Francesco Bagnaia made history by setting the all-time lap record in second practice at Assen, with X riders following
Bagnaia elegantly crafted perfection on his GP24 to set a new lap record of 1.31.340s, where the Italian established a 0.065s cushion between him and second-placed Maverick Vinales on his Aprilia, who improved on his lap time late on.
Gresini Ducati duo Alex and Marc Marquez occupied third and sixth with Aleix Espargaro and Jorge Martin sandwiched in between, but the Aprilia rider crashed in the final sector as he lost complete control of his bike while on a quick lap and looked visibly beaten up by it.
Brad Binder was the sole KTM rider to qualify for Q2 on Saturday as he put together a lap to earn himself seventh place.
A late crash from Enea Bastianini meant his chances of going to Q1 appeared significantly higher. Still, fortune was on his side as he finished in eighth due to Espargaro’s late incident.
Raul Fernandez and Franco Morbidelli occupied ninth and tenth place to round off the Q2 qualification spots.
Yamaha’s engine upgrades were unable to provide both riders with a place in Q2, with duo Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins finishing 11th and 14th respectively.
VR46 Ducati duo Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannatonio were separated by only 0.005s as they settled for 12th and 13th place.
Pedro Acosta was a victim of the yellow flags following Espargaro’s crash in the closing seconds, which meant he was unable to improve on his lap-time and finished a lonely 15th.
Trackhouse Aprilia rider Miguel Oliveria followed in 16th, ahead of lead Honda rider Johann Zarco.
Jack Miller finished 1.766s off the pace from the front in a disappointing 18th place, with LCR Honda fan favourite Takaaki Nakagami following in 19th place.
Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori occupied 20th place, but his best lap time at the end put him ahead of struggling Augusto Fernandez and outpaced the Repsol Honda duo of Joan Mir and Luca Marini.
