- Raul Fernandez won the 13-lap sprint ahead of Ai Ogura (gap of 0.362 seconds) and Fabio di Giannantonio.
- Aprilia locked out the top four positions in qualifying for the first time.
- Marco Bezzecchi extended his championship lead to nine points despite finishing fourth.
The tenth round of the 2026 MotoGP season at the TT Circuit Assen brought several firsts. It was the first race since the ban on front holeshot devices, those lowering suspension systems that riders used to drop the front of the bike at the start for better acceleration. The weekend took place in intense heat, though light cloud cover on Sprint Saturday provided some relief. Aprilia dominated proceedings and ultimately celebrated the first one-two finish in its history through satellite team Trackhouse.
Who Won the 2026 MotoGP Assen Sprint?
The MotoGP sprint at Assen was won by Raul Fernandez on the Trackhouse Aprilia ahead of teammate Ai Ogura and VR46 Ducati rider Fabio di Giannantonio. For the 25-year-old Spaniard, it was his second sprint victory of the season after his success at Mugello. The backstory makes it all the more remarkable: just a week earlier, Fernandez had been dealing with appendicitis at the Brno weekend and was uncertain whether he would be able to compete in the Netherlands at all.
Fernandez made the decisive move at the end of lap three, taking the lead from Jorge Martin at Turn 16. He then controlled the race and fended off a late charge from Ogura, who finished 0.362 seconds behind.
How Did the First Start Without Holeshot Devices Go?
The first MotoGP start without front holeshot devices was clean and incident-free at the front. Polesitter Jorge Martin was overtaken by Ai Ogura immediately off the line but quickly reclaimed the lead. Raul Fernandez moved past Ogura into second on lap two and began pressuring Martin.
Marco Bezzecchi was the only one of the four Aprilia riders to get a poor getaway, running wide early and dropping behind di Giannantonio to fifth. From the next round at the Sachsenring, a new grid format with larger gaps between the rows will also come into effect.
How Did the Trackhouse One-Two Happen?
The Trackhouse one-two came about through a strong final third from Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura, while the factory Aprilias lost time battling each other. After Fernandez had taken the lead, Martin came within range of di Giannantonio and Ogura and then got caught up in a fierce duel with teammate Bezzecchi. Bezzecchi placed his RS-GP on the inside at Turn 9, with Martin holding the outside through Turn 10. When Bezzecchi ran slightly wide there, Martin came back through, before Bezzecchi secured fourth on lap eight.
Ogura passed di Giannantonio for second shortly afterwards but could not close the gap to teammate Fernandez. Di Giannantonio held on as the best Ducati rider in third, with roughly a one-second margin over Bezzecchi. The Italian said he had briefly believed he could win but then reached the limit on both tires: “At one point, I thought, okay, maybe I have a chance to win the race, but then suddenly, I was quite on the limit with both tires.”
Team principal Davide Brivio was overwhelmed after the team’s first one-two and called it a dream: “It’s a dream here.” Ogura, who finished second for the third consecutive time, emphasized that he was especially happy for his crew.
What Does the Result Mean for the Championship?
The sprint result means Marco Bezzecchi extended his lead to nine points over Jorge Martin despite finishing fourth. Fabio di Giannantonio is now 22 points back. Reigning world champion Marc Marquez, who started the weekend from seventh on the grid, initially finished the sprint in seventh but was promoted to sixth after a penalty for Bagnaia. He trails Bezzecchi by 42 points in the overall standings, one point ahead of Ogura.
Bezzecchi heads into the second half of the season with momentum regardless, even though his advantage is slim. At the previous round in Brno, the Italian had lost crucial points: after another sprint retirement, he was excluded from the Grand Prix for allegedly striking a track marshal.
Aprilia’s Historic Grid Lockout at Assen
Aprilia had already dominated qualifying, locking out the entire front two rows for the first time. Jorge Martin took pole position, securing his first fastest time on the RS-GP. Ai Ogura was second, while Marco Bezzecchi completed the front row after having to abandon a fast lap due to yellow flags for Pedro Acosta.
Raul Fernandez actually set the fastest time in qualifying but lost it for exceeding track limits and dropped to fourth on the grid. The best non-Aprilia rider was Pecco Bagnaia in fifth ahead of di Giannantonio. Marc Marquez, who had won both races at Assen the previous year, could only manage seventh. The circuit with its long, fast corners is considered well-suited to the Aprilia RS-GP.
Why Was Bagnaia Penalized After the Sprint?
Pecco Bagnaia crossed the finish line in sixth but received a one-position penalty for exceeding track limits at the final chicane on the last lap. This dropped him behind Marc Marquez to seventh. Bagnaia had been trying to catch Martin on the final lap and ran onto the green area beside the track.
Behind the top finishers, Enea Bastianini was the best KTM rider in eighth. The final championship point went to Pedro Acosta, who had slid off on lap two and fallen well back before working his way up to ninth. Joan Mir crashed on the opening lap, and Franco Morbidelli and Jack Miller also failed to see the checkered flag.
MotoGP Assen Sprint: Full Results
The final sprint result sees Raul Fernandez ahead of Ogura and di Giannantonio. The top nine and thus the points finishers:
- Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia)
- Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia), plus 0.362 seconds
- Fabio di Giannantonio (Pertamina VR46 Ducati), plus 1.131 seconds
- Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing)
- Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing)
- Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo)
- Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo), after penalty
- Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3)
- Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM)
The weekend was also marked by several absences: Fermin Aldeguer missed the event after a crash in Friday practice left him with a fractured seventh thoracic vertebra and is likely to miss the German Grand Prix as well. His Gresini teammate Alex Marquez returned despite skipping qualifying and finished 13th. Johann Zarco remains sidelined with a knee injury and is being replaced at LCR by Cal Crutchlow, while Augusto Fernandez entered as a wildcard to test a new aerodynamic package for Yamaha.
➜ This article is part of our comprehensive overview: 2026 MotoGP Season: The Complete Overview – Teams, Riders, Calendar & Championship Standings. Find all key information on this topic in one place.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who won the 2026 MotoGP Assen Sprint?
Raul Fernandez won the sprint on the Trackhouse Aprilia. He beat teammate Ai Ogura by 0.362 seconds, with Fabio di Giannantonio finishing third. It was the first one-two for the Trackhouse team in a MotoGP sprint.
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Why was Pecco Bagnaia penalized?
Bagnaia received a one-position penalty for exceeding track limits at the final chicane on the last lap. He crossed the line in sixth but was dropped behind Marc Marquez to seventh.
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How does the MotoGP championship stand after the Assen Sprint?
Marco Bezzecchi leads the overall standings by nine points over Jorge Martin. Fabio di Giannantonio is 22 points back, while reigning world champion Marc Marquez trails by 42 points, one point ahead of Ai Ogura.
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Why was Aprilia so strong at Assen?
Aprilia locked out the top four grid positions in qualifying for the first time and placed both Trackhouse riders on the sprint podium. The Assen circuit with its long, fast corners is considered well-suited to the RS-GP. However, factory riders Bezzecchi and Martin could only manage fourth and fifth.
