The Ducati Lenovo Team in the points in Assen Sprint: Marc Márquez sixth, Francesco Bagnaia seventh

  • Fabio Di Giannantonio is third with the Ducati of the VR46 Racing Team


The Ducati Lenovo Team completed the tenth Sprint of the season at the TT Circuit Assen. Marc Márquez finished the race in sixth position, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia, who was classified seventh after a penalty.

Márquez got a good launch from seventh on the grid to end the opening lap in sixth place. After being overtaken by his teammate on lap seven, Marc fiercely defended his position from Bastianini and crossed the line in seventh before being promoted to sixth. Starting from the second row, Bagnaia found himself seventh at turn one. After moving up one position, Pecco tried every way to edge Martín for fifth but ended up exceeding track limits at the final chicane — a move that resulted in a one-position penalty.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will return to action tomorrow morning at 9:40 local time (GMT +2) for the warm up, which will be followed by the Grand Prix of the Netherlands, contested over a 26-lap distance from 14:00.

Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 6th
"I tried to find my rhythm and my position. Once I found myself in seventh, I focused only on maintaining my pace and ended up closer than expected to Jorge (Martín) and Pecco. We knew from practice and qualifying that our potential was for a seventh- to eighth-place finish and, in the end, we got a little present due to Pecco's penalty. In any case, one point more or less, the important thing is that we continued to pile up track time. The bike is good and has margin, but I'm struggling in the changes of direction from left to right, as my riding style changes from lap to lap. We must accept this and try to do our best."

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 7th
"The race would have been different with a better start, but I made a small mistake that almost resulted in a jump start. We had the same good rhythm we showed in every session so far, but unfortunately it took me a bit too long to overtake Marc. Once past him, I managed to close in on Martín quickly. Regarding the lost position, I had to move a little on corner exit as I almost ran into him because he was slower coming out of the corner. Half of the tyre was on the kerb, but the penalty was triggered anyway. We need to fix a small vibration issue in turns 7 and 15, but aside from that, the pace is good and we're competitive with the medium tyre."