard bagged 16 points with a podium finish in the Grand Prix and another six in the Sprint with a solid P4 finish.
Espargaro leapfrogged Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) to 8th spot as the Frenchman crashed out of the Grand Prix only scoring the seven points from the weekend following his Tissot Sprint 3rd place.
Meanwhile Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) jumped into the top 10 after Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) dropped down to 12th spot behind Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™). Viñales only managed three points in Assen with a P7 in the Sprint and DNF in the race.
The ever-changing Championship picture leaves the fight for the title wide open with still plenty to play for in MotoGP™. There's no telling which way the tables will turn as the action continues at the Monster Energy British Grand Prix from the 4th to the 6th of August.