The CMFOTO Azul Marino Aspar rider Aspar will once again lead the starting grid after dominating much of the Moto2 timed practice session. His team-mate Dani Holgado also battled for a front-row spot and will start fifth
David Alonso is in top form in Moto2. The Colombian was the fastest rider on Saturday and secured his second consecutive pole position of the season, something he hadn’t achieved since the Aragón and San Marino Grands Prix in 2024. Alonso will be joined on the front row by Alberto Ferrández in second place and Izan Guevara in third. Both riders were just one tenth off the fastest time, demonstrating once again just how closely matched the riders in the intermediate class are. Dani Holgado was also one of the standout riders of the day and will start from fifth position tomorrow after battling for a front-row spot right until the end. Furthermore, this is the CFMOTO Aspar Team’s second pole position this weekend, following Máximo Quiles’ pole in Moto3. This has not happened since the Aragon Grand Prix in 2024.
The intermediate class continues to demonstrate that every little detail makes a difference in every session, which is why the riders from the CFMOTO Azul Marino Aspar Team have worked flat out to perfect their riding and the bike’s set-up. The positive feeling from Friday carried over into the morning’s free practice, with Alonso in third place and Holgado in eighth. In the afternoon, rising temperatures once again posed a challenge in the battle for pole position at Assen. David Alonso was very consistent from start to finish and set his fastest time on the second lap. His time of 1:35.236 was not beaten by any of his rivals, allowing him to secure his second consecutive pole position, following the one he achieved at the Czech Grand Prix. The Colombian had to wait 31 Grand Prix races in the intermediate category to secure his first pole, and in the space of seven days he has now achieved two in a row. The last time he achieved this was during another back-to-back race weekend, between Aragón and San Marino in 2024, whilst he was battling for the Moto3 title. It was precisely during one of those weekends, at MotorLand Aragón, that the CFMOTO Aspar Team secured its last one-two on pole, with Alonso in Moto3 and Jake Dixon in Moto2. Meanwhile, Dani Holgado was also among the contenders for a front-row spot at the TT Circuit Assen. The Spaniard, who also set his fastest time in the opening laps (1:35.445), tried to beat this time in the final stages of qualifying, but heavy traffic on the track prevented him from doing so, and tomorrow he will start from the second row, in fifth position.
1st David Alonso 1:35.236: “I still can’t believe I’ve secured pole position here at Assen – who would have thought it, at one of the circuits I struggle with the most. I’m very grateful for everything; we’re doing a good job and the team are also working incredibly hard. This morning I tested the new fairing and I liked it, so we’ve kept it. Now it’s time to figure out why I’m competitive in any situation, whereas that wasn’t the case before. I think the key is that I’m getting everything sorted. There were good things before, but I couldn’t quite put them all together. Once I managed that, the ‘Parce’ in me came out – improvising, enjoying myself… and that way, everything flows. I also have a brilliant team behind me who always help me. Tomorrow’s conditions will be similar to what we’ve had this afternoon. I’ve tried out different start strategies and in the race I need to try to be less tense than I was at Brno and be a bit more consistent. I need to be more open to having several plans during the race and not limit myself to just a ‘Plan A’. I’m going to try to enjoy myself on a circuit that I’m really taking to this year. Tomorrow I’ll need to be precise in the fast corners and stay focused on them.”
5th Dani Holgado 1:35.445 (+0.209): “It’s been a positive day, especially in terms of how the bike felt and the pace I had today. This morning I did a very solid race simulation, during which I felt good. I tried to understand as much as possible how the tyres were degrading so I could be as prepared as possible for the race. The timed session was very intense and difficult to manage. I was going quite fast and ran into a bit of traffic on the last two laps, so I wasn’t able to quite nail the time. Even so, I’m happy because I feel fast and that’s the main thing. I hope to have a good race that allows me to keep learning and enjoying Moto2.”
