Pol Espargaro continued his sensational form from Silverstone continued as the Spaniard topped both Thursday practice sessions at Assen. The Pons 40 HP Tuenti rider was closely followed by Andrea Iannone in both sessions with the top two in a class all of their own.
Espargaro took the lead shortly after the halfway stage from Marc Marquez with a lap six tenths quicker than the championship leader. He wouldn't be beaten from that point on although Iannone did reduce his advantage late on with a 1:38.568, just over a tenth behind. Dominique Aegerter was an impressive third with Marquez demoted to fourth by the Swiss rider.
The major flashpoint in the session came with 17 minutes to go when Scott Redding and Toni Elias came together at Mandeveen. The British rider was on a flying lap when he caught the Aspar Suter in the middle of the right-hander, travelling slower than the Kalex. Redding lost control before his knee collided with the bike ahead, sending them both into the gravel with Scott appearing to be injured as he lay in the dirt. Thankfully, he was eventually able to limp away before returning to the garage.
Elias was fourth at the time of the accident but dropped back to seventh as Johann Zarco and Claudio Corti having gone quicker, the latter recovering from a fall in first practice. Behind Elias, Simone Corsi was eighth fastest ahead of Redding while Alex De Angelis took tenth on Forward Racing's first day with FTR machinery, although he was another man to explore the scenery.
Bradley Smith was next up in eleventh on the improving Tech 3 Mistral, three places ahead of title frontrunner Thomas Luthi with compatriot Gino Rea finishing the day in 23rd.
Moto2 Iveco TT Assen: Combined Thursday Practice Times
| Pos | Rider | Constructor | Team | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Pol Espargaro |
Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | 1:38.421 |
| 2 |  Andrea Iannone |
Speed Up | Speed Master | +0.147 |
| 3 |  Dominique Aegerter |
Suter | Technomag-CIP | +0.451 |
| 4 | Marc Marquez |
Suter | Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol | +0.642 |
| 5 |  Johann Zarco |
Motobi | JIR Moto2 | +0.709 |
| 6 | Claudio Corti |
Kalex | Italtrans Racing Team | +0.727 |
| 7 | Toni Elias |
Suter | Mapfre Aspar Team | +0.739 |
| 8 | Simone Corsi |
FTR | Came IodaRacing Project | +0.761 |
| 9 |  Scott Redding |
Kalex | Marc VDS Racing Team | +0.811 |
| 10 |  Alex De Angelis |
FTR | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | +0.897 |
| 11 | Bradley Smith |
Tech 3 | Tech 3 Racing | +0.941 |
| 12 |  Mika Kallio |
Kalex | Marc VDS Racing Team | +0.952 |
| 13 | Esteve Rabat |
Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | +1.003 |
| 14 | Thomas Luthi |
Suter | Interwetten-Paddock | +1.035 |
| 15 |  Takaaki Nakagami |
Kalex | Italtrans Racing Team | +1.065 |
| 16 |  Max Neukirchner |
Kalex | Kiefer Racing | +1.072 |
| 17 |  Ratthapark Wilairot |
Suter | Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2 | +1.133 |
| 18 | Roberto Rolfo |
Suter | Technomag-CIP | +1.283 |
| 19 | Nicolas Terol |
Suter | Mapfre Aspar Team | +1.403 |
| 20 | Mike Di Meglio |
Speed Up | S/Master Speed Up | +1.585 |
| 21 |  Anthony West |
Moriwaki | QMMF Racing Team | +1.663 |
| 22 | Randy Krummenacher |
Suter | GP Team Switzerland | +1.686 |
| 23 | Gino Rea |
Suter | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | +1.778 |
| 24 | Julian Simon |
FTR | Blusens Avintia | +1.838 |
| 25 | Axel Pons |
Kalex | Pons 40 HP Tuenti | +2.038 |
| 26 | Yuki Takahashi |
FTR | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | +2.109 |
| 27 |  Xavier Simeon |
Tech 3 | Tech 3 Racing | +2.185 |
| 28 | Ricard Cardus |
AJR | Arguiñano Racing Team | +2.456 |
| 29 |  Alexander Lundh |
MZ-RE Honda | Cresto Guide MZ Racing | +2.572 |
| 30 | Damian Cudlin |
Bimota | Desguaces La Torre SAG | +3.150 |
| 31 | Marco Colandrea |
FTR | SAG Team | +3.785 |
| 32 |  Eric Granado |
Motobi | JIR Moto2 | +4.863 |
| 33 | Elena Rosell |
Moriwaki | QMMF Racing Team | +4.939 |
