Marco Bezzecchi Claims Pole Position for Dutch MotoGP as Marc Marquez Suffers More Misery
Key Highlights :
The Dutch MotoGP at Assen, Netherlands, held on June 24, 2023, was a thrilling race that saw Marco Bezzecchi of Italy take pole position in record style. Bezzecchi, riding for Valentino Rossi's VR46 Ducati satellite team, became the 13th different pole sitter at Assen in the past 13 visits to the classic venue known as 'the Cathedral of Speed'. He secured only his second pole in MotoGP when lowering the track record with a flying lap of 1 minute 31.472 seconds.
Bezzecchi was joined on the front row by world champion Francesco Bagnaia and his VR46 teammate Luca Marini. Behind the all-Ducati front of the grid on the second row were Fabio Quartararo's Yamaha, South Africa's Brad Binder on his KTM, and Aleix Espargaro on his Aprilia.
The race was not as successful for six-time world champion Marc Marquez of Spain, who has endured a wretched season and continued to suffer more misery in Assen. He arrived at the eighth round of the season after five crashes in Sachsenring last weekend nursing injuries to his ankle and ribs. Marquez hit the deck in practice on Friday, and was dusting himself off again after a calamitous loss of concentration in the first qualifying session. As he was looking over his shoulder he ran into Enea Bastianini's bike in front of him to end up once again falling off his Honda and on the gravel. This left Marquez starting way back in 17th in the grid for Saturday's sprint and Sunday's main event.
The race was a success for Bezzecchi, who was building on his dominance of all three practice sessions. He was followed by Bagnaia at the top of the standings, who leads the standings by 14 points from Jorge Martin, who starts from 10th after a crash on one of his 'hot' laps.
The Dutch MotoGP was an exciting race, with Bezzecchi taking pole position in record style and Marquez enduring more misery. It was a great success for the VR46 Ducati satellite team, with Bezzecchi, Bagnaia and Marini all taking the top three spots on the grid. It was an exciting race that will be remembered for Bezzecchi's impressive performance and Marquez's ongoing struggles.
