World championship leader Jorge Martin (Ducati-Pramac) was penalised three places on the starting grid for the Dutch motorcycle Grand Prix and Aleix Espargaro was forced to withdraw from Sunday’s race after a crash the day before.
Jorge Martin set the 2nd time on Saturday behind Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), his closest rival in the championship standings. But the Spaniard was penalized for driving too slowly while staying on the line during qualifying on Saturday. He will therefore start in 5th position.
Aleix Espargaro fell heavily in the final seconds of the sprint race on Saturday after having already fallen during practice. He therefore decided to withdraw from the race but is expected to participate in the German Grand Prix in a week. Aleix Espargaro, 34, has already announced that he will retire at the end of the season.
