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Motorsport

Rachit Thukral

MotoGP riders say Assen felt “more like a volcano than a track”

MotoGP Alex Marquez Marc Marquez Assen (Geopolitical Entity)

Several MotoGP riders pointed to the searing temperatures in Assen after an incident-packed opening day of action at the Dutch GP.

The ongoing heat wave in Europe is also affecting the Netherlands, with the ambient temperature at Assen reaching 35C at the start of practice in the afternoon.

That left track temperatures unusually high and reignited conversations about riders' well-being, a week after Cal Crutchlow and Marc Marquez led calls for a Formula 1-style weather protocol at the Czech Grand Prix.

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia believes the hot weather was a major contributing factor behind the high number of crashes on Friday, with his team-mate Marc Marquez and Gresini duo Alex Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer among those to fall in the two practice sessions.

“I think all the crashes we saw were for the temperature,” he said. “I think it's the first time I feel like India in terms of temperature.

“Also, the tyres were suffering, because the more laps you put on the tyres, the more movement you were having due the temperature of the tyres. Tomorrow, if you start in the front, it's okay, but if you're behind someone, you can have a big issue with the front.”

Aprilia’s Jorge Martin, who crashed in the final 10 minutes of practice, said he hadn’t experienced such conditions during even the South East Asian events in Thailand and Malaysia.

“Honestly, I don't remember this hot or this feeling on a motorbike.” he said. “I feel much better in Thailand or Malaysia with more humid weather than here.

“Here, I feel burning; my face, my body. Today, Assen felt more like a volcano than a track; it was so hot. And a lot of heat was coming off the bike.

“So, I try to prepare as best as I can with the food, with the recovery and sleeping well, because I know that we have to recover well from a day as tough as this one.

“I don't remember India but I feel more or less the same honestly.”

Martin also felt the heat was compromising the performance of his bike over longer runs.

“Even on the times, you can see our pace is one and a half seconds slower than in the morning,” he said.

“For sure, when we put the soft, we can do one lap fast, but in terms of pace, we were quite slow.

“You feel like the bike is not working, the engine is not working, the body is not really... After two or three laps in a row, you start to feel the drop, so it's really tough.”

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing (Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images)

Martin questioned whether it would be advisable to stage a full-distance race in these conditions, but noted that the maximum temperature is expected to drop below 30C on Sunday.

“If we race in these conditions, we have to think about the situation a bit because I think it's not really healthy to race 27 laps like this. But it seems like Sunday will be better so it's not a big issue,” he said.

Tech3’s Enea Bastianini added that several factors combined to make the track feel “dangerous” during Friday’s running.

"The grip was worse this afternoon," he said. "Especially, what I said at the start, it was like an oil with the front. I was 2.2 seconds slower than the time attack. That is strange.

"I cannot complain. I think the hot situation of today has complicated the asphalt.
But yes, we saw many crashes. The track today was dangerous."

However, not all riders agreed that the high temperature was a concern in practice, with Honda’s Luca Marini insisting the high rate of crashes was down to riders pushing to the limit rather than the heat.

“I think the heat is nothing crazy. For me, even if it is 20 degrees less, the problems are a little bit the same while we are riding,” he said.

“So, I think the tyres are working well, even in this hot temperature, but also the tarmac.

“It's just that we are on the limit. Because the gap is so tight, we are pushing so much, so hard, and it's easy to crash because we are always going beyond our limits."

Reigning MotoGP champion Marquez denied that the heat had any impact on his physical condition saying, “I have specifically some weak points, but the heat is not a problem.”