Maverick Vinales put the troubles of the past seven days behind him with a dominant showing on a rain-affected opening day for the Dutch TT at Assen, but all eyes were on Marc Marquez after a violent high-side in FP2.
The Yamaha rider comes to the Netherlands reeling from the ‘worst race’ of his life in Germany a week earlier, where he started on the back row and finished last of all as the rear grip woes that have hampered him all season stung hardest.
However, five days on it was as though nothing happened as Vinales flicked the Yamaha M1 to the fastest time in both FP1 and FP2.
Behind Vinales was Pol Espargaro, who enjoyed his strongest start to a weekend on the Repsol Honda having said after the Sachsenring that he would revert to Marquez’s settings in order to find the best from the RC213V, though it isn’t clear whether he did so to find that quick time.
Things were going less smoothly for Marquez, however, after he suffered a huge high-side in FP2 that he remarkably was able to walk away from, albeit gingerly. View the crash HERE.
The in-form Miguel Oliveira - who has a win and two second place results to his name from the last three races - looked threatening again in third position, heading off championship leader Fabio Quartararo and Suzuki’s Alex Rins.
The crocked Marquez held onto sixth at the end of the day, a potentially crucial result for him and the remaining top ten sitters - Joan Mir, Johann Zarco, Danilo Petrucci and Aleix Espargaro - ahead of a Saturday that is forecast to have persistent rain.
As such, those outside the top ten could find themselves up against it to reach Q2, including title contenders Jack Miller and Pecco Bagnaia down in 12th and 14th, plus Brad Binder down in 18th position on the second of the KTMs.
Meanwhile, Garrett Gerloff made a positive impression on his MotoGP debut aboard the Petronas SRT Yamaha. Despite a fall in FP1 and bringing up the rear on the Yamaha M1, he was in range of those ahead, just 0.2s off Luca Marini in 21st.
2021 Dutch TT MotoGP FREE PRACTICE Results [FP1-FP2 Combined] | Assen
| 2021 Dutch TT MotoGP FREE PRACTICE Results [FP1-FP2 Combined] | Assen | Round 9 / 19 | |||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | MotoGP Team | MotoGP Bike | Timing |
| 1 | Maverick Vinales | ESP | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 33.072 |
| 2 | Pol Espargaro | ESP | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | 1m 33.183 |
| 3 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 33.400 |
| 4 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 33.491 |
| 5 | Alex Rins | ESP | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1m 33.501 |
| 6 | Marc Marquez | ESP | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | 1m 33.560 |
| 7 | Joan Mir | ESP | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1m 33.701 |
| 8 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Racing | Ducati GP21 | 1m 33.708 |
| 9 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 33.939 |
| 10 | Aleix Espargaro | ESP | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia RS-GP | 1m 33.993 |
| 11 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda Idemitsu | Honda RC213V | 1m 34.004 |
| 12 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP21 | 1m 34.066 |
| 13 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia RS-GP | 1m 34.098 |
| 14 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP21 | 1m 34.265 |
| 15 | Jorge Martin | ESP | Pramac Racing | Ducati GP21 | 1m 34.339 |
| 16 | Alex Marquez | ESP | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda RC213V | 1m 34.358 |
| 17 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 34.431 |
| 18 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 34.491 |
| 19 | Iker Lecuona | ESP | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 34.510 |
| 20 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Avintia Esponsorama | Ducati GP19 | 1m 34.658 |
| 21 | Luca Marini | ITA | Sky VR46 Esponsorama | Ducati GP19 | 1m 35.506 |
| 22 | Garrett Gerloff | USA | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 35.744 |
