Race 1 at Assen: Carlos Cano claimed his first rookie victory, Kratochwil put in a strong performance

The first of the two Red Bull Rookies races at Assen was scheduled for 15 laps. With the start time set for 5 pm, the peak of the heat had passed. However, as the field of 24 rookies prepared for the start, the temperature was still 30 degrees.

On pole position: Sullivan Mounsey. Alongside him were David Gonzalez and Ryota Ogiwara from Japan. Newcomer Fynn Kratochwil started a Rookies Cup race from the second row for the first time. The Thuringian, who had stepped onto the podium for the first time at Mugello, shot off from an excellent fifth place, ahead of Cup leader Benat Fernandez.

However, the picture changed immediately after the start. Whilst Ogiwara returned from the first lap in the lead and Fernandez had made up ground, the German dropped back to eighth place. Things went even worse for Tibor Varga, who crashed out of the race early on.

Having already moved up to fourth place by lap 3, Fynn Kratochwil showed his class. Before the start of the fifth lap, he braked past Benat Fernandez at the infamous chicane before the home straight – and took the lead. However, the hugely talented rider was unable to pull away. More experienced rookies – Mounsey, Cano, Fernandez and Singhapong – immediately set off in pursuit. By lap 7, the number 20 was back down to P8.

The Dutch were also on the edge of their seats. Jurrien van Crugten was battling hard for his first points in the MotoGP junior programme, which has been reliably nurturing the greatest talents in road racing for 20 years.

The sheer competitiveness of the 2026 cohort was also evident at Assen. With five laps to go, all 22 riders still in the race were within 3.2 seconds of one another. Kratochwil had even dropped back to 13th place heading into the final stages.

At the front, Carlos Cano tried to break away – but to no avail. The entire field, led by Fernandez, remained hot on the Spaniard’s heels. Meanwhile, David Gonzalez had moved up to 7th place, whilst Kratochwil finished lap 13 back in the top 10.

The race was effectively decided in the penultimate lap. At the exit of the blisteringly fast Ramshoek, pole-setter Sullivan, Mounsey and Borg – three top drivers – were knocked out of the lead. Carlos Cano kept his nerve. The Spaniard fended off all attacks from his compatriot Fernandez, the American Daniel and Ogiwara. Cano crossed the line 0.274 seconds ahead of Kristian Daniel. Third place went to Fernandez, who thereby consolidated his lead at the top of the standings.

Fynn Kratochwil put in a strong performance in the final. The 15-year-old finished fifth, right behind Ryota Ogiwara – less than half a second behind winner Cano. After the eighth race of the season, Kratochwil sits in seventh place and is the top newcomer behind Ogiwara.