Honda HRC Castrol head north for Assen
The pace of MotoGP continues to quicken, Joan Mir joined by Aleix Espargaro in the Honda HRC Castrol team this weekend in the Netherlands. Both approach with clear objectives for the Dutch TT.
History is what the Dutch TT is all about, hosting Grand Prix motorcycling since 1949 the 4.54-kilometre-long circuit holds a special place in MotoGP history. Modified between 2005 and 2006, the track maintains many of its old charms and has produced battles for the ages almost every year.
Fresh from a third consecutive point-scoring Grand Prix, Joan Mir arrives having found a sense of stability after an up and down start to the season. Consistency and upgrades throughout have helped and the #36 is now a constant threat to the top ten each weekend. The mix of long, slow corners in the opening section of the Assen lap and high-speed manoeuvring during the middle section will be an important testing ground for the Honda RC213V.
Aleix Espargaro will take the helm of the second Honda RC213V in the Honda HRC Castrol garage, his third appearance of the year. With a podium in 2023 at the Dutch track, Espargaro has historic success to draw upon as he returns. As with Nakagami in Mugello, the #41’s primary focus will be on extracting the maximum from the weekend rather than focusing purely on assessing new pieces as with the Test Team.
Joan Mir
“Another weekend, another race! Only a short time to rest between races but I am ready to go again. Assen will present us with some challenges again, but in Mugello we saw that through hard work we made some progress, so I am approaching the weekend with an open mind. Like in Mugello, we can normally see a lot of close battles in Assen with big groups so we have to be smart with how we are preparing everything. Let’s keep the focus and keep working for the future.”
Aleix Espargaro
“I am really delighted to be able to help Honda HRC and work with the factory team this weekend in Assen. Lots of riders dream of being in the factory Honda team; to be able to do this now is a real surprise and pleasure – even if it is temporary. In both previous weekends this year for me I’ve been able to build more and more, so I hope we can start the weekend a little closer. I have good memories at Assen and it will be very interesting to see the Honda there, it’s quite different to the tracks I am normally testing at. I hope Luca is recovering well and he can be back here soon.”
Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | 270 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 2 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 230 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
| 3 | Bagnaia Francesco | 63 | ITA | 160 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 4 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | 128 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
| 5 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 120 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
| 6 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 97 | LCR Honda | Honda |
| 7 | Bezzecchi Marco | 72 | ITA | 94 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 8 | Acosta Pedro | 37 | SPA | 84 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 9 | Aldegeur Fermin | 54 | SPA | 78 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
| 10 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | 61 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 11 | Vinales Maverick | 25 | SPA | 54 | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM |
| 12 | Ogura Ai | 79 | JPN | 49 | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia |
| 13 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 42 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 14 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 38 | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda |
| 15 | Fernandez Raul | 25 | SPA | 36 | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia |
| 16 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 35 | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM |
| 17 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | 32 | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda |
| 18 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 32 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 19 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 31 | Prima Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha |
| 20 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | 10 | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda |
| 21 | Savadori Lorenzo | 32 | ITA | 8 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 22 | Fernandez Augusto | 7 | SPA | 6 | Yamaha Test Team | Yamaha |
| 23 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 6 | Prima Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha |
| 24 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 0 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 25 | Chantra Somkiat | 35 | THA | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda |
| 26 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 0 | HRC Test Team | Honda |
Location Information
Assen is the only venue to have held a round of the Motorcycle World Championship every year since its creation in 1949. The circuit was purpose built for the Dutch TT in 1955, with previous events having been held on public roads. The track is narrow, with rapid changes in… read more.
| Length | 4.542 kilometres / 2.822 miles |
| Width | 14 metres |
| Left corners | 6 |
| Right corners | 12 |
| Longest straight | 0.487 kilometres / 0.303 miles |
| Constructed | 1955 |
| Modified | 2012 |
TT Circuit Assen, De Haar, Assen, The Netherlands - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 30.540s (180.5km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024) |
| Race Lap | 1m 31.866s (177.9km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024) |
| Race Time | 40m 07.214s (176.6km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024) |
| 2024 Race Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
| 2024 Sprint Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
