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Assen GP: Track record beaten three times in qualifying with Francesco Bagnaia 'impossible' to beat

Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia recorded a successive pole position in qualifying, with the Italian breaking the track record with what he deemed to be an "impossible" to beat lap.

Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia wasn't too disheartened by his DNF in Germany last week, with the 25-year-old bouncing back by claiming pole at Assen.
Starting from the front didn't go too well for Bagnaia last week as he lost control going into turn 1 and ended up in the gravel, but he'll hope for better luck in the Netherlands on Sunday afternoon.
Qualifying started with Pramac's Jorge Martin setting a new track record with a 1:31.708s lap, but Bagnaia stepped up with four minutes remaining to again set a new record with his 1:31.504s lap good enough for pole.

And Bagnaia knew it too. The Ducati rider didn't bother coming out for a final run after setting provisional pole, with the Italian confident that it was "impossible" to beat.

"Yeah, it's the reason I stopped in the box, because I said 'doing more than this is impossible for me'," he said.
"If someone overtakes me, it would be ok. But I'm very happy for this qualifying because this morning I was struggling a lot to be consistent and competitive.
"Thanks to my team we did a good job and in FP4 we found a way to work that helped me a lot with racing tyres, and also for the time attack we are always so competitive.
"I'm very happy for that - but more for the step in front we did."
Championship leader Fabio Quartararo set about trying to beat Bagnaia's time in his final run, but a mistake in turn 5 ruined his chances.
But the Frenchman wasn't too concerned, and believed that even without the error he wasn't close enough to claim pole.

"I'm getting used to fighting with the Italian bikes," Quartararo joked, after pipping the two Ducatis and ahead of the Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro.

"Always in qualifying it's more complicated than in the previous year to make great qualifyings.
"I was really on the limit and the lap I did, I wanted to try the next lap that I knew was going to be a little bit worse. But I'm so happy, I think the front row was the goal for today.
"I think that moment was a little bit strange because it was not really a moment. I just slid and I lost my footing."

READ MORE: History suggests Espargaro faces tough task dethroning Quartararo

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