Five MotoGP riders that shocked us during Qualifying in Assen

Known as the Cathedral of Speed, qualifying for the DutchGP saw Francesco Bagnaia do what Bagnaia does - set another new MotoGP lap record - while Fabio Quartararo appears to be in ominous form once again. 

Quartararo’s main title contender Aleix Espargaro had a good, but unspectacular qualifying as yellow flags cost him the chance to fight for a front row position.

There were also late crashes for Ducati riders Jorge Martin and Jack Miller as the pair went beyond the limit in an attempt to challenge for pole. 

But who are the five riders that either had a qualifying to remember or one to forget?

Marco Bezzecchi - 4th 

After a great start to the season led to him being the rookie to beat, Bezzecchi has been overshadowed in recent rounds by Fabio Di Giannantonio, especially when it comes to qualifying.

However, with the Gresini Ducati rider failing to advance through to Q2 and Bezzecchi already in the mix following his top ten result in FP3, the Italian guaranteed himself the chance of being the leading rookie, regardless of the result he achieved.

Bezzecchi, who has crashed twice already this weekend, put that to the back of his mind when it counted and produced a very impressive performance as he beat the likes of Espargaro, Miller and Zarco. 

Bezzecchi’s penultimate lap looked like being good enough for a front row start, before the Mooney VR46 rider lost time in sector four, resulting in him finishing +0.088s behind Martin.

Miguel Oliveira - 8th

While eighth is the sort of position KTM regularly competes for during races, qualifying inside the top ten has been nowhere near as frequent.

But after a brilliant Q1 performance, both Brad Binder and Oliveira were able to clinch top ten results - Oliveira was able to get the better of Binder by close to a tenth.

Oliveira has also shown strong race pace so far this weekend which could translate to fighting for a top five on Sunday.

Three riders disappoint during Assen MotoGP Q1, but who are they?

Luca Marini - 13th

With his rookie team-mate lining-up in fourth, failing to advance through Q1 is an obvious disappointment for Marini who has also looked strong at times this weekend. 

The Italian has been very impressive over the last three races, finishing no lower than sixth in any of them. 

Marini was the biggest challenger to both Oliveira and Binder in Q1, however, the former Moto2 runner-up lacked pace in sector three which was ultimately his undoing.

Given his form of late, to say five Ducati riders qualified inside the top seven positions and Marini not be one of those names is a surprise.   

Joan Mir - 14th

After it appeared as though Mir and Suzuki made significant steps forward in free practice, qualifying was another case of deja vu for the Spaniard.

His best lap time was over four tenths away from Binder, while it was also five tenths slower than what Alex Rins managed in Q2. 

Mir, who is considered to be on the verge of joining Repsol Honda, should be able to use his strong race pace and challenge for a top ten, however, it’s going to be another damage limitation day for the Suzuki rider. 

Franco Morbidelli - 20th

Frequently making an appearance on this list, Morbidelli’s awful 2022 season continued during qualifying at Assen.

After being hit with a long-lap penalty for tomorrow’s race due to slow riding on the racing line (FP2), the Italian was absolutely nowhere when it came to challenging for a Q2 spot. 

If the Yamaha rider was short on confidence coming into the weekend, then seeing his Q1 lap be over 1.4 seconds slower than what Quartararo managed won’t help.