2026 Red Bull Rookies Cup
Round Four – Assen
Assen had been billed as a pivotal point in the 2026 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup title chase, and it delivered exactly that across two typically frantic races at the Dutch TT.
Ryota Ogiwara arrived in the Netherlands with all the momentum after doubling up at Mugello and cutting Beñat Fernandez’s lead to just 14 points. By the end of Sunday morning, though, that momentum had swung sharply back towards Fernandez.
Carlos Cano took Saturday’s opener after 15 laps of heat, elbows and constant shuffling, before Fernandez landed the bigger championship blow on Sunday. The Spanish points leader grabbed Race Two at the final chicane after Travis Borg’s spectacular charge from the back of the grid fell agonisingly short.
It meant two different winners at Assen rather than a Dutch Double, but the round still carried major title weight. Fernandez now has three wins and six podiums from eight races, and leaves Assen 42 points clear of Ogiwara.
Planques sets the pace, Mounsey gets pole
Guillem Planques was the fastest rider in qualifying, the Frenchman putting in a 1m45.257 to edge Fernando Bujosa by 0.184 seconds. Sullivan Mounsey was third quickest, with David González fourth, Ogiwara fifth and Fernandez sixth.
The times were close, with the top 13 covered by less than a second, and the depth of the field again hinting at the pack racing to come. The official timing also showed how much depended on linking the whole lap together; Planques’ best was only 0.026 seconds away from his ideal lap, while Bujosa, Ogiwara, Mounsey and González all had enough sector pace to be part of the victory fight.
Race One’s grid was then reshuffled by penalties for slow riding in qualifying, with Planques, Bujosa, Cristian Borrelli and Afonso Almeida all moved back. That promoted Mounsey to pole for Saturday’s race, while those penalties did not carry across to Sunday’s Race Two grid.
Cano wins Race One as Fernandez is penalised
Saturday’s first race was run in 31-degree heat and quickly became the sort of Rookies Cup arm wrestle where outright pace was only part of the equation.
Mounsey, Fernandez, González, Fynn Kratochwil, Cano, Kiattisak Singhapong and Kristian Daniel all led across the timing line at different stages, and the lead changed even more often through the lap. Ogiwara was in the early mix, while Cano worked his way into the front group from sixth on the adjusted grid and increasingly looked comfortable as the race wore on.
The decisive phase came late. Mounsey, Travis Borg and Kiandra Ramadhipa were all in podium contention before crashing out of the lead group with just over a lap remaining, none injured. That removed three riders from what had already been a crowded and volatile victory fight.
Cano then judged the final lap best, crossing the line first to become the fifth different winner of the season. Fernandez was second on the road, just 0.065 seconds behind, but had exceeded track limits on the run to the final chicane and was handed a one-position penalty.
That promoted Daniel to second, 0.274 seconds behind Cano, with Fernandez classified third. Ogiwara finished fourth, Bujosa fifth, Singhapong sixth and González seventh, the top seven covered by just 0.777 seconds.
The race sheet told an interesting story. Cano’s win was built more on positioning and timing than raw lap pace; his personal best was only 23rd on the fastest-lap list. Yaroslav Karpushin set the official fastest race lap on the final tour with a 1m45.435, just seven-thousandths quicker than Australian rookie Archie Schmidt.
Schmidt shows Race One pace
Schmidt’s Assen weekend was mixed, but Race One offered a useful sign of pace. The Australian qualified 23rd and started Saturday’s race from row seven, yet raced through to 14th and scored two points.
More importantly, his 1m45.442 was the second-fastest lap of the race, only 0.007 seconds away from Karpushin’s benchmark. He also featured near the top of the speed charts, with a best of 207.6 km/h.
Sunday was tougher. Schmidt finished 20th, 12.278 seconds behind Fernandez, and outside the points. He now has three championship points, but Race One showed more speed than the raw result suggests.
Fernandez snatches Race Two at the final chicane
Sunday morning’s second race was officially dry, but it began under a wet race start procedure after a cooler and more slippery morning at Assen. The race distance was 13 laps, and the original qualifying order returned, putting Planques on pole ahead of Bujosa and Mounsey.
