QUALIFYING: 
While the sun played hide and seek on Saturday morning, better conditions awaited the main class, with a fully dry track. The usual wind of Assen was there though, and was an extra factor to consider at the Cathedral of Speed. Already qualified for Q2 following the hectic Friday’s practice, Maverick Viñales seized the opportunity of Free Practice 2 to work on the little adjustments needed to be fully ready for the sprint, and he showed once again positive pace with the 6th time of FP2. When it was time for Q2, clouds were dark and the wind had picked up, setting the perfect stage for the war to come. Still displaying his special SuperMan-inspired helmet, our ‘SuperMav’ launched into Q2 with a first 1’31.877 sitting him in 6th, while Marc Marquez set the tone with a 1'31.284. The next lap was a 1'31.633 before the pit box stop. While many riders opted for early exits to their second run, Maverick, provisionally in 10th, chose to wait inside the box, which only left him with two flying laps when he joined back the show with just a bit more than 3 minutes left on the clock. An improved 1’31.465 was just enough to retain the 10th place, but unfortunately he had to cut his efforts in his last lap, meaning 10th was it for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider, who will open row 4 when launching for the Sprint later on. Teammate Enea Bastianini completed an encouraging FP2 with less than one second to the fastest this morning, and he headed to qualifying feeling positive. Once again, it was a tight shootout that saw Raul Fernandez and Fermin Aldeguer take the first two spots. A disappointing first run saw Enea’s best be a 1’32.336, which he managed to improve to a 1’31.953 in his second run. That was it for Enea, who finished in 7th, and he will line up in P17 on the grid, just behind teammate Brad Binder.

TISSOT SPRINT: 
Dark clouds and the strong wind remained with us for the afternoon’s Tissot Sprint as the premier class lined up on the grid of the TT Circuit Assen. Launching from 10th, Maverick Viñales jumped to 7th as he kept his line on the left to enter T1 on the outside, but a small contact with Fermin Aldeguer saw him drop to 8th, a position he retained entering lap 2 behind Fabio Di Giannantonio, who had taken advantage of the small contact Viñales-Aldeguer. Maverick led a KTM trio with Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta behind, and then began a battle for 7th against Di Gia'. ‘SuperMav’ went through the number 49 in the third sector, and shortly after he passed Aldeguer on his way to 6th after a solid lap 2 in 1’32.238. The VR46 rider did not let go though, and he was quick to charge back on Viñales for the 6th position entering lap 4. Eventually, Di Gia won the battle and that was P7 for Maverick who settled in that final spot of the front group, led by Marquez brothers. Francesco Bagnaia became Maverick’s target when the two-time world champion lost his battle for 5th against an in-form #49. When 5 laps remained, Maverick had a 1.1 seconds gap to defend on rookie Aldeguer. Pole sitter Fabio Quartararo’s crash on lap 10 meant P6 for Maverick, a position he kept until the checkered flag. That’s 4 points from 10th on the grid for our superhero, who will now be preparing for the long distance on Sunday. From 17th, Enea Bastianini dropped to 19th as he battled it out in the middle of the pack in the first corners, but he regained positions to take 16th after the opening lap. He moved past Alex Rins in lap 3, and through Jack Miller shortly after to take 14th, but the Aussie claimed his position back. Glued to the Pramac Racing rider, Enea seized an opportunity to move up to 14th on lap 5, and the next rider to chase was Miguel Oliveira, more than 3 seconds ahead. Bastianini settled into decent lap times, with a 1’32.762 on lap 7, and then 1’32.762 the next lap. A small mistake caused a small loss of rhythm, but the gap to Oliveira was too big to catch with very few laps remaining. Quartararo’s late crash gave Enea a final P13, an encouraging little remondata which will hopefully give him some confidence heading to the main event. Don’t miss the finale of the Motul Grand Prix of the Netherlands, with the Red Bull KTM Tech3 crew taking on one last time the TT Circuit Assen, with the main race tomorrow, at 14:00 (UTC+2).