Bagnaia untouchable in Dutch TT

Lenovo Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia’s love affair with the historic Assen circuit continued last weekend when the reigning world champion became the first rider since Australia’s Mick Doohan to win three consecutive Dutch TTs.

As well as pole position, and the holeshot in both the sprint and the full-length grand prix, Bagnaia led every single race lap in the Netherlands after topping every single practice session, illustrating why he’s still the man to beat in this year’s title fight.

Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Ducati) did his best to keep the Italian honest, qualifying in second and finishing P2 in both races. And while a penalty for impeding Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing Aprilia) in qualifying dropped him to fifth on the grid, his trademark strong start had him back up to second by the end of the opening lap.

As the lights went out and Pecco blasted towards the first apex, it was front-row starter Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) who slotted in behind the Ducati ahead of Martin and Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati), who was promoted to the outside of the front row thanks to Martin’s mishap.

Starting from sixth place, Marc Marquez (Gresini Ducati) relegated his brother to fifth by the end of the opening lap as the eight-time world champ looked to make up for his non-score in the previous day’s Sprint. He found his way past Vinales for third on lap two, but any hope of a higher-placed finish was thwarted by the unrivalled speed of Bagnaia in the lead and Martin giving chase, as the two GP24 riders began to stretch away.

Bagnaia had a one-second lead after just two laps, such was his incredible pace and confidence on new tyres, but it was Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) starting from the middle of the second row who also had some eye-catching early pace. He was the quickest man on circuit on lap four, and passed Vinales for fourth by lap six, and as he set his sights on the eight-time world champ for third place on lap six, Marquez waved him through as he tried to manage his front-tyre pressure and any associated penalties.

A string of personal best laps from Martin could do nothing to dent the resolve of Bagnaia up ahead, the pair almost three seconds clear of Diggia by lap 10, but the battle for the last podium place was getting intriguing as both Pedro Acosta (GasGas Tech3) and Enea Bastianini (Lenovo Ducati) began to find some rhythm.

From 11th on the grid, Bastianini took four laps to eventually find a way past Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) for eighth by lap nine, as Acosta latched onto the back of battle for third place in sixth, one second clear of Bastianini at the start of lap 14.

With 10 to go, Bastianini disposed of Acosta for sixth place, turning his attentions to the three-way fight for third between Diggia, Marquez and Vinales, but tyre pressure concerns played yet another role in proceedings as Diggia slowed to allow Marquez back through on lap 19, catching the chasing pack unawares. Vinales became the beneficiary, going from fifth to third as Diggia found himself back in sixth, with Bastianini slotting into fifth behind Marquez.

A bold move from Bastianini for fourth ran Marquez off track, dropping him to sixth, but an equally hard move on Diggia had him back to fifth with five laps left to run as Vinales was doing everything he could to keep Bastianini at bay in the battle for the final podium place.

With four laps left to run, 0.8sec separated Bastianini and Marquez. The Beast found a way through on Vinales at the final chicane the next time around and a late push from Marquez meant he’d clawed his way onto the rear wheel of Vinales as they crossed the line to start the final lap.

A mistake by Vinales at Turn 15 handed Marquez fourth in the closing stages as the Aprilia man was forced to defend fifth from Diggia, but the mistakes continued for the Spaniard as he clipped the green plaint in the final chicane, which demoted him another position to sixth after the flag.

Acosta crashed out of seventh on the final lap, joining Alex Rins (Monster Yamaha), Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati) and Joan Mir (Repsol Honda) on the DNF list. The penalties continued after the race, with Marquez copping a 16-second tyre pressure penalty, which dropped him from fourth to 10th, reducing his points haul from 13 to just six. Bastianini completed the podium, Diggia kept his nose clean to eventually be promoted to fourth after crossing the line in sixth. Binder, Alex Marquez, Raul Fernandez and Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Ducati) rounded out the top 10 over the line.

There were no problems for the peerless Bagnaia though, whose race-winning time was a full 30 seconds quicker than what he managed one year ago. The win puts him on equal pegging with Australian Casey Stoner in terms of Ducati’s most successful rider and moves him to just 10 points behind championship leader Jorge Martin, with 190 points to Jorge’s 200. With the penalties applied, Marquez remains in third on 142 points, just six points clear of Bastianini (136 points) in fourth. Jack Miller’s (Red Bull KTM) lacklustre form continued as the Australian qualified 14th and finished 13th and 11th. He sits 15th in the standings with just 32 points.

The series now heads to the Sachsenring this weekend for the the German GP’s round nine.