Ogiwara led the first two laps and looked set to keep himself in the title picture, but his weekend turned on lap eight when he slid out of the mid-pack battle. He remounted, but finished 18th and out of the points.
That left Fernandez with a major opportunity, but he had to earn it. Cano led several laps, González fought back after being shuffled down the order, and Borg produced the ride of the race after starting from the back of the grid.
The Maltese 16-year-old had failed to set a qualifying time and started 24th, but carved through the field with striking speed. He lowered the provisional fastest lap benchmark several times early in the race and was leading across the line by the end of lap nine.
He was still in front heading into the final chicane, but the front of his KTM slid, then the rear stepped out as he picked up the throttle. Fernandez was close enough to pounce, González followed him through, and Borg somehow saved enough momentum to keep third.
Fernandez won by 0.082 seconds from González, with Borg third, 0.208 seconds from victory, and Cano fourth, only 0.231 away. Singhapong was fifth, and set the fastest lap of the race on the final tour with a 1m44.981, just 0.002 seconds quicker than Ogiwara’s best.
The top six were covered by 0.512 seconds, while the top 13 finished within 2.190 seconds.
Borg, Bujosa and Singhapong make gains
Borg’s Sunday podium was one of the rides of the season so far. After crashing out of Race One, he turned a last-row start into a podium and moved to eighth in the championship on 62 points.
Bujosa also put together a valuable Assen weekend. Despite a sore shoulder after a fall in practice and a Race One grid penalty, he finished fifth on Saturday and sixth on Sunday. That consolidated third in the standings on 90 points.
Singhapong was another to leave Assen in better shape than he arrived. Sixth in Race One and fifth in Race Two lifted the Thai rider to fourth in the championship on 68 points, one point clear of González and three ahead of Ramadhipa.
Kratochwil, meanwhile, had speed but left Assen scoreless. He was third-fastest in Race One but finished 17th after a long-lap penalty for irresponsible riding became a three-second penalty due to insufficient laps remaining to complete it. He then crashed out of Race Two.
Fernandez rebuilds his buffer
The biggest story, though, was Fernandez.
He arrived at Assen under renewed pressure after Ogiwara’s Mugello double, with his championship lead cut to 14 points. He left with a 42-point buffer, 148 to Ogiwara’s 106.
Ogiwara’s fourth in Race One kept him in touch, but the Race Two crash proved costly. Fernandez, by contrast, again showed the quality that has carried him since his Jerez Race One victory: he did not have to be the fastest rider on the timing sheets, but he stayed in the fight, avoided the worst of the chaos, and was there when the final-corner opportunity appeared.
With eight races now complete, the 2026 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup title fight is still alive, but Assen was a major swing back towards Fernandez.
