Reigning MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia topped the opening practice for the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix, after Fabio Di Giannantonio had his session-topping lap cancelled.
After a three-week break forced by the postponement of the Kazakhstan GP to September, MotoGP returned to action on Friday morning at the iconic TT Assen venue.
Following weeks of rider market shocks, Di Giannantonio looked like he’d set the pace in the first practice of the weekend as he aims to secure his MotoGP future.
The VR46 Ducati rider was fastest with a 1m32.314s set in the closing seconds, but had that lap deleted for exceeding track limits, dropping him to seventh.
This promoted factory Ducati rider Bagnaia to top spot with a 1m32.401s he posted with just under 20 minutes remaining in the session.
He headed next year’s factory Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez by 0.065 seconds, with the Gresini rider’s future announced days after the Italian GP at the start of June.
Raul Fernandez completed the top three for the Trackhouse Racing Aprilia squad, while Fabio Quartararo was fourth as Yamaha brings a new engine to Assen for both the 2021 world champion and his team-mate Alex Rins.
Marquez set the pace early on in the 45-minute session with a 1m34.286s, which was instantly bettered by Bagnaia on a 1m34.225s.
The pair traded top spot once more, with a 1m33.004s from Marquez beaten by a 1m32.820s by Bagnaia – though this was quickly deleted for a track limits violation.
Marquez then posted a 1m32.980s with just over 10 minutes of the session gone, which stood as the reference for a brief time before Fernandez produced a 1m32.962s.
This was quickly bettered by Bagnaia with a 1m32.625s, with the Italian following that up with a 1m32.401s which would ultimately stand as the best time of the session.
With 15s to go on the clock, a soft tyre-shod Di Giannantonio lit up the timing screens and managed a 1m32.314s before it was cancelled.
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Bagnaia didn’t change tyres during the session, putting 19 laps on his medium rear, while Marquez and Fernandez completing the top three ran fresh medium rubber.
Quartararo fitted a fresh soft rear for his fourth-fastest time, while fresh mediums for the Aprilia duo of Maverick Vinales – who will join KTM next year – and Aleix Espargaro saw them complete the top six.
Di Giannantonio was shuffled down to seventh after losing his best lap time, with Gresini’s Alex Marquez, KTM’s Brad Binder and championship leader Jorge Martin (Pramac) rounding out the top 10.
Martin, like Bagnaia, stayed on the same medium rear tyre he started the session on through to the chequered flag.