The 2026 MotoGP race at the Assen circuit was a momentous one for several reasons. Some of the noteworthy reasons were that Ai Ogura became the first Japanese racer in 22 years to score a win, Jorge Martin now leads the championship after his teammate, Marco Bezzecchi’s, fast crash in the opening laps and both Pedro Acosta as well as Francesco Bagnaia were forced to retire from inside the top six for different issues.
- Bezzecchi loses title lead to Martin after fast crash
- Ogura now just 25 points behind championship leader Martin
- Alex Marquez finishes a strong P5 despite not being fully fit yet
Ogura’s recent strong form puts him fourth in the standings
Ai Ogura’s maiden win was looming large of late, with a string of strong results in the buildup to the Assen MotoGP round. While Ogura didn’t have a strong start and was trailing the Aprilia trio and a couple of Ducatis in the opening stages, the usually stronger-as-the-race-wears-on Japanese rider started dispensing every one of the racers ahead of him.
Ogura had a near 3-second gap to Raul Fernandez and Jorge Martin ahead of him once he dispensed with the Ducatis of Marc Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio but he put his head down and chased down the Aprilia duo. Not only did he overtake both Martin and Fernandez quickly once he was on their tail, he finished the race over 2s ahead of his teammate.
With his recent run of strong performances, Ogura has now climbed to fourth position in the standings and is just 25 points behind leader Martin. With how close the gap is to the top, don’t count him out of the title fight.
Bezzecchi’s crash gives his teammate the championship lead
Marco Bezzecchi’s title lead was already cut drastically last time around after he had to sit out the Czech MotoGP race after an altercation with a trackside official. He was looking to recoup some lost points in Assen but in the opening rounds, he found himself behind all his fellow Aprilia racers as well as Marc Marquez. At T15, Bezzecchi tucked the front while trailing Marquez and this was the third Sunday in a row where he would score zero points. If Bezzecchi is to remount a serious title bid, his consistency will need some serious improvement.
Acosta and Bagnaia suffer DNFs
Pedro Acosta was once again top KTM rider and was hot on the heels of the factory Ducati duo of Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia but suddenly he ran wide and his right hand seemed to be waving in the air. Post-race the Spaniard confirmed that it was not a technical issue with his KTM (as it usually has been of late) but was a problem he described as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which causes him to lose sensation in a few fingers of his right hand. Acosta is slated to undergo surgery for this before the next round at the Sachsenring in Germany in two weeks’ time.
Bagnaia, on the other hand, did suffer a technical issue on his Ducati and was forced to retire from a top six position. The Italian has been demonstrating strong form of late and were it not for this problem, he could have finished in the top five, if not higher.
Diggia and Marquez duel it out in the closing stages
While the podium places were already spoken for by the three remaining Aprilias, the battle for fourth position was still very much on between Marc Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio. In his first attempt, ‘Diggia’ lunged on the inside of Marquez at the final chicane forcing the latter into the gravel trap and also running off-track in the process. He was swiftly handed a long lap penalty for this manoeuvre and served his punishment dropping down to P6 post that. However, he had a strong pace with a few laps to go and he again managed to close down the gap to Marquez. In his second attempt at the very same corner, the VR46 Ducati rider managed to make it a clean move and secured a P4 finish.
Marc himself had to drop a position post race because in the closing stages, his tussle with Tech3 KTM rider, Enea Bastianini, saw him exceed track limits, handing P6 to the latter.
Finishing a super fifth in the main race was a still recovering Alex Marquez who is still not fully fit after his crash just a few weeks ago, which saw him fracture one of his vertebrae!
2026 MotoGP standings
A factory Aprilia rider still leads the championship, but it is now Jorge Martin that’s at the top of that pile. However, he is just 7 points ahead of teammate Bezzecchi. In third place overall is the dark horse in this championship - VR46 Ducati’s consistent Fabio Di Giannantonio. With his maiden win and string of good performances of late, Ai Ogura is now fourth in the standings, ahead of Marc Marquez. The next race will be held at a Marquez stronghold, the Sachsenring in Germany, on July 12.
Unnatee Gidithuri
