Motorsport · Assen
Aprilia lock out front row at Assen as Jorge Martín grabs first pole since 2024; Marc Márquez down in seventh
Jorge Martín took his first pole position in nearly two years as Aprilia filled the top four slots at the Dutch TT, while championship leader Marco Bezzecchi lines up third and Marc Márquez starts seventh after having his fastest laps deleted.
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In brief
Jorge Martín on pole, Ai Ogura second, Marco Bezzecchi third and Raúl Fernández fourth gave Aprilia exclusive occupancy of the first two rows at Assen.
The Spaniard's last pole came at Phillip Island in 2024. His 1:30.812 lap edged out Ogura by 0.011 s.
The reigning world champion had two laps deleted for track limits at Turn 13, leaving him with his worst grid position of the 2026 campaign.
The Gresini rider suffered a vertebral fracture in Friday practice and will not compete in Assen.
Still recovering from a double clavicle and cervical fracture, the younger Márquez crashed again on Friday, escaping broken bones but nursing a shoulder contusion. He will race from 12th.
Bezzecchi leads Martín by only 8 points, while Marc Márquez has slashed a once-three-digit deficit to 40 points.
Aprilia's Assen masterclass
The Noale factory delivered a qualifying statement at the Cathedral of Speed, placing all four of its bikes on the first two rows. Jorge Martín secured pole with a 1:30.812, his first preferred starting spot since Australia 2024 (616 days ago). The Spaniard was joined on the front row by Ai Ogura, just 0.011 seconds adrift, and Marco Bezzecchi, a further 0.022 behind. Raúl Fernández took fourth, though a faster lap was ruled invalid for exceeding track limits.
“I didn't feel like I could get pole, but when I put on the new tyres I went into attack mode.”
Ducati's challenge begins on row two. Pecco Bagnaia qualified fifth, Fabio Di Giannantonio sixth and Marc Márquez seventh, his worst grid result of the 2026 season. Márquez had two early Q2 times deleted at Turn 13, leaving him eleventh before a late push clawed back a few places. He had predicted a sixth- or seventh-place starting spot and admitted the track's predominantly right-hand corners did not suit him.
Medical blows for the Márquez family
Alex Márquez endured a punishing return to action. Already recovering from a double fracture of the right clavicle and a cervical vertebra injury sustained at Montmeló, the Gresini rider crashed heavily at Turn 11 during Friday practice. He walked away without fractures but suffered a severe contusion to his right shoulder and abrasions on his left side. Hours earlier he had fallen at Turn 5. The team confirmed he is fit to continue but opted to skip Q2 to preserve his still-fragile body, starting 12th.
“Alex has no fractures and will undergo another medical check on Saturday morning.”
The sight of his younger brother being helped off the track visibly rattled Marc Márquez, who was on track at the time. Television cameras caught him pounding his Ducati's fuel tank with a closed fist in frustration.
Aldeguer out with fractured vertebra
Fermín Aldeguer will take no further part in the Dutch GP weekend. The 21-year-old Gresini rider was declared unfit after medics diagnosed a fracture of the T7 vertebra following a high-speed fall on Friday. His team stated that the injury will be reassessed in the coming days.
Championship picture
Bezzecchi tops the standings, but his lead over Martín has been cut to just 8 points. Marc Márquez, who had trailed by more than a hundred points, is now only 40 back after consecutive victories at Balaton Park and Brno. The points gap between the top three is narrower than it has been all season.
- Marco Bezzecchi
- 0 points
- Jorge Martín
- 8 points
- Marc Márquez
- 40 points
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Sources and context
- LaSextaLa resurrección de Aprilia en la clasificación del GP de Países Bajos
- europa pressFermín Aldeguer no correrá en Assen tras fracturarse una vértebra en...
- ABC TU DIARIO EN ESPAÑOLA Márquez le toca remontar en Assen
- LaVanguardiaJorge Martín lidera con la 'pole' el póker de Aprilia en Assen; Márquez, 7.º, peor resultado del año
- Jorge Martín
- Aprilia rider, pole position at the Dutch GP
- Ai Ogura
- Aprilia rider, qualified second at the Dutch GP
- Marco Bezzecchi
- Aprilia rider and MotoGP championship leader
- Raúl Fernández
- Aprilia rider, qualified fourth at the Dutch GP
- Marc Márquez
- Ducati rider and reigning MotoGP world champion, qualified seventh
- Pecco Bagnaia
- Ducati rider, qualified fifth at the Dutch GP
- Fabio Di Giannantonio
- Ducati rider, qualified sixth at the Dutch GP
- Álex Márquez
- Gresini Ducati rider, recovering from injury and crashed in practice
- Fermín Aldeguer
- Gresini Ducati rider, ruled out with T7 vertebra fracture
- Pedro Acosta
- MotoGP rider mentioned as encountering bike problems in qualifying
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