Battered and Bruised! Marquez Tops Assen FP1 Despite Super-Fast Crash

MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez tops a slightly damp FP1 at Assen, shaking off a vicious high-speed crash to post the fastest time of the session late on.

The Ducati rider went down hard at Turn 14 just eight minutes into the session, tumbling violently through the gravel after losing the front at one of the fastest points on the track.

Big crash for Marc Marquez early on. He lost the rear through super-fast turn 14 💥pic.twitter.com/uwjmruAGfM #MotoGP #DutchGP
— MGP1 (@mgp1official) June 27, 2025

He eventually returned to his garage visibly sore and with pain in his left arm, prompting concern from the Ducati pit and a visit from Dr. Angel Charte.

But the eight-time world champion didn’t stay sidelined for long. With just over ten minutes remaining, Marquez returned to the track on his second bike – this one fitted with Ducati’s new aero package.

Being the only rider on fresh soft tyres, the Spaniard went fastest shortly after, and then lowered the benchmark again with a 1:32.216, leaving him 0.313s clear of Maverick Viñales.

The Tech3 rider led the charge for KTM in second setting his best time late on on a rear tyre with 18 laps of wear.

Marco Bezzecchi continued his strong form with Aprilia, finishing third just 0.041s behind Viñales.

The Italian briefly led the session after firing in a 1:32.730 with around ten minutes to go, but slipped down the order as the late time attacks ramped up.

Francesco Bagnaia ended the first sesison of the weekend fourth, his 1:32.609 coming on 15-lap old tyres. He remains on Ducati’s 2024 aero configuration as he continues to search for form following the difficult run of recent races.

Fabio di Giannantonio rounded out the top five for VR46, while Fabio Quartararo gave Yamaha some early encouragement in sixth.

Having set the first 1:32 of the session, the Frenchman was not able to improve further and slipped down the order as the session neared its end.