Assen MotoGP: Valentino Rossi leads Marc Marquez in first practice
Valentino Rossi set the pace in the opening MotoGP practice session at Assen
Valentino Rossi set the pace in the opening MotoGP practice session at Assen.
The Yamaha rider was quiet for much of the 45-minute session as Honda's Dani Pedrosa led the way with a time set inside the first quarter of an hour.
Marc Marquez began the session by crashing on his outlap on cold tyres, but he was able to get back on his Honda and return to the pits.
He later displaced team-mate Pedrosa at the top of the times inside the final five minutes, but was forced to settle for second after three consecutive fastest laps from Rossi, who ended up nearly two tenths of a second clear.
Pedrosa improved his time late on but he remained third ahead of Jorge Lorenzo.
Pol Espargaro beat Tech 3 team-mate Bradley Smith to fifth place, with the Suzuki duo of Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro behind that.
Andrea Dovizioso was the best of the Ducati entries in ninth ahead of Pramac rider Danilo Petrucci. Andrea Iannone was 13th behind LCR's Jack Miller and Cal Crutchlow.
PRACTICE ONE RESULTS:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Bike | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m34.357s | - |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Honda | 1m34.552s | 0.195s |
| 3 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Honda | 1m34.570s | 0.213s |
| 4 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m34.772s | 0.415s |
| 5 | Pol Espargaro | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1m34.927s | 0.570s |
| 6 | Bradley Smith | Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1m35.042s | 0.685s |
| 7 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1m35.050s | 0.693s |
| 8 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1m35.175s | 0.818s |
| 9 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati | 1m35.223s | 0.866s |
| 10 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m35.271s | 0.914s |
| 11 | Jack Miller | LCR | Honda | 1m35.348s | 0.991s |
| 12 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR | Honda | 1m35.393s | 1.036s |
| 13 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | Ducati | 1m35.400s | 1.043s |
| 14 | Stefan Bradl | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 1m35.486s | 1.129s |
| 15 | Yonny Hernandez | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m35.924s | 1.567s |
| 16 | Nicky Hayden | Aspar | Honda | 1m35.965s | 1.608s |
| 17 | Scott Redding | Marc VDS | Honda | 1m36.158s | 1.801s |
| 18 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar | Honda | 1m36.223s | 1.866s |
| 19 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1m36.233s | 1.876s |
| 20 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 1m36.250s | 1.893s |
| 21 | Loris Baz | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | 1m36.423s | 2.066s |
| 22 | Mike Di Meglio | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1m36.619s | 2.262s |
| 23 | Alex de Angelis | IodaRacing Project | ART/Aprilia | 1m37.486s | 3.129s |
| 24 | Marco Melandri | Aprilia Gresini | Aprilia | 1m37.933s | 3.576s |
Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi to try revised MotoGP bikes
MotoGP Assen: Valentino Rossi beats Jorge Lorenzo in GP3
Laser Tools Racing continues in BTCC with Hill
The Laser Tools Racing name that was carried to British Touring Car Championship titles in 2020 and 2021 will continue in the series after all with Jake Hill.
McLaren to share F1 reserve driver Schumacher with Mercedes
Mercedes Formula 1 reserve driver Mick Schumacher will be also made available as a stand-in to McLaren, the Woking team has announced.
NASCAR Next Gen car gets safety upgrades for 2023 season
NASCAR unveiled some changes to the Next Gen car for the 2023 season, with most enhancing its safety aspects.
O’Ward optimistic about Rossi and that McLaren IndyCar DNFs can be reduced
Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward says he’s confident that Alexander Rossi will be a strong addition to the line-up and that the team has gotten on top of its mechanical woes.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew-members absorbed into other operations
How one MotoGP team went from title fights to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is MotoGP's comeback king ready to reclaim his throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Autosport
How MotoGP’s underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Autosport why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of competition more than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend
Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Autosport picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.