With the threat of rain looming large at the start of Q2, riders wasted no time ꦕin heading out of pit lane. 

The first to do so were Aleix E🌠spargaro and Francesco Bagnaia, two of the fastes🐼t riders so far this weekend. 

But after the opening lap it was Jorge Martin leadinꦓg the way as he set a new lap record. 

Needing to find -0.011s to go quicker than Martin, Fabio Quartararo made a mistake at turn one which led t𝓀o him running through the gravel. 

A costly error, Quartararo then returned to pit lane along with provisional pole sitter Marღtin. 

Third after the first run, Bagnaia started to really turnꦓ the screw with five minutes remaining.&n꧃bsp;

The factory Ducati rider went two tenths quicker than Martin in 🌞just the fi♌rst sector, an advantage he kept throughout the lap. 

Attempting to figh�🐻�t back and deny Bagnaia, Martin suffered a crash at turn five which ended his hopes of securing pole. 

Making it a double-Ducati crash was Jack Miller🍎 as the Australian suffered a fall at turn five. 

After gaining time ♚in sectors three and four, Quartararo put his M1 second on the grid before going for another flyer. 

However, the French rider’s effort of beating Bagnaia to pole was thwarted when he nearly lost ﷽the front at turn five.

KTM finds pace in Assen MotoGP Q1, FINALLY!

Q1 got underway in𝓀 dramatic💟 fashion as Enea Bastianini was slow exiting pit lane. The Italian rider made a quick decision to stop his GP21 machine and head back to his garage on foot. 

After a leisurely jog, Bastiaꦚnini arrived back at the Gresini garage as frantic work was taking place to get his second bike ready. 

On track, Miguel Oliveira 🅠🍃led a factory KTM 1-2, with Joan Mir not far behind in third. 

A specialist in qualifying of late, Fabio Di Giannan🐽tonio looked set to challenge the top two before rain bꦍegan to fall in sector three - the Italian lost three tenths in just a few corners. 

Like his team-mate, Bas✃tianini w🐻as very fast in the opening two sectors before losing four tenths in sector three. 

Starting his second run, Mir suffered a slow fall at turn five whi♏ch left the 2020 MotoGP champion stuck underneath his machine. 

The Spaniard was eventually able to push his GSX-RR away from him and get back underway, although an improve🦋ment failed to follow. 

An improvement did come from Brad Binder as the South African bettered Oliveira’s time to go fastest.&ღnbsp;

Despite fast times being set in sectors one and two by Bastianini and Mir, sector three was again their undoing as B⭕inder and Oliveira held on to adඣvance.