Fabio Quartararo shocked the paddock by clocking the fastest lap in a dramatic and twice red-flagged Friday practice session for the 2025 Dutch MotoGP at Assen.
The Yamaha rider edged out Alex Marquez, KTM rookie Pedro Acosta, Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi and Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia with a blistering final-lap effort. The Frenchman, a former Assen winner, benefitted from early use of soft rubber while others juggled strategy amid treacherous conditions.
Championship leader Marc Marquez endured a bruising day, crashing at both the start and end of the session, with the latter fall at Turn 7 sending him into the gravel and back to the medical centre for precautionary checks. Despite the crashes, he had already locked in a direct Q2 spot in sixth place.
The day saw a wave of crashes in unusually cool conditions, with 18°C air temperature pushing the limits of the medium compound front Michelin tyre. The first red flag was triggered by a fiery highside for rookie Ai Ogura at Turn 11, his Trackhouse Aprilia erupting in flames. Fortunately, Ogura walked away unscathed.
Just as riders began regrouping, another violent highside – this time by factory Aprilia stand-in Lorenzo Savadori – brought out a second red flag, halting action with his RS-GP stranded on the track. MotoGP safety advisor Loris Capirossi personally inspected the scene for fluid leaks before the session resumed with 13 minutes to go.
In a tense final dash, Marc Marquez briefly topped the charts using a used soft front and new aero updates. But his brother Alex Marquez, who had earlier crashed, mounted a strong comeback using a new soft rear tyre to take the lead.
Reigning Assen winner Francesco Bagnaia, initially outside the top ten, employed a clever out-of-sync strategy to avoid yellow flags and briefly took the top spot – only to be demoted by four rivals from four different manufacturers.
As the dust settled, Quartararo’s surprise pace highlighted Yamaha’s potential turnaround – but with crashes aplenty and rising temperatures forecast, the weekend promises further unpredictability.
