PECCO PERFECTION

It was a case of Pecco Perfection as Bagnaia becomes the first rider since Mick Doohan to win three consecutive Dutch TTs.

Even for a triple world champion, Pecco Bagnaia appeared to hit new heights at Assen. The Italian was irresistible from the start of weekend, topping every practice session and claiming pole for the first time in his MotoGP career, before holding the opposition at arm’s length in both the Sprint and feature race to record a second straight double. 

It was just the second time a rider had won both races in a weekend after leading every lap and posting the fastest lap – after Bagnaia did so in Austria last year. The fact he bears a tattoo on his right arm of the TT Circuit Assen outline shows the esteem he holds this historic venue. But after a shaky start to the year, Bagnaia is hitting peak form at the optimum time, as he tore chunks out of Jorge Martin’s (Pramac Ducati) championship lead.

As the three-week break that followed Mugello was filled with speculation regarding the future plans of Martin and Marc Marquez (Gresini Ducati). Bagnaia was the sports forgotten man by comparison. Yet this suited the reigning champ down to the ground. 

“Sometimes it’s better when no one is talking about you.” He left no one in any doubt leaving Assen he’s the rider to beat in the 11 races that follow. 

“I have no excuses today,” said Martin. “I just have to congratulate Pecco.” 

Truth is the pair were in a class of their own in both outings. Like the previous round at Mugello, the superiority of Ducati’s GP24 was made clear for all to see as challenges from its GP23 contingent, as well as Aprilia and KTM fell short. 

Bagnaia’s comfortable Sprint win left Martin admitting there wasn’t a great deal he could do on Sunday, even if he cured the front-end jitters he felt, when consistently losing the front at 305km/h through Turn 7. Like Mugello, the Spaniard saved his best for Sunday. 

Again, the Italian was imperious off the line, and led into the race’s first turn ahead of Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), Martin, and the Marquez brothers, with Marc leading Alex after a neat first-lap move at De Strubben. Martin was also soon on the move, as he passed Viñales for second at Turn 8. Fastest laps on the third and fourth circuits for the Spaniard indicated he could have given Bagnaia a race. But the #1’s response was swift: fastest laps on lap five, 10 and 12 kept the others in disbelief at Bagnaia’s pace. 

“I could see on the big screen outside Turn 5 he did a 1m31 on lap 12, and I honestly thought I was seeing things,” said Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM). “It was demoralising.” 

He extended his lead from 1sec to 1.7sec in the three laps after the 12th circuit. And while Martin stayed within 2sec of his great rival until three laps from the chequered flag, Bagnaia’s 23rd victory for Ducati – the same number Casey Stoner notched up – was never in doubt. 

With Martin also pulverising the rest of the field, focus soon shifted to the fight for third. Marc Marquez initially had the final podium place thanks to a nice pass on Viñales at De Struben on lap two. But Pedro Acosta (Tech3 GasGas) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) were also in the running, with Di Giannantonio climbing to fourth by lap six thanks to a tidy move on the Aprilia at the final chicane. 

Things took a strange turn two laps on when Marquez glanced over his shoulder and waved Di Giannantonio by at Turn 9. The reality was the eight-time champ’s crew had gambled on a low front tyre pressure. With clear track ahead, he was wary of it dropping too low and knew it would only rise to a legal level when following another rider. The problem was so pronounced that Marquez even refused to pass Di Giannantonio when the Italian made an error exiting Turn 9 on lap 19. Viñales took full advantage, breezing by the pair of them into third. 

By then the battle had grown to five. Enea Bastianini’s (Lenovo Ducati) qualifying performances have been his undoing all year long. Assen was another case in point, as he gradually built up speed from a sleepy start and 10th place. But he made stealthy progress toward the podium fight, passing Acosta on lap 18 then Di Giannantonio on the following circuit. 

