For the first time in 2015 Valentino Rossi began a MotoGP weekend on top, the Italian posting the fastest lap on Friday morning at Assen to lead the Repsol Hondas of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. In an eventful 45 minutes, Marquez's current travails were underlined by a high-speed fall on his out lap. As the reigning world champion pitched into the Ramshoek his rear wheel appeared to lock, forcing him to stand up and run on into the gravel. Although he gradually built himself up to recover to place second at the session's close, Marquez's rear stability issues looked far from cured early on in the weekend. While team-mate Pedrosa spent much of the session on top, a late succession of laps...
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