Jake Dixon sent a convincing signal of intent towards his rivals as he swept the board on the opening day of Practice for the Moto2 Dutch TT at Assen, the Briton close to lap breaking the eight-year old lap record.

Arriving in the Netherlands this weekend in a rich vein of form after back-to-back podiums, Dixon has identified Assen as arguably his best chance yet to secure an elusive maiden Moto2 victory.

It's an objective he started in fine style around the Dutch venue, Dixon fastest in P1 before routinely reacting quickly to any riders who usurped him in P2.

Eventually Dixon would shake out top with a 1m 36.463secs effort with three minutes to go, putting him close to breaking the oldest standing lap record in the GP calendar, that belonging to Johann Zarco, who turned in a 1m 36.346s lap back in 2015.

>>> 2023 Moto2 World Championship standings <<<

Winner of the last two Moto2 races, Pedro Acosta trailed Dixon in second place +0.146s adrift of the GasGas Aspar rider, while Alonso Lopez completed a familiar looking top three.

Seemingly returning to the kind of form that saw him just miss out on the 2022 Moto2 title, Ai Ogura - who has endured a long road to recovery after a pre-season wrist injury - was a fine fourth best at the end of Friday, with Sam Lowes rounding out the top five.

Albert Arenas popped up into sixth place, ahead of Fermin Aldeguer and Somkiat Chantra, while the top ten was completed by championship leader Tony Arbolino and Barry Baltus.

Moto2 Dutch TT Assen | Practice 1 Results

Friday | Conditions - Dry, Sunny