Then a crucial moment: he outbraked Marquez into Turn 1 starting lap 21, which pushed the Catalan off track, before passing Viñales for third on lap 22. Crucially, Marquez lost the tow for two laps, causing his front tyre pressure to drop again. A last-lap mistake from Viñales promoted him to fourth. But it was deemed the pressure was below the legal level for more than 60 percent of the race, which merited a 16sec penalty, dropping him to 10th. 

Di Giannantonio was promoted to fourth, behind Bastianini, after Viñales was judged to have exceeded track limits at the final chicane. Acosta lost touch with the podium fight with five laps to go. In clear air, his front also tyre lost temperature, causing him to crash at high speed at Turn 7 on the final circuit, elevating Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) to a distant sixth, with Alex Marquez and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) seventh and eighth. 

Martin’s (200 points) lead has been trimmed to 10 points after Bagnaia’s second double on the bounce. Marquez (142) is now 51 points back. Bastianini’s (136) also losing touch. 

REPORT: NEIL MORRISON  PHOTOS: GOLD&GOOSE

MOTOGP RD8 SPRINT 13 LAPS

1 F BAGNAIA (ITA, DUC) 19m58.090s
2 J MARTIN (SPA, DUC) +2.355s
3 M VINALES (SPA, APR) +4.103s
4 E BASTIANINI (ITA, DUC) + 6.377s
5 F DI GIANNANTONIO (ITA, DUC) +8.869s
6 B BINDER (RSA, KTM) +9.727s
7 F QUARTARARO (FRA, YAM) +10.828s
8 A MARQUEZ (SPA, DUC) +13.196
9 F MORBIDELLI (ITA, DUC) + 13.560s
10 P ACOSTA (SPA, GAS) +15.972s
11 M BEZZECCHI (ITA, DUC) +16.036s
12 M OLIVIERA (POR, APR) +16.082s
13 J MILLER (AUS, KTM) +18.739s
14 J MIR (SPA, HON) +21.791s
15 A FERNANDEZ (SPA, GAS) +22.450s
16 J ZARCO (FRA, HON) +23.690
17 R FERNANDEZ (SPA, APR) + 24.430s
18 T NAKAGAMI (JPN, HON) +29.568s
19 A RINS (SPA, YAM) +1m23.553s
DNF a ESPARGARO (SPA, APR), L SAVADORI (ITA, APR), L MARINI (ITA, HON), M MARQUEZ (SPA, DUC)

MOTOGP RD8 RACE 26 LAPS

1 F BAGNAIA (ITA, DUC) 40m07.214s
2 J MARTIN (SPA, DUC) +3.676s
3 E BASTIANINI (ITA, DUC) +7.073s
4 F DI GIANNANTONIO (ITA, DUC) +8.299s
5 M VINALES (SPA, APR) +8.258s
6 B BINDER (RSA, KTM) +16.005s
7 A MARQUEZ (SPA, DUC) +21.095s
8 R FERNANDEZ (SPA, APR) + 22.368
9 F MORBIDELLI( ITA, DUC) + 23.413s
10 M MARQUEZ (SPA DUC) +23.868s
11 J MILLER (AUS, KTM) +24.004s
12 F QUARTARARO (FRA, YAM) +24.057s
13 J ZARCO (FRA, HON) +42.767s
14 A FERNANDEZ (SPA, GAS) + 42.871s
15 M OLIVIERA (POR, APR) +44.429s
16 T NAKAGAMI (JPN, HON) +46.246s
17 L MARINI (ITA, HON) +1m10.937s
DNF P ACOSTA (SPA, GAS), J MIR (SPA, HON), M BEZZECCHI (ITA, DUC), A RINS (SPA, YAM)

FASTEST LAP (and lap record) F BAGNAIA 1m31.866s

STANDINGS AFTER 8 of 20 ROUNDS
1 J MARTIN200, 2 F BAGNAIA 190, 3 M MARQUEZ 142,
4 E BASTIANINI 136, 5 M VIÑALES 118, 6 P ACOSTA 101,
7 B BINDER 99, 8 F DI GIANNANTONIO 92, 9 A ESPARGARO 82,
10 A MARQUEZ 62, 15 J MILLER 32