Out with the renaissance, in with the tulips. From the euphoria of Mugello we head for the history of Assen as the Netherlands welcomes us for Round 10. There’s a snapshot of history at every turn, where battles have been a staple in this part of the world for a century and MotoGP has raced since our very first season in 1949. Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) leads the charge to Assen – another one of his teammate Francesco Bagnaia’s happy hunting grounds. Will they repeat their showdown from Mugello?
Mugello was an opportunity for Bagnaia to assert himself as a contender against Marquez in the Championship but now, more than 100 points back, he needs some answers on the way to Assen as he tries to get one over his teammate. Marc Marquez’s record at Assen isn’t as sparkling as Bagnaia’s, with two wins from 2014 and 2018 against the #63’s three wins on the last three Sunday’s at ‘The Cathedral of Speed’. In between both in the standings, Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) was second at Mugello but has never had a top five at Assen – something he corrected on Italian soil a week ago when faced with the same stat. 40 points ahead of his brother, Marc will leave as Championship leader regardless of Dutch results.
The battle behind is intensifying as well, with Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) giving away points over the course of last weekend at Mugello to teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio. It could be more of the same at Assen, with ‘Diggia’ securing a double top five last year whilst two P9s were what Morbidelli brought home.For Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), Assen has special memories with pole, a Sprint win and P2 on Sunday in 2023 and Aprilia are also competitive there, so they’ll hope for a podium charge after a solid Mugello. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) hopes to rekindle some magic after Mugello woes, with Assen being the scene of victory in 2021 and somewhere already earmarked as a venue likely to reward Yamaha. Having looked strong at Mugello but not finishing on Sunday, Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) is another rider who enjoys at Assen and has been the benchmark KTM throughout the majority of our European tour.
That said, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) remains 23 points ahead of Quartararo in the standings and despite struggling last year, will be optimistic of improvements in 2025. Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) struggled to find the groove at Mugello but Assen was the scene of pole and P2 last year in Moto2™. There’s then the Trackhouse MotoGP Team pairing of Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez, both inside the top ten at Mugello and in good form. Fernandez was seventh last time out whilst Ogura battled to P10 on his comeback ride; don’t sleep on either of them to make waves.
Johann Zarco remains sixth in the standings but a double DNF at Mugello after a tricky Aragon have left the #5 dropping points across the last two rounds – he took his first MotoGP pole back in 2017 at Assen but is yet to take a podium; a top ten return will likely suffice this weekend for the CASTROL Honda LCR rider. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was a solid P9 on Sunday at Mugello and has been a podium contender in previous years at Assen; in need of a strong qualifying, he’ll hope that he’s further up the order again in the Netherlands. Fellow KTM rider Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) didn’t see the chequered flag on Sunday last weekend and seeks redemption this time out, whereas Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) hopes for a top ten return after an under-the-radar weekend at Mugello.
Miguel Oliveira’s (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) best result of the year came last time out; teammate Jack Miller was a retiree but comes to the place of his heroic first MotoGP win in 2016. Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) will race at Assen with Yamaha for the first time having missed last season’s Dutch GP and Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) continues chasing his first points in the class. Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) is still out injured and replaced by Aleix Espargaro on this occasion – who has some good Assen form – and Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing) is in the saddle for Jorge Martin.
No venue has hosted MotoGP more times than Assen, whatever layout that may well have been. A whole country embracing the most exciting sport on Earth, past, present and future. A legacy venue which has welcomed just about every star this sport has ever seen, the last weekend in June can only mean one thing… we’re ready for another stunning show at the TT Circuit Assen.
Moto2: can anyone halt Gonzalez’ charge?
A three-place grid penalty down to P8 was no problem for Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) at Mugello as the World Championship leader stormed to a relatively commanding fourth win of the season. Now, heading to Assen, Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) is nine points down on his compatriot, so can the latter respond?
Who knows how pivotal Canet’s hard-fought P3 will prove to be come the end of the season. And what a scrap it was by the way. The Spaniard and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) treated us to a wonderful fight, and it’s those pair who act as Gonzalez’s closest challengers in the title race. Moreira is 40 points away, so the Brazilian could do with chipping away at Gonzalez’s lead as soon as possible.
Can Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) build on his brilliant P2 finish from Mugello this weekend? And will there be a turnaround in fortunes for 2023 Dutch GP winner Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team)? The two-time 2025 victor hasn’t finished inside the top 10 since the French GP, and the other two riders inside the top six in the championship, those being Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) and Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), also failed to notch up top 10s at Mugello.
A red-hot Gonzalez, a ready-to-fight Canet, an in-form Moreira and a bucket full of hungry riders desperate for a podium return. Oh, and two home heroes for the fantastic Dutch fans to cheer on in the form of Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Zonta van den Goorbergh (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP). Let’s see what unfolds in Assen, shall we?
Moto3: will the rookies stake their claim on more history?
It was coming, wasn’t it? And it had to be at Mugello. Mirroring mentor Marc Marquez, Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) clinched his debut Grand Prix win on Italian soil in a rookie 1-2 finish. The Spaniard beat compatriot Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) by just 0.006s in a classic Moto3 battle, so what does Assen have in store for us?
That debut win, coupled with back-to-back P2s at Silverstone and Aragon, has seen Quiles catapult himself up to P5 in the overall standings. Carpe is on the up too following his double podium success in Aragon and Mugello, he’s just one point behind second place Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI). The latter, with a P7, lost a few more points to pacesetter Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and is without a podium since Jerez. Will that change this weekend?
Rueda will be hoping he can continue building on his healthy 56-point advantage on a circuit on which he finished P4 last year. David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) was a podium finisher in the Netherlands last season, so expect the Aragon GP winner to be strong again, as fourth place Joel Kelso (LEVEL-UP MTA) aims to end his three-race podium drought. And how good did that podium feel for the experienced Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team)? That was his first top three since the 2022 Thai GP, so is that now the catalyst for the Italian’s form to turn in 2025?
We’ve had three winners in the last three races in Moto3, and as we know, there’s a whole host of riders who will want to make that four in four on Sunday at ‘The Cathedral of Speed’.