Red Bull Rookies Results – Assen Race One
 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pos
|
Rider
|
Nat
|
Time/Gap
|
|
1
|
C. Cano
|
SPA
|
26m39.437
|
|
2
|
K. Daniel
|
USA
|
+0.274
|
|
3
|
B. Fernandez
|
SPA
|
+0.065
|
|
4
|
R. Ogiwara
|
JPN
|
+0.282
|
|
5
|
F. Bujosa
|
SPA
|
+0.556
|
|
6
|
K. Singhapong
|
THA
|
+0.672
|
|
7
|
D. González
|
SPA
|
+0.777
|
|
8
|
G. Planques
|
FRA
|
+1.011
|
|
9
|
Y. Karpushin
|
KGZ
|
+1.063
|
|
10
|
E. Sparks
|
GBR
|
+1.267
|
|
11
|
K. Tinez
|
VEN
|
+2.172
|
|
12
|
J. Van Crugten
|
NED
|
+2.353
|
|
13
|
A. Daquigan
|
PHI
|
+2.362
|
|
14
|
A. Schmidt
|
AUS
|
+2.714
|
|
15
|
L. Agostinelli
|
VIE
|
+2.874
|
|
16
|
A. Almeida
|
POR
|
+3.235
|
|
17
|
F. Kratochwil
|
GER
|
+3.347
|
|
18
|
G. Pugliese
|
ITA
|
+3.379
|
|
19
|
C. Borrelli
|
ITA
|
+4.394
|
| Not Classified | |||
|
DNF
|
K. Ramadhipa
|
INA
|
+2 laps
|
|
DNF
|
S. Mounsey
|
GBR
|
+2 laps
|
|
DNF
|
T. Borg
|
MLT
|
+2 laps
|
|
DNF
|
D. Da Costa
|
FRA
|
+6 laps
|
|
DNF
|
T. Varga
|
HUN
|
–
|
Red Bull Rookies Results – Assen Race Two
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pos
|
Rider
|
Nat
|
Time/Gap
|
|
1
|
B. Fernandez
|
SPA
|
23m10.965
|
|
2
|
D. González
|
SPA
|
+0.082
|
|
3
|
T. Borg
|
MLT
|
+0.208
|
|
4
|
C. Cano
|
SPA
|
+0.231
|
|
5
|
K. Singhapong
|
THA
|
+0.419
|
|
6
|
F. Bujosa
|
SPA
|
+0.512
|
|
7
|
K. Ramadhipa
|
INA
|
+1.427
|
|
8
|
C. Borrelli
|
ITA
|
+1.545
|
|
9
|
K. Tinez
|
VEN
|
+1.661
|
|
10
|
Y. Karpushin
|
KGZ
|
+1.810
|
|
11
|
G. Planques
|
FRA
|
+2.142
|
|
12
|
G. Pugliese
|
ITA
|
+2.152
|
|
13
|
S. Mounsey
|
GBR
|
+2.190
|
|
14
|
A. Daquigan
|
PHI
|
+5.505
|
|
15
|
J. Van Crugten
|
NED
|
+5.532
|
|
16
|
L. Agostinelli
|
VIE
|
+7.271
|
|
17
|
A. Almeida
|
POR
|
+7.396
|
|
18
|
R. Ogiwara
|
JPN
|
+11.579
|
|
19
|
E. Sparks
|
GBR
|
+11.951
|
|
20
|
A. Schmidt
|
AUS
|
+12.278
|
|
21
|
D. Da Costa
|
FRA
|
+32.218
|
| Not Classified | |||
|
DNF
|
T. Varga
|
HUN
|
+1 lap
|
|
DNF
|
K. Daniel
|
USA
|
+2 laps
|
|
DNF
|
F. Kratochwil
|
GER
|
+3 laps
|
Red Bull Rookies Cup Points
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pos
|
Rider
|
Nat
|
Points
|
|
1
|
B. Fernandez
|
SPA
|
148
|
|
2
|
R. Ogiwara
|
JPN
|
106
|
|
3
|
F. Bujosa
|
SPA
|
90
|
|
4
|
K. Singhapong
|
THA
|
68
|
|
5
|
D. González
|
SPA
|
67
|
|
6
|
K. Ramadhipa
|
INA
|
65
|
|
7
|
K. Daniel
|
USA
|
64
|
|
8
|
T. Borg
|
MLT
|
62
|
|
9
|
C. Cano
|
SPA
|
54
|
|
10
|
F. Kratochwil
|
GER
|
52
|
|
11
|
S. Mounsey
|
GBR
|
52
|
|
12
|
Y. Karpushin
|
KGZ
|
45
|
|
13
|
G. Planques
|
FRA
|
43
|
|
14
|
M. Marulanda
|
COL
|
41
|
|
15
|
G. Pugliese
|
ITA
|
39
|
|
16
|
K. Tinez
|
VEN
|
27
|
|
17
|
D. Da Costa
|
FRA
|
24
|
|
18
|
E. Sparks
|
GBR
|
21
|
|
19
|
L. Agostinelli
|
VIE
|
12
|
|
20
|
A. Daquigan
|
PHI
|
12
|
|
21
|
C. Borrelli
|
ITA
|
11
|
|
22
|
T. Varga
|
HUN
|
6
|
|
23
|
J. Van Crugten
|
NED
|
5
|
|
24
|
A. Schmidt
|
AUS
|
3
|
|
25
|
A. Almeida
|
POR
|
2
|
|
26
|
A. Fernández
|
SPA
|
1
|
