Maverick Viñales on pole at Assen

From dead last at the finish in Germany to first on Saturday in qualifying, Maverick Viñales experienced a real roller coaster in the space of a few days. At the head of the three free practice sessions, the Catalan started favorite in Q2, but that was without counting on fabio quartararo.

The Frenchman was in fact the first to go under the 1'32 mark during his first run before being dethroned a few moments later by Viñales.

The two teammates sign their second double of the season after the French GP. On the front line, they will be joined by Francesco Bagnaia. Although he had to go through the repechage in Q1, the Italian managed to offer Ducati a first row since 2017 at Assen and the first on a dry track since 2010.

On the second row, we find Takaaki Nakagami, who achieved his best result of the year, Johann Zarco, who made it through Q1, and Miguel Oliveira, who intends to record his fourth podium in four races tomorrow.

Among the big losers in the time trial game is Marc Marquez, recent winner in Germany. In difficulty on a track very different from that of the Sachsenring, the eight-time World Champion suffered more.

He tried to hang a wheel in Q1 to move up the hierarchy, but he was caught at his own game... Having made a mistake, he had to settle for 20th place on the grid, his worst qualifying result from Brno in 2009 when he was in 125cc.

Qualifying (Top 10)

1. Maverick Viñales – Yamaha (1’31.814)
2. Fabio Quartararo – Yamaha (at 0″071)
3. Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati (at 0″302)
4. Takaaki Nakagami – Honda (at 0″500)
5. Johann Zarco – Ducati (at 0″580)
6. Miguel Oliveira – KTM (at 0″636)
7. Alex Rins – Suzuki (at 0″783)
8. Jack Miller – Ducati (at 0″795)
9. Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia (at 0″852)
10. Joan Mir – Suzuki (at 0″934)