A tale of two Yamahas: it's a Viñales vs Quartararo duel on Day 1

Viñales' fastest overall, however, was a margin further ahead – with the Spaniard 0.180 faster than the Frenchman. In the morning, Quartararo's advantage was less than a tenth.

One big headline outside the timesheets on Day 1, however, was Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team), with the Spaniard declared unfit for the rest of the weekend. The five-time World Champion fractured a vertebra in his fast FP1 crash at Turn 7 and is now expected to head for Barcelona for further examination.

Back to the timesheets though and despite the Yamaha duo at the top, it wasn't complete domination on Day 1 for the Iwata marque. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) was third overall and that despite suffering a fast crash in FP1, with teammate Andrea Dovizioso slotting into fourth. 'DesmoDovi' had a better latter session, improving from outside the top ten on Friday morning to set the initial pace in FP2 and eventually just beat Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) to fourth. Rins, who came second last season at Assen, completed a top five where the timesheets really started to tighten with less than a tenth splitting him from Dovizioso.

It got even closer just outside the top five. Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) put in an impressive day and his best showing yet for Noale factory Aprilia as he took sixth, up from ending FP1 just outside the top ten. The Italian was 0.050 off Rins and 0.058 ahead of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), and although he did suffer a crash near the end of play, he was unhurt and happier with direction.

In P8 it was an infinitesimal 0.002 that separated rookie Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) from Marquez after another top day for the 2017 Moto3™ World Champion, and he beat ten-time Assen winner Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) by a tenth too. Rossi takes P9 overall after a late lunge up the timesheets, with Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) doing the same to take the final provisional place in Q2.

Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) took P11 and impressed to beat veteran teammate – and 2016 Assen winner – Jack Miller, who was 13th, with Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) impressing in P12 on Day 1.

The top ten after FP3 will go through to Q2, and that final chance to move up the timesheets starts at 9:55 (GMT+2) on Saturday morning. Will Quartararo strike back? Can the likes of Miller move forward? Find out then, before qualifying from 14:10 decides the grid for Round 8 at the awesome TT Circuit Assen.

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder ended Day 1 at the Motul TT Assen in top spot after setting a 1:37.398 at the very end of Moto2™ FP2, putting the Austrian factory back at the sharp end after a tougher run of form. He was 0.132 ahead of second fastest Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team), with FP1 pacesetter Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) completing the top three.

Lowes had once again set the pace throughout the afternoon session but Gardner, who finished fourth in FP1, topped it in the final ten minutes to sit top of the tree before Binder's final assault. Having just saved a crash at Turn 9, the South African set the timing screens alight to have the final say on Friday. Have KTM found the improvements they have been looking for?

Fourth on Day 1 is Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP), who ended the day 0.287 down, with another on-song day for Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) seeing him pipped to P4 by just 0.002. In turn, Navarro sits only 0.007 ahead of title rival Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) – a swap from what we saw in FP1 – as the riders all improved their times towards the end of FP2.

Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) sat second at one stage but the Italian had to settle for P7 at the end of the day, just ahead of compatriot Lorenzo Baldassarri (FlexBox HP 40). Championship leader Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), the winner of the last three races, was ninth overall, with Binder’s teammate Jorge Martin completing a top ten covered by just four tenths.

Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) was 11th, but it was a tougher day for his teammate Dimas Ekky Pratama. After a heavy crash in FP1 at Turn 9, the Indonesian has been declared unfit for the Dutch GP after sustaining cranial, thoracic and abdominal trauma. Pratama suffered a concussion and had a CAT scan which confirmed that but also ruled out any further injuries. He will remain under observation for 24 hours.

Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) was just behind Chantra and took P12, with Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) in P13. Jonas Folger (Petronas Sprinta Racing), replacing the injured Khairul Idham Pawi, put in a much improved performance on Day 1 at Assen as he settles back into competition and he was 14th. 

That's all from Friday. Will Binder hold his advantage ahead of qualifying? Automatic Q2 places are still up for grabs and with dry weather expected, FP3 could well decide the Q1 and Q2 places yet. Don’t miss a single lap of the action in the Moto2™ class on Saturday morning, with FP3 going green at 10:55 local time (GMT+2).

Thanks to an electric final flying lap, Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP) ended Day 1 of the Motul TT Assen as the fastest man in Moto3™, timing his attack to perfection to tuck in behind VNE Snipers’ Tony Arbolino, fastest at the time, and pip him to the top on his final lap of FP2. His 1:41.782 saw Kornfeil finish up 0.098 ahead of the Italian, and that's the biggest gap across the entire top nine on the combined timesheets.

The entirety of the field improved their times in the afternoon and Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was just 0.013 off Arbolino by the end of play, making him the highest-placed Championship contender on Day 1 after a tougher Friday for the two men ahead of him in the standings. The Italian invasion near the top continued in fourth with Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers), with Kömmerling Gresini Moto3’s Gabriel Rodrigo rounding out a top five split by less than two tenths.

Sixth went to the ever-impressive Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46), and he was half a tenth ahead of Darryn Binder (CIP - Green Power) after a solid day for the South African. Kaito Toba headed teammate Ai Ogura as the two Honda Team Asia teammates put their stunning 60th anniversary liveries into eighth and ninth respectively, with Catalan GP winner Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing) completing the top ten.

His teammate Lorenzo Dalla Porta took P11 on Day 1 and will be looking for more to gain on Championship leader Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) in the Motul TT Assen, although Canet ended Friday in P22 after a mechanical problem and then a collision with Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0), so of the top three in the standings overall it's Antonelli who holds the cards so far. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) was P12, ahead of John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Makar Yurchenko (BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race).

The fastest 14 on the combined timesheets after FP3 go straight through to Qualifying 2. Will the list of names change on Saturday morning? Tune in to see how the pack shuffles from 9:00 (GMT +2), before qualifying begins from 12:35.