ASSEN, Netherlands
\nDouble world champion Francesco Bagnaia claimed pole position Saturday as he again broke the lap record to continue his dominance at the Dutch Moto Grand Prix in Assen.
\n\u201cPecco\u201d Bagnaia on a factory Ducati set a blistering pace of 1min 30.540sec — almost a second faster than Friday — to start ahead of the pack in Saturday\u00b4s sprint and race on Sunday.
\nQualifying just behind Bagnaia is current world championship leader Jorge Martin on a Prima Pramac Ducati, who also broke Bagnaia\u00b4s lap record set on Friday.
\nBagnaia on 153 points is closing in on Martin\u00b4s championship lead of 171pts – and both Saturday\u00b4s sprint and Sunday\u00b4s race is shaping up to be a duel between the two riders.
\n\u201cBeing in pole position in front of this crowd is always fantastic,\u201d Bagnaia said of his 26th career pole position.
\n\u201cLet\u00b4s try and do it again this afternoon — but it won\u00b4t be easy,\u201d the rider from Turin added.
\nThe \u201cCathedral\u201d at Assen is one of Bagnaia\u00b4s favourite tracks.
\n\u201cThe smoothness of some corners are incredible!\u201d the 27-year-old told reporters on Friday.
\nAfter the race Martin said he felt confident in fending off Bagnaia\u00b4s challenge.
\n\u201cYesterday we were two steps behind Pecco, today we are one step behind. We\u00b4re feeling strong for the race, he said.
\nSpaniard Maverick Vinales of Aprilia was third followed by compatriot Alex Marquez on a Gresini Ducati.
\nVeteran rider Aleix Espargaro on an Aprilia qualified fifth in his last race at Assen, followed by Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio of Ducati\u00b4s Pertamina Enduro VR46 team in sixth.
\nSpain\u00b4s Marc Marquez, current third in the standings on 136 points will start in seventh place, followed by Italy\u00b4s Franco Morbidelli on a Prima Pramac Ducati and South Africa\u00b4s Brad Binder on a KTM factory machine.
\nMarquez on a Gresini Ducati crashed in the latter stages of qualification when trying to overtake Espargaro in one of Assen\u00b4s sweeping left-hand corners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ASSEN, Netherlands Double world champion Francesco Bagnaia claimed pole position Saturday as he again broke the lap record to continue his dominance at the Dutch Moto Grand Prix in Assen. \u201cPecco\u201d Bagnaia on a factory Ducati set a blistering pace of 1min 30.540sec — almost a second faster than Friday — to start ahead of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-415648","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n