All hail the Cathedral: MotoGP™ arrives in Assen

History meets modernity at a true jewel on the calendar. This is the TT Circuit Assen

Wednesday, 22 June 2022

It’s called the Cathedral for a reason. Only missing in 2020 due to the changes obliged to the calendar, the TT Circuit Assen has otherwise been a mainstay of motorcycle Grand Prix racing since the world’s first motorsport World Championship began in 1949. The venue has gone from a long street circuit to a shorter but no less incredible track over the seven decades since, creating some of the greatest racing in the world every time we return. In 2022, that time is now!

After deposing the “no Yamaha win since 2009” stat at the Sachsenring, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) arrives on the front foot and with his eye on another: no one’s won back to back at Assen since Valentino Rossi did it in 2004 and 2005. Since the Quartararo reigned last year in the Netherlands, it’s within reach… and his form only backs that statement up yet further. Three in a row would be quite a way to head into summer break.

Elsewhere at Yamaha, Darryn Binder (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP™) and Andrea Dovizioso will want more, the latter a former podium finisher at Assen and the former looking for a bounce back before summer break. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), meanwhile, continues looking for a big step forward, the Italian well outside his already conquered postcode of the podium fight so far in 2022.

At Aprilia, meanwhile, it can raise a smile that one of their worst races of the season so far, all told, is still in fact what the Noale factory would have been aiming for at the start of just last season. “Worst” describing fourth place for Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) still maintains the number 41 in second overall and was another consistent, big-points finish he’ll be looking to build on again.

On the other side of the garage there’s another two-sided coin for Maverick Viñales from Germany too: he suffered a technical issue and had to retire, but he had to retire after having been pinned to the back of his teammate for some time, looking like a podium charge was on the cards. Will there be one at Assen? It’s those final laps of the race, the ones we didn’t get to see at the Sachsenring, where ‘Top Gun’ often shines, and everything seems to be coming together.

That statement is also true of Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing). The Frenchman is on a steady upward curve of results with the next natural number in the progression being 1 aka the win. As satisfying a stat as that would be, his recent run already stands alone as impressive. Now third overall – and top Ducati in the Championship – can he pull another podium out the bag?

Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) did just that in Germany to put some tougher races behind him, and ‘Thriller’ did it despite a Long Lap penalty too. Of all those on the grid, Miller’s memories of Assen are probably the sweetest as he took that incredible win in 2016, so what can he do in 2022? And can Jorge Martin (Prima Racing) find something more? What will Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) have in the locker after impressive speed in Germany? Can Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) bounce back from a stint of going AWOL?

Then, of course, there’s Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). From bad luck in Barcelona to a slide out of second at the Sachsenring, it’s been a tougher few weeks for the number 63. Assen hasn’t traditionally been the best for Ducati, but Pecco even has the track as a tattoo, having taken his very first win there in Moto3™ in 2016. He’s also reigned in Moto2™, and knows his way around the Cathedral. The gap to the top is now a big one, but the season is only half way done…

Lurking a single point above both Bagnaia and Miller in the standings, meanwhile, is the truest Sunday rider of late – in the best sense. No matter the grid position, when the lights go out Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) wrings some magic out of his KTM, and he’s now into the top five overall. It’s never two or three positions either, it’s a charge as far as the charge can possibly go, and it’s paying dividends. Can he and teammate Miguel Oliveira – who is gaining back some solid form too – take that extra step forward at Assen?

Another factory looking for more, in their case a real bounce back, is Suzuki. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) crashed out in Germany after that stunning charge in Barcelona, and the number 36 will be gunning for glory at Assen. Teammate Alex Rins, meanwhile, tried to take part put then hit a serious pain barrier before withdrawing due to his wrist. Can he try again at Assen?

Finally, Honda. The stat sounds a little brutal: no points for the first time since the French GP in 1982. But all told, that happening at the track where the marque won the previous 11 races probably takes the sting out, as is likely also true of the well-stocked trophy cabinet added to in the intervening decades. It’s a tough run, however, with Stefan Bradl the sole finisher for Repsol Honda Team, teammate Pol Espargaro riding through the pain barrier, Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) suffering a technical issue and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) sliding out. All four riders have shown much more this season already, so the TT Circuit Assen will certainly bring the factory back into the points as a minimum, and offer some more track time as they fettle the all-new RC213V.

Classic, historic, and nestled in the north of one of northern Europe’s most vibrant countries, there have already been 72 great reasons to visit Assen – or tune in. This weekend provides the 73rd as MotoGP™ returns to the Cathedral, so join us at 14:00 (GMT +2) on Sunday for the final showdown before summer break!

MotoGP™ CHAMPIONSHIP: TOP 5

1 Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) – Yamaha – 172

2 Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) – Aprilia – 138

3 Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) – Ducati – 111

4 Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) – Ducati – 100

5 Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – KTM – 82

Last push for the Repsol Honda Team before Summer Break

One last race before the mid-season Summer Break and both Pol Espargaro and Stefan Bradl know what they have to do this weekend.

Assen offers a radical change from the demands of the Sachsenring, the tight anti-clockwise German track making way for the fast and flowing Dutch circuit. Having held races since 1949, the TT Assen is steeped in history and has undergone several modifications throughout its life. The current circuit is characterised by a tight first sector which opens into a fast and flowing section before arriving at the infamous Geert Timmer Bocht chicane just before the finish line.

Pol Espargaro arrives at the Dutch race looking to put an end to his run of misfortune, having failed to score in the last three races. A combination of bad luck and injuries have plagued the #44 as of late as he and the Repsol Honda Team have continued to try and chase their early season form. Intense recovery work while at home has seen some improvements to his injured left ribs, but it looks set to be another physically demanding weekend racing just a week later. In the past, Espargaro has been a consistent point scorer in the Netherlands and finished tenth last year on the RC213V.

For Stefan Bradl, the last race before the Summer Break is a chance to put the pace he showed during German GP practice into action. Complications in the race made for a disappointing home GP for the German rider, but his adaptation to racing the RC213V is well and truly underway. This will be Bradl’s first time racing at the Dutch track in MotoGP since 2016, the first edition of the race held on Sunday, when he finished eighth. In WorldSBK, when racing there in 2017, he achieved his best overall result of the year – a sixth place finish.

The weather for the weekend is looking significantly cooler and potentially wetter than Germany last week.

Pol Espargaro

“I’ve had a few days at home doing everything I can to be prepared for the race this weekend, getting a lot of treatment on the ribs. There’s not much more that we could have done, so I am as ready as I can be. Assen is a really different track to Germany obviously, there’s a lot of fast changes of directions and you really need to have a bike that handles well. The objective is to get a good result before the Summer Break, we need to stop the run of bad races we have had.”

Stefan Bradl

“Assen gives us an opportunity to solve the problems we had in Germany. Before the race we were making some really good progress – especially with my riding. The objective for the weekend is to make another step in this direction, gain that last little bit of confidence and feeling when pushing for a super-fast lap. It has been a few years since I raced at Assen but I think we can get up to speed quickly there. I’m eager to have a strong weekend to go into the break with an extra bit of motivation.”