MotoGP 2015, Dutch Grand Prix: Dani Pedrosa sets qualifying lap record during practice at Assen

DANI Pedrosa set a new qualifying record to edge out Honda teammate Marc Marquez on the opening day of practice for Saturday’s Dutch Grand Prix.

Dani Pedrosa of Spain powers his Honda during the free practice of the Dutch MotoGP, in Assen, northern Netherlands, Thursday June 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Vincent Jannink)

DANI Pedrosa set a new qualifying record to edge out Honda teammate and defending world champion Marc Marquez on the opening day of practice for Saturday’s Dutch Grand Prix.

Pedrosa shrugged off temperatures close to 40 degrees to clock 1min 33.450sec to beat Marquez’s previous mark at a track present in world championship motorcycling since 1949.

Yamaha’s championship leader Valentino Rossi was third fastest, 0.202sec off Pedrosa’s pace.

Rossi is bidding to win at Assen for the seventh time and break the tie for six he currently holds with legendary Italian compatriot Giacomo Agostini.

“It has been a good Thursday. I’m happy because we worked well during the sessions and we found some interesting solutions,” said Rossi.

Dani Pedrosa powers his Honda during the free practice of the Dutch MotoGP in Assen.

“The first priority was to find out which chassis we prefer, the new one or the standard one. I feel good with the new one.” Marquez, who is down in fifth spot in the standings, 69 points behind Rossi, won in the rain in the Netherlands last year and endured a dramatic session on Thursday.

In the morning, he fell off his machine after just three minutes of action while, in the afternoon, he came close to contact with Rossi.

Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo, just a point behind Yamaha teammate Rossi in the title race after winning the last four races, was sixth on Thursday.

“We don’t have the softer edge tyre that Bridgestone usually brings. This certainly didn’t help me to feel at my best in the corners, but this is the same for everyone,” said Lorenzo.

Despite Pedrosa topping the time charts, there is less than one second separating the top 12 riders ahead of Friday’s qualifying session for Saturday’s race.

Marc Marquez has endured a difficult 2015 season.

With Rossi’s world championship lead over Lorenzo reduced to a single point during the last round in Catalunya, Saturday night’s race appears set to be another gripping instalment of the Yamaha duo’s title battle.

Success last time out in Catalunya on top of victories in Mugello, Le Mans and Jerez makes two time former champion Lorenzo the man to beat at the legendary Dutch track.

With Rossi triumphant in the season-opener in Qatar and also in Argentina the 2015 title looks to be theirs to lose — the chasing pack is led by Ducati’s Andrea Iannone, already 43 points behind going into this eighth race of the season.

Rossi relishes Assen, ‘The Doctor’ going in search of his seventh win in the premier class and nine in all categories at the only circuit to stage a leg of the world championship every year since its inception in 1949.

But the charismatic Italian veteran knows he must improve his pace in qualifying to keep Lorenzo at bay.

Jorge Lorenzo powers his Yamaha during the free practice of the Dutch MotoGP Grand Prix in Assen.

“Starting from the third row is tough, in Barcelona I had a good pace and we didn’t lose much time to get to second, but already Jorge was far,” he told a press conference on Wednesday.

Lorenzo, enjoying arguably the best form of his life, commented: “I have had some very good periods in my career, but probably we didn’t have this bike.

“Especially in the race our bike is very constant and we can keep a high pace, this is why we’ve dominated on Sunday till now.

“For now, I’m in good shape, for the first time I beat my trainer on the mountain bike so I’m really proud of that! But we still have to work hard and find a good set up.”

Struggling reigning world champion Marc Marquez’s bid for a third straight title suffered its latest setback in Catalunya when, pushing his Honda to the limit, he crashed trying to hunt down Lorenzo.

That slip-up on what is fast turning into a rocky road to a title hat-trick left him 69 points adrift of Rossi.

Valentino Rossi is clinging onto his world championship lead

Marquez will not enjoy being reminded that this time last year he made it a record-equalling eight wins in a row in Assen.

“Obviously I’m disappointed to have crashed out of my home race in Catalunya, but we’ve put that behind us now as we head to Assen,” he said.

“Of course after the last two races we need a good result. Assen is a track I like, last year was good.” While the title may be out of reach for Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa the Spaniard is just happy to be back on his bike after missing three races to undergo complex arm surgery which he says saved his career.

“I knew if I couldn’t recover my arm there would be no meaning in racing in a situation where I cannot grab the handlebars and be focused on the riding,” Pedrosa told autosport.com after his third in Barcelona, albeit 19sec behind the Yamahas.

“That’s why I stopped because I knew it was a difficult situation to continue that way and I needed to keep clear for my future racing activities.”

Originally published as MotoGP 2015, Dutch Grand Prix: Dani Pedrosa sets qualifying lap record during practice at Assen