MotoGP Sprint: Trackhouse triumph in Assen, Marc Marquez left out of the running

Aprilia, Aprilia, Aprilia, Aprilia. For the first time in MotoGP history, all four RS-GP riders from Noale had secured the top spots in the Assen qualifying session. Following the tough setbacks of recent weeks – which had allowed world champion Marc Marquez to make up crucial ground in his bid to defend his title – the team now approached the tenth Sprint of 2026 with the utmost confidence.

The fastest of the quartet was Jorge Martin; it was the Madrid-born rider’s first pole since leaving Ducati at the end of 2004. Alongside Martin, Ai Ogura was getting ready. The Japanese rider, who had secured his first MotoGP pole at Brno, was faster than Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez.

Only then came a Ducati stronghold featuring Pecco Bagnaia, Fabio Di Giannantonio and champion Marquez in 7th place. Alongside ‘MM93’ were Pedro Acosta on the fastest KTM and Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo.

The situation at Gresini Racing was split in two. Following a disastrous qualifying session, Fermin Aldeguer was forced to withdraw due to injury; Aldeguer is already back in Spain. Alex Marquez, on the other hand, who had emerged from his heavy crash with only minor injuries, was in 12th position on the grid.

The weather had eased. Instead of relentless heat under a blue sky exceeding 35 degrees, clouds and a light breeze had created better conditions. However, with an air temperature of 32 degrees, it could only be described as a slight cooling. At 3 pm, the prototypes were started up and the 20 regular riders, plus Zarco’s replacement Cal Crutchlow and Yamaha wildcard Augusto Fernández, set off on the warm-up lap for the 13-lap sprint in the ‘Cathedral of Speed’. Another intriguing question was how the riders would cope with their first race start without the now-banned hole-shot device.

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Much to the delight of Aprilia’s management, Aprilia’s dominance held through the first few corners. Ogura had won the start ahead of Martin, Fernandez and Bezzecchi. Whilst Joan Mir (Honda) slipped in Turn 4, Martin overtook Ogura on Lap 1. One lap later, the Japanese rider was also overtaken by Raul Fernandez – the Trackhouse rider from Madrid was on a mission.

Bezzecchi had lost a position. Following a minor mistake, Fabio Di Giannantonio swept past him. By the end of the third lap, Fernández had caught up with Martin – and the Trackhouse rider overtook him. Even before that, Pedro Acosta had lost contact with the leading group following a riding error. Acosta dropped further back to 13th place, behind Bastianini.

Things remained turbulent at the front. Fabio Di Giannantonio had worked his way up past Ogura and Martin to second place and was now closing in on the leader, Raul Fernandez. However, the fastest lap of the race went to Ogura, who had recovered. Bezzecchi and Martin, who swapped positions several times, also refused to be shaken off. Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez followed in P7, just behind the top five. At the halfway stage, the Ducati factory duo were 2.6 seconds behind the leaders. Enea Bastianini was riding directly behind Marc Marquez. Rookie Moreira followed some way behind in the final position eligible for World Championship points.

Fabio Quartararo had dropped back to 10th place, whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu had moved up to 18th.

With four laps to go, Aprilia’s dominance became clear once again. Ai Ogura squeezed past Di Giannantonio – a one-two lead for Tackhouse Racing. Marco Bezzecchi in P4 also stepped up the pace and closed in on Di Giannantonio. Martin in 5th could no longer keep up with the pace ahead of him and came under pressure from Pecco Bagnaia in the closing stages.

With three laps to go, Ogura set a new fastest lap of 1:32.003, but he was still 0.88 seconds behind his team-mate. Everyone kept their nerve on the final lap. Raul Fernandez held off any attempts to catch him and celebrated his second sprint victory, 0.3 s ahead of Ai Ogura. It was the US team’s first one-two finish.

Fabio Di Giannatonio held off the pressure from Bezzecchi and was thus able to join the podium ceremony. Jorge Martin also successfully defended P5 against Pecco Bagnaia. World Champion Marquez crossed the line in 6th place. Behind him came the KTM team with Bastianini and Acosta, who had staged a strong comeback.

The result was important for Marco Bezzecchi. Finishing ahead of Martin, he extended his lead in the World Championship standings once again, albeit by just one point to nine.