Johann Zarco stormed to a sensational debut MotoGP pole position for the Dutch TT, denying Marc Marquez and Danilo Petrucci at the death, while Jorge Lorenzo registered his worst ever qualifying result in the MotoGP class in 21st.
By the time Q2 got underway the rain had stopped and the track was gradually drying out. A strong rider in the wet conditions, it was Pramac’s Danilo Petrucci who shot to the top of the pile in the early stages of Q2 with a 1m47.721s.
The Italian had his 1.1-second gap cut to just 0.006s by Marquez, but struck back with a 1m47.176s to go almost half a second clear again.
As the session drew to a close, Petrucci had dropped the benchmark to a 1m46.526s and a career first MotoGP pole position was on the cards.
However, the drying track meant times were continuously dropping and Petrucci was not going quicker on his final lap. This left him exposed and Marquez dropped the hammer, going top with a 1m46.206s.
But a first pole for the Honda rider since Austin lasted for just a brief moment, as Tech3 Yamaha’s Zarco edged him with a 1m46.141s.
Zarco’s pole is the first for France in the premier class since Olivier Jacques in Germany in 2002, and the first for Tech3 since Brno 2013.
Valentino Rossi was set for a late upset for the satellite Yamaha outfit, but lost time in the final sector and had to settle for fourth on the grid ahead of Scott Redding.
The Pramac rider, who battled hard with Sam Lowes and Jack Miller to top Q1, crashed at Turn 16, but sprinted back to his garage to get his second machine.
Jonas Folger completes the second row on the sister Tech3 bike, with Alvaro Bautista and Cal Crutchlow two and four tenths behind, respectively.
A late mechanical problem for Lowes, who made his first Q2 appearance of the season, meant he was unable to improve on his 1m48.128s. Shuffled back to 10th by Andrea Dovizioso, who crashed in the early stages, Lowes will nonetheless be pleased with his best ever MotoGP qualifying result.
Dovizioso’s crash only added to a dismal day for the factory Ducati team, as team-mate Jorge Lorenzo failed to make it out of the first part of qualifying despite showing strong form in the wet third practice this morning.
The Spaniard will start from 21st on the grid, his worst ever qualifying placement in the MotoGP class and his worst since his 125cc days back in 2003.
Championship leader Maverick Vinales has struggled in the wet conditions on the factory Yamaha this year, and Assen qualifying saw those woes continue. The Spaniard will launch from 11th on Sunday ahead of Dani Pedrosa.
Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone was set to start from 13th, but cut the chicane at the end of the circuit on his final flying lap in Q1. The cancellation of that lap time dropped him to 16th, promoting 2016 Dutch TT winner Jack Miller to 13th.
Loris Baz was on course to get into the second part of qualifying, but his 1m47.217s on his final lap was only good enough for 14th. Aleix Espargaro will line up 15th ahead of Iannone and the sister Suzuki of Alex Rins.
Karel Abraham pipped Pol Espargaro to 18th by just 0.010s, the KTM rider unable to improve on 19th after a late fall. The injured Bradley Smith on the second KTM and Marc VDS’ Tito Rabat completed the field.
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