Jorge Martin put Aprilia on top at Assen by the thinnest of margins, beating Ai Ogura by just 0.011s to claim pole for the Dutch MotoGP.
The factory Aprilia rider delivered a 1:30.812 in Q2, enough to deny Trackhouse rider Ogura and complete the sharpest possible response after Marco Bezzecchi had controlled much of the early Saturday pace.
It also gave Aprilia a landmark result: the manufacturer locked out the top four places on a MotoGP grid for the first time, with Bezzecchi third and Raul Fernandez fourth after a track-limits infringement cost him provisional pole.
Aprilia turn Assen into a factory statement
For Martin, it was also a personal marker: his first pole since 2024 and a clear sign that Aprilia’s qualifying pace now has race-weekend consequence, not just practice promise.
The result builds directly on Bezzecchi’s Friday authority at Assen, which had already put Aprilia in the centre of the Dutch GP weekend picture. ReadMotorSport covered that early warning in Bezzecchi Assen Sweep Puts Marquez Under Friday Pressure.
Martin’s pole now shifts the pressure onto Ducati, with Francesco Bagnaia only fifth as Aprilia surrounds the front of the grid. Ogura’s second place also keeps Trackhouse in the headline fight after Raul Fernandez’s Assen sprint breakthrough, covered here: Fernandez Assen Sprint Win Gives Trackhouse Aprilia Lift.
Source: MotoGP.com.
