Jake Dixon took a fabulous Moto2 pole position in an unbelievably close Q2 at the TT Assen, beating teammate Albert Arenas by 0.011 seconds in a GASGAS 1-2, with Sam Lowes and Ai Ogura each only 0.020 seconds in further arrears.
Ogura is in prime position, with Championship leader Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) only 11th on the grid after a crash and Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) down in ninth.
Lowes took over top spot with a 1:36.767 with just over five minutes remaining, before Arenas clocked a 1:36.747 in the final three minutes. Ogura then threatened to take over when he moved onto the provisional front row with a 1:36.787, and that was still the top three with the chequered flag out. But then Dixon shot through to take a second career pole position, completing that incredibly tight top four.
Behind the top quartet comes Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors Speed Up) on a 1:36.842, with Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP 40) sixth thanks to his first flying lap time. Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) is head of the third row despite being only 0.148 seconds off the top, the American set to start seventh, with Dutchman Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) eighth for his home race.
Fernandez will be looking for a way through from ninth, with Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) completing the top ten just ahead of Vietti. The Italian was sixth-fastest on a 1:37.085 when he lost the front at Ossebroeken before the halfway mark. and was ultimately shuffled back to 11th.
Some more big news saw Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40), who is fourth in the World Championship for now, withdraw after FP3 due to his broken nose and persistent nosebleeds.
Will we see a new Championship leader by the end of the weekend? Can Dixon become a Moto2 race winner?