Bagnaia Wins Sprint At Assen, Confirms Domination In MotoGP

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) (center) flanked by Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) (left) and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) (photo: x @motogp)

JAKARTA - Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) continued his weekend of glory at Motul TT Assen with a victory on Sprint Tissuet on Saturday 29 June. This achievement made it a successive victory on Saturday for the first time in his career.

Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) followed him in second place, limiting losses in the standings, but now both are only 15 points adrift. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) completed the Sprint podium with his continued impressive speed at the Cathedral, while the drama hit Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGPTM) which crashed at the start of the race.

When the race started, Bagnaia maintained his position from pole position, while Martin remained in second place but Alex Marquez attacked and took over third place. Vinales immediately attacked to take him back, and at the end of the second lap, Aprilia stuck again and passed the chicane.

Meanwhile, the drama happened to Marc Marquez who was pushing too hard and fell, making him unable to continue Sprint and had to watch the race from the side of the track.

Di depan, Bagnaia semakin jauh. Meski jarak sempat berfluktuasi di sekitar tujuh per ten detik, Martin tetap berusaha mempertahankan posisinya. Namun, dengan tujuh lap tersisa, Martin harus lebih memperhatikan jarak dengan Vinales yang semakin pendekatan.

Martin responded quickly, widening the gap back to one second, but not enough to get close to Bagnaia. The top three riders are in a safe position while the fights behind them are starting to heat up.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has been attached to Alex Marquez since Vinales passed by, but over time, they got additional competitors: Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) join the fight.

Bastianini moved quickly, past Binder and immediately stuck behind Alex Marquez. 'The Beast' lurked along the lap and attacked in chicane, taking over fourth place and moving away immediately. Alex Marquez was then awarded a Long Lap penalty for the track limit, and soon there was another key movement in the group, also in chicane, while Diggia attacked Binder.

The VR46 racers went a bit wide, both kept pace, while Alex Marquez had a bit of seesaw. Entering Turn 1 for the final lap, the final result was Diggia led Espargaro and Binder, with #73 going back and still having to undergo a Long Lap penalty.

In front, there is no drama for the top three riders. No one was able to match Bagnaia who won his second Sprint in a row for the first time, and Martin took second place which was important as the standings were getting closer. Podium Vi totales is another positive result as he hopes to increase it on Sunday and beat Aprilia's best result in MotoGPTM Assen so far: third place.

Bastianini finished in fourth after pushing up from the top ten on the grid, while Diggia completed the top five ahead of Binder. After not taking a penalty in the lap-lap remaining, Alex Marquez's LLP penalty converted into an equivalent time penalty and lowered it to eighth position lifting Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGPTM) to seventh position, from 13th position on the grid. Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) completed Sprint's points, with rookie PedroACKa (Red Bull GAS Tech3) finishing in tenth position.

Espargaro fell fast at the end of the race, missing the chance in the last five fight until the flag finished.

Now is the time to prepare for the Grand Prix race on Sunday, June 30, where Bagnaia looks amazing but Martin and Vinales are determined to catch up in full distance. Can someone beat the reigning champion on Sunday?