MotoGP 2021 – Round Nine
Motul TT Assen – Friday

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Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) is back on top, the Spaniard making an early statement at the Motul TT Assen to go fastest in FP1 and FP2 as Top Gun shot first on Friday.

Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) was second quickest, 0.111 in arrears, with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) keeping his momentum in third on Day 1. The day was largely dry until the afternoon, when rain put paid to improvements in the latter half of FP2.

Another headline grabber was a huge high-side for Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) in the afternoon, although the Spaniard walked away unscathed and headed back to the box.

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FP1

Viñales topped FP1 convincingly and consistently, and he did so just ahead of Pol Espargaro, who also impressed in the opening session of the weekend. The two were a tenth apart, with Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) moving up to third late on, but the Suzuki man was 0.429 off the top.

Rins demoted Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) to fourth, 0.561 off Viñales, with Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) slotting into fifth. The Frenchman was eight tenths off the top and was the first in a gaggle of riders packed close together, with Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and an impressive Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) completing the top ten, covered by a couple of tenths.

The only crasher was Garrett Gerloff (Petronas Yamaha SRT) as he begins his first full weekend in MotoGP, the Texan taking a tumble at Turn 7.

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FP2

Viñales was again the fastest man on track, with a tenth and a half in hand over Oliveira before spits of rain became a downpour at the TT Circuit Assen. That left Quartararo third in the session and Marc Marquez fourth, before the aforementioned highside saw the number 93 crash out from behind reigning Champion Joan Mir. Mir completed the top five, ahead of Zarco, Rins, Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team), Aleix Espargaro and Pol Espargaro.

Rins was 0.252 off Zarco, but from the number 42 Suzuki down to Danilo Petrucci in 11th was less than two tenths in another tight pack.

Once the rain came down there was a lull in track action for a while, but once it was fully wet many headed back out to get a taster, with sun not guaranteed for the rest of the weekend.

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Combined timesheets

Viñales and Pol Espargaro remain the fastest duo as their FP1 times couldn’t be bettered, with Oliveira the man to gain big in FP2, slotting into a bit of space on the combined timesheets. His 1:33.400 was 0.091 better than Quartararo, who improved in the afternoon but remained fourth. Rins’ FP1 best slots the Suzuki rider into fifth.

Maverick Vinales – P1

“Today went well. Honestly, I didn‘t expect to be that competitive and fast. When in FP1 I saw a 1‘33.0s with twenty laps on the tyre, I thought ’That‘s a fast lap time, honestly‘. And this afternoon, I was cruising and trying to get a better understanding, so this 1‘33.2s was also good. Basically, I found good grip on the bike, and I can do more or less what I want on track. I can ride the lines I like, and that seems to pay off in the lap times.”

Pol Espargaro – P2

“Today has been a good day, the bike was working well, I was riding happy, and I was riding really how I wanted to. Everything was coming in an easy way; I wasn’t having to push or override the bike. In the afternoon we had plans to try some other things, but the track changed a lot even with light rain. Overall, the result is very good and I’m really happy with how the day has gone. The new asphalt is really good, it has a lot of grip and helped make it a really good first day. The crash today was a very small one, my leathers weren’t even damaged! Today the lap time shows how happy I am riding the bike.”

Fabio Quartararo – P4

“This was a positive first day. In FP1 the soft gave me a bit of a strange feeling, so taking that into account, looking at my pace, it wasn‘t that bad. In FP2 we tried the medium front and the hard rear, because we knew that the conditions could change any moment, and it was good to also have given the hard tyre a try. I think we did a good job. On the wet, I was a bit too careful because I‘m in a situation where I don‘t want to make any stupid mistakes, but I feel like today was a normal day for us. We found the feeling, it is there. We need to improve in a few corners where I was struggling today, but let‘s say we‘re already in a great position.”

