The MotoGP World Championship seemed quite on track for Marco Bezzecchi. But after this weekend’s GP and the dominance of Ai Ogura and Raúl Fernández ahead of the official bikes, and Marco’s fall on Sunday itself, everything is very open again. And in a season with 22 GPs we have not yet reached the halfway point, so there is still a lot at stake.
What does seem increasingly certain is that there are tracks where the Aprilias fly and are unreachable for the rest, and in Assen it was again very evident. What’s more, right now the four drivers of the brand are located, despite everything, in the top6.
Fernández takes the Sprint with Ogura pushing
Ai Ogura is not used to, at the moment, either doing good qualifiers or making good starts. But in Assen the Japanese brought out his best version to achieve second position on the grid after Martín, and to take advantage of it once the red light went out. Ogura tried everything to win this victory and, in fact, was able to defeat Jorge Martín.
The one the Japanese couldn’t handle was his teammate, whose future we still don’t know next year, who gradually recovered positions until he was in front. No matter how much Ogura tried to overcome it, he had no way, and the Madrid native achieved a new victory in the Sprint, claiming both against Aprilia and the rest of the teams.
The third step on the podium was neither for Bezzecchi nor for Martín, but for Fabio Di Giannantonio who does not lack both speed and consistency and who, when everything is perfect, is capable of surpassing the two official Aprilias on a track where, clearly, the Ducati have suffered.
Marc Márquez, on a track where he knew he was going to have a hard time, finished sixth ahead of Bagnaia, with Bastianini eighth and Pedro Acosta ninth and closing the points positions in the Sprint, after going off when trying to keep up with the lead.
More than 22 years later Ogura gives Japan a victory in the premier category and Martín regains the lead
There are days when important news does not come from the track but from the medical center, and this has been one of them. Although the headlines are for Ai Ogura and his first victory, perhaps the most relevant thing is knowing that Marco Bezzecchi has not suffered any injuries, after the very hard fall he suffered when he was trying not to lose time with the rest of the Aprilia riders behind Marc Márquez.
Very hard fall for Marco Bezzecchi that leaves him out of the race 😱
A new 0 for the until now World Championship leader #DutchGP 🇳🇱 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/WdSFZsmZ4p
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) June 28, 2026
And although Marc has given everything he had this weekend, it is evident that it was not enough. The fact is that while riding behind Marc, Bezzecchi suffered a terrifying fall that, after several medical check-ups, left him only scared. While this was happening, Martín led with an iron fist and even seemed to have victory within reach.
However, Raúl Fernández first and Ai Ogura shortly after, overtook the Madrid native who saw how he could do nothing to keep up with the Trackhouse pilots. Of course, it seems that Ogura is not into “making things easy” and left a curious moment when the rear device of his Aprilia was activated while he was hunting Fernández and Martín, which caused him to lose time.
WHAT A MOVE BY @marcmarquez93! 🤯
But @25RaulFernandez won’t let that P2 slip away so easily! #DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/YJYP2enJa4
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 28, 2026
When he arrived the second time he took no prisoners and on lap 20 he achieved first place which he never gave up. Without errors, fine and efficient, the victory that had eluded him only a week ago, came in Assen for the Japanese driver, ending a 22-year drought since Makoto Tamada achieved victory in the 2004 Japanese GP.
If Fernández had no choice but to “settle” for a brilliant second position, the same thing happened to Martín with a third place which, added to the fall of Bezzecchi, gives him first position in the championship again. Martín now has a seven-point lead over his teammate and 16 over Fabio Di Giannantonio who, “long lap” by skipping the last chicane (not by taking Marc Márquez off the track), had to climb back to fourth position.
It all goes wrong for @marcmarquez93 at the final chicane! 😱#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/FaO7TDxziw
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 28, 2026
Álex Márquez finished fifth, who also gave everything he had inside, and who managed to finish the race for the first time after the accident in Catalonia. Behind him crossed the finish line his brother, who in addition to losing time in the action of Di Giannantonio, was then penalized with an extra position for stepping outside the track limits when defending himself from Enea Bastianini. So the Spaniard and the Italian finally exchanged places.
Fabio Quartararo was the best Yamaha with a ninth place, with Brad Binder tenth and closing the top 10, in a race marked by retirements. Both due to falls in the aforementioned case of Bezzecchi and in that of Joan Mir, as well as due to mechanical problems if we talk about Bagnaia or Toprak and, physically, such as Pedro Acosta who suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome and will have to undergo surgery, being a doubt for the last race before the summer break, which will take place in Germany over two weekends.
