Assen MotoGP: Marquez fastest from Yamahas, Lorenzo falls
MotoGP champion Marc Marquez set the fastest laဣp time under bright sunshine on Friday mornin▨g at Assen.
The Repsol Honda rider posted a best of 1m 34.2🐷27s, just ov꧂er half-a-second from the official lap record, to keep Movistar Yamaha riders Maverick Vinales (+0.177s) and Valentino Rossi (+0.286s) at bay.
Former Assen winner Jack Miller made late progress, leaping from outside th🐷e top 20 to fourth place (+0.321s) on his year-old P൩ramac Ducati.
MotoGP champion Marc Marquez set the fastes🗹t lap time under briꩲght sunshine on Friday morning at Assen.
The Repsol Honda rider posted a best of 1m ✅34.227s, just ꦐover half-a-second from the official lap record, to keep Movistar Yamaha riders Maverick Vinales (+0.177s) and Valentino Rossi (+0.286s) at bay.
Former Assen winner Jack Miller made late prog🤡ress🦩, leaping from outside the top 20 to fourth place (+0.321s) on his year-old Pramac Ducati.
GP18 Ducati riders Andrea Dovizioso, Jorge Lorenzo and Danilo Petrucci had a new chassis to try this morning, featur𒊎ing some carbon fibre bracing similar to the latest Suzuki design.
Dovizioso was quickest of the trio in fifth, with Lorenzo - winner of the last two races - seventh after a lowside fall at Turn 9 in the closing minutes of the session. Petrucci, still sore from his ꧙Catalunya test fall, began the weekend in tenth (+0.810s).
Here's the ෴crash that broughဣt 's FP1 session to a premature end
— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP)
Between Dovizio𒅌so and Iannone was the leading Suzuki of Andrea Iannon💟e who, like team-mate Alex Rins (15th) has an updated engine this weekend, as used by wild-card Sylvain Guintoli last time in Barcelona.
Rookie Franco Morbidelli, rumoured to joining a new Petronas-backed Yamaha team in 2019, certainly seemed to be riding with his mind at ease as he featured as high as sixth on his way to an eventual eighth place for Marc VDS🦩 Honda in FP1.
LCR's Cal Crutchlow was just behind the Italian in ninth, during a session that saw fellow Englishman Brad🐲ley Smith the to🐷p KTM rider in 16th, one place ahead of the lead Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro.
Peter has been in the paddock for 2♕0 years and has﷽ seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.