Marc Marquez diligently went about his work with the aim of making strides forward today in Assen, for Iker Lecuona on the other side of the garage, it was a day of progress as he found half a second between sessions.

A morning of avoiding risks started the day for Marc Marquez in Assen. Ending down in 21st and 1.865 seconds behind the fastest rider, it was clear to see the first practice did not deliver its full potential. The difficulties would continue into the afternoon as Marquez attempted to improve his time. Briefly gaining a handful of places towards the end of the session, but a crash at Turn 3 would end his afternoon. Concluding the day in 19th with a best time of 1’33.485, the #93 felt his greatest limit was the lingering injuries from the German GP – particularly the damage to his rib.

For Iker Lecuona, his return to the Repsol Honda Team saw him continue the steady progress he showed in Jerez. Ending the morning session with a best time of 1’34.363, the Honda WorldSBK rider would find half a second to end Friday with a 1’33.720 – only 0.219s behind Stefan Bradl on the LCR Honda. Content with the opening day of action, Lecuona’s objective is to continue the trend and improve his overall feeling and speed with the Honda RC213V.

Both Repsol Honda Team riders will be seeking improvements on Saturday in the morning practice session and Q1. The highlight of Saturday will no doubt be the Sprint Race, scheduled to start at 15:00 Local Time.

Marc Marquez

19th 1'33.485

“Today I had a limitation on the physical side with the rib that I cracked in Germany, especially in the last sector and the change of direction. This did not help us today with our performance. I spent most of today riding in an easy way and then pushed right at the end to try and improve our position and see if Q2 was possible, but I crashed. Tomorrow I will try to push in Q1 and see if we can make something happen.”

Iker Lecuona

22nd 1'33.720

“I am very happy with how today went, I was able to finish within one second of the first Honda and not too far from the fastest rider overall. We’ve been able to carry on what we did in Jerez and made another step already here on the first day. Of course, I would like to be even faster, but it’s important to stay calm and work well with the team – they know the bike much better than me and I am listening to them a lot. Now it’s time to check the data and make a plan for tomorrow together.”

MotoGP 2023
Practice Round 8   Assen

Friday Practice - Dutch Grand Prix

Dry
Humidity
41%
Track Temp
46°C
Air Temp
25°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Bezzecchi Marco 72 ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 1'32.063
2 Martin Jorge 89 SPA Pramac Racing Ducati 0.130
3 Miller Jack 43 AUS Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 0.155
4 Bagnaia Francesco 1 ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.200
5 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 0.245
6 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.278
7 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 0.345
8 Binder Brad 33 RSA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 0.386
9 Marini Luca 10 ITA Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 0.406
10 Marquez Alex 73 SPA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 0.518
11 Zarco Johann 5 FRA Pramac Racing Ducati 0.606
12 Fernandez Raul 25 SPA RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia 0.731
13 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia 0.738
14 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN LCR Honda Honda 0.872
15 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.892
16 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1.043
17 Fernandez Augusto 37 SPA Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM 1.117
18 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 1.241
19 Marquez Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1.422
20 Savadori Lorenzo 32 ITA Aprilia Racing Test Team Aprilia 1.432
21 Bradl Stefan 6 GER HRC Test Team Honda 1.438
22 Lecuona Iker 27 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1.657
23 Folger Jonas 94 GER Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM 2.337
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

www.ttcircuit.com

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)