Alex Rins – P5

“Overall I’m feeling good, especially as I’m inside the Top 10 already. We expected that it might rain in the afternoon so in the morning I used the soft tyre to help me set a strong time that would keep me in the Top 10. The bike is feeling good, but I’m looking forward to doing some more laps tomorrow as a sort of race simulation to check the tyre longevity and to help me make my choice for the race. The new tarmac has an unbelievable amount of grip, which is fantastic, so that’s helpful with this bad forecast we have. I’m still feeling some pain in my arm, because this is a physical track, but everything’s OK.”

Before his highside, Marc Marquez put himself into sixth overall ahead of Mir, with Zarco also improving in FP2 but the man second in the standings only taking P8 on Day 1.

Marc Marquez – P6

“First of all I have to say I feel lucky to escape in a good condition overall, these kinds of crashes can be very hard and very dangerous. It’s painful, but nothing is wrong. It was a strange crash because I didn’t think that I was over the limit and I was riding like I was in the morning, finding the limit and what way to follow. In this corner we rely on the Traction Control a lot, but it wasn’t there and when I shifted the rear started sliding and then I fell. We need to understand what happened to get the confidence to push through that corner again because right now, there will be a lack of confidence tomorrow. Before this we were having a positive day and in Free Practice 2 I was feeling good.”

Joan Mir – P7

“It’s been a positive day, I expected and hoped to feel competitive from the beginning and this was our goal for today, and even if we don’t have the perfect settings yet I was still able to be quite strong and I feel that I have a good base in the wet and the dry. The new surface is pretty grippy so it feels nice. Now we need to work on the small details just to get the bike on point, because it’s not quite there yet especially in terms of stability. But we’ll work tomorrow and let’s see what the conditions are like, it will be more important than usual to be up the front because the conditions can change quickly and impact the times.”

Petrucci takes ninth ahead of Aleix Espargaro completing the top ten, both of whom went quicker in FP1. So did Nakagami and he’s the first man currently set to miss out on an automatic place in Q2, down in P11 on Friday, ahead of Miller, Savadori, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing).

Jack Miller – P12

“I’m pretty happy with this first day. This morning we focused mainly on the race pace with used tyres. We knew it would rain in the afternoon, and we wanted to try the time attack right away. But, in the opening minutes of FP2, we had to try something on the setup and then it started to rain, leaving us with no chance to improve our lap times. Anyway, I’m positive, and I’m sure we’ll be able to do so tomorrow“.

Will the rain return on Saturday morning? Or can the field expect some more dry track time in FP3 to crack into that all-important top ten?

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MotoGP Friday Combined Practice Times

2021 MotoGP Standings

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Moto2

Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) took to the top on Day 1 of the Motul TT Assen, the Spaniard quickest in the morning as he put together an impressive run of fast laps and then proving quick again in the afternoon in the rain, 0.034 off the top. The combined timesheets come from FP1 however, so it’s Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) second quickest overall and his team-mate, Championship leader Remy Gardner, completing the top three on Friday.

Moto2 Friday Combined Practice Times

Moto2 Championship Points Standing

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Moto3

Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) begins the Motul TT Assen as the fastest man in Moto3, the Japanese rider taking over at the top in FP2 after an impressive lap just three and a bit tenths outside the all-time lap record. Rain then put paid to the chance to improve, with Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) ending the day just 0.089 off Suzuki and Dennis Foggia’s (Leopard Racing) FP1 best putting him in third overall.

Moto3 Friday Combined Practice Times

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

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MotoE

Alessandro Zaccone (Octo Pramac MotoE) was the man to beat on Day 1 of the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup’s first visit to the TT Circuit Assen, the points leader making it a clean sweep as he topped FP1 and FP2 to end the day two tenths clear of Eric Granado (ONE Energy Racing) on the combined timesheets. The Brazilian was also consistently fast, second in the morning and afternoon, with Lukas Tulovic (Tech3 E-Racing) moving up in FP2 to complete the top three overall.

MotoE Friday Combined Practice Times

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

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2021

Motul TT Assen Schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au