David Alonso has finished ninth after suffering two crashes, while Joel Esteban has ended twenty-first on the first day in Assen

The Moto3 World Championship is back at the Dutch GP, the home race of Collin Veijer, who has been the fastest rider on the first day in Assen. The Dutch has set a time of 1:40.259, a time with which he has beaten by three tenths the track record that Iván Ortolá had established in the morning. The Spanish rider had led the free practice session, in which he had been very competitive, but in the afternoon, he has finished third and has ended three tenths off Veijer, while his teammate Ryusei Yamanaka has been second, two tenths off.

The first day in Assen has been a learning day for the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team. World Championship leader David Alonso has finished ninth after suffering two crashes. In the morning session, the young Colombian had finished fourth, just two tenths off Ortolá's best time. However, in the afternoon, Alonso has been unable to improve his time due to the two crashes he has had. Although he has been able to recover the bike and continue on both occasions, the crashes have affected his time on track and have prevented him from completing a good lap. Alonso will have to make up for lost time tomorrow and work to adapt his riding to the peculiarities of the Dutch track. His teammate Joel Esteban has had a great adaptation to the Assen track, where he had never competed before. The Spanish had been ninth in the first practice session, a session that he has dedicated to understanding and learning the track. In the afternoon, Esteban has finished twenty-first and although he has not managed to improve his time, he is aware of the areas in which he must work to take a step forward. Tomorrow the CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team riders will have a new opportunity to continue learning before qualifying.

9th David Alonso 1:40.904 (+0.645): “I have had two crashes on the first day, both after losing the front. We have things to improve for tomorrow because we have not been able to ride as much as we wanted due to the crashes. I have not felt completely comfortable. There are several points of the track that I need to work on. I still have to understand how to ride on these kinds of tracks. It is a very fluid circuit, very flat and very fast, it is not the one I like the most. Tomorrow I will try to spend as much time as possible on the track to adapt well.”

21st Joel Esteban 1:41.723 (+1.464): “I am happy with the first day on a track that was new to me. In the first session I rode alone, I adapted well and I was really comfortable with both the bike and the track. In the second practice, things did not go well for us. We have been trying things and, although the pace has not been very good, I have understood what I need to improve. I have not managed to close a good lap. Tomorrow is another day and we will continue to improve to achieve a great result in qualifying.”