Reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) will be starting from pole at the Motul TT Assen – his first at the venue in the premier class, only second of the 2018 season and 75th overall – but the pack were incredibly close together after qualifying at the ‘Cathedral’ delivered an absolute classic.
The top ten are within 0.376 seconds and the biggest gap between any two riders is just 0.063, setting the scene for a stunning race day once again. It’s Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) who starts second and as top Independent Team rider, with 10-time winner at the venue Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) completing the front row.
The mad dash for pole was true to its name as the final 30 seconds saw everything shuffle and shuffle again, with Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) and Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) initially seeming to have the advantage before that final lap for the majority of those in the session – and the emergence of Marquez at the top. But it’s just 0.041 back to Crutchlow and 0.059 back to Rossi, with Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) heading the second row despite only being 0.079 off pole.
Marc Marquez
pole position 1'32.791
“So far this weekend, things are going better than we were hoping for. The pole has not been one of my strongest points this year, and actually this will be the first time I’ll start form the top spot, because in Austin I earned the pole but was moved back to fourth. I was very happy with the rhythm I could keep in FP3 and FP4 and now I’m even more happy for the Q2 result. We’re trying and working in a good way. At this track stability is one of the main targets to achieve and step by step we improved that a bit. Our first goal is a podium finish but honestly we now have the possibility to fight for the victory. We must remain focused and work well in tomorrow’s warm-up to try and make another little step to improve the stability and to make the final choice for the tyres.”
TT Assen Qualifying Classification
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 MARQUEZ Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'32.791
2 CRUTCHLOW Cal 35 GBR LCR Honda Honda 0.041
3 ROSSI Valentino 46 ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.059
4 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Team Ducati 0.079
5 RINS Alex 42 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 0.142
6 VINALES Maverick 25 SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.193
7 ESPARGARO Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 0.238
8 ZARCO Johann 5 FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 0.281
9 IANNONE Andrea 29 ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 0.329
10 LORENZO Jorge 99 SPA Ducati Team Ducati 0.376
11 PETRUCCI Danilo 9 ITA Alma Pramac Racing Ducati 0.501
12 BAUTISTA Alvaro 19 SPA Angel Nieto Team Ducati 1.224
13 NAKAGAMI Takaaki 30 JPN LCR Honda Honda 1'33.625 Q1
14 RABAT Tito 53 SPA Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 0.088
15 SYAHRIN Hafizh 55 MAL Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 0.088
16 MILLER Jack 43 AUS Alma Pramac Racing Ducati 0.094
17 REDDING Scott 45 GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 0.417
18 PEDROSA Dani 26 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 0.547
19 ABRAHAM Karel 17 CZE Angel Nieto Team Ducati 0.567
20 SMITH Bradley 38 GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 0.571
21 ESPARGARO Pol 44 SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 0.690
22 LUTHI Tom 12 SWI EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 1.614
23 SIMEON Xavier 10 BEL Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 2.068
24 MORBIDELLI Franco 21 ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 0.593 (FP1)
