Mooney VR46 Racing's Italian rider Marco Bezzecchi competes during the sprint race of the Dutch MotoGP at the TT circuit of Assen, on June 24, 2023. (Photo by Vincent Jannink / AFP)
Assen, Netherlands: Pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi won the Dutch MotoGP sprint race at Assen on Saturday ahead of world champion Francesco Bagnaia.
Fabio Quartararo completed the podium after third-placed Brad Binder was demoted to fifth following a penalty for track limits.
Bagnaia took command of the 13-lap dash around the classic motorcycling venue at turn one from Binder as pole man Bezzecchi was caught napping, dropping to third.
Bezzecchi bided his time and moved back to race second, leaving Bagnaia in his crosshairs.
Ten laps to go and Bezzecchi muscled past his good friend and compatriot to regain the lead, quickly opening up a half second gap.
At the midway point it was Bezzecchi's race to lose.
And the Italian, who dominated practice and set a record lap time in qualifying, didn't disappoint, even extending his lead at the line to 1.294sec.
Riding for Valentino Rossi's VR46 Ducati-satellite team he displayed a touch of the Italian legend Rossi's showmanship, climbing a camera gantry to milk the applause from his growing number of fans.
"I felt amazing today on the bike," he said after his first sprint win.
"I made a mistake on the first corner and lost two places.
"But I kept myself calm and my pace was good I came back and I'm very happy.
"I hope the fans enjoyed it - see you tomorrow!"
Bagnaia delighted in what he termed an "unexpected" second place after a "disastrous" Friday practice.
"I was really annoyed on Friday, I couldn't get the right settings on my bike.
"Thankfully we saved the situation, honestly it's hard to believe!"
For France's 2021 world champion Quartararo this was a welcome change of fortune as he climbed the podium for only the second time this term after the demotion of Binder.
"I feel sad for Brad because I know how frustrating it is to lose a podium on a penalty," said the Yamaha rider who is competing this weekend with a fractured toe.
Six-time world champion Marc Marquez started and finished in 17th after crashing in the first qualifying session to continue the miserable period he's going through with Honda.
Bagnaia goes into Sunday's eighth round of the season leading the championship by 21 points from Jorge Martin (sixth), with Bezzecchi a further 10 points back in third.
