Photo: motogp.com
Yamaha adds a new double podium to their roster, as Valentino Rossi won the Dutch GP and Jorge Lorenzo was third. Between them, the reigning champion Marc Marquez seems to have learnt certain lessons from the last races he did not finish.
The race start at Assen was an explosion of power as Rossi darted ahead from pole, followed by Aleix Espargaro from the middle of the front row and Marc Marquez. However, it was Jorge Lorenzo who had the greatest improvement over the start position.
After a weekend of struggles at Assen, Lorenzo was only 8th on the grid as the lights went out, but he managed to climb in third after only one lap. This wasn't, however, enough for the Mallorcan, as the pace of Rossi and his follower was impossible to match. While Lorenzo ran a solitary race in third, just as Ducati's Andrea Iannone did for the fourth position.
Marquez trailed Rossi until the last laps and then made his move to take the lead. The 9-time champion was not an easy prey as he found a way to squeeze back into the first position, with a fierce battle ensuing in the final lap.
The clash between the two occurred in the chicane, the final turns before the finish line. Marquez attacked on the inside, hoping that Rossi would maybe run a little wide... which did not happen.
The Doctor had to be quick at picking up his bike and was forced to cut the final corner right through the gravel trap. Luckily, he carried enough speed to avoid sinking into the gravel and crash, so he charged on to take the win.
An investigation was carried out after the finish of the round, but the Race Direction decided it was a racing incident and no penalties have been handed out. Tough less severe than former incidents involving Marquez, the Assen clash keeps us wondering how much has he learned from all the crashes this year.
This cannot be said about Stefan Bradl, who was found to have a fractured scaphoid bone in this right arm. The DNF list was completed by Alex de Angelis and Eugene Laverty, both declared okay.
The top ten included Pol Espargaro, Cal Crutchlow, Bradley Smith, Dani Pedrosa, with the Suzuki riders Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales showing once more that the GSX-RR has a great potential even from its first premier class year.
Rossi extended his lead on both Lorenzo and Marquez, and now has 163 points. Lorenzo is still the runner-up with 153, while Iannone remains third with 107 points. Marquez is fourth with 89 points and passed in front of Dovizioso, whose 12th position at Assen only brought in 4 points, for a total of 87.
We have one more race before the summer break, so we're up for an interesting round at Sachsenring on July 12.
After a weekend of struggles at Assen, Lorenzo was only 8th on the grid as the lights went out, but he managed to climb in third after only one lap. This wasn't, however, enough for the Mallorcan, as the pace of Rossi and his follower was impossible to match. While Lorenzo ran a solitary race in third, just as Ducati's Andrea Iannone did for the fourth position.
Marquez trailed Rossi until the last laps and then made his move to take the lead. The 9-time champion was not an easy prey as he found a way to squeeze back into the first position, with a fierce battle ensuing in the final lap.
The clash between the two occurred in the chicane, the final turns before the finish line. Marquez attacked on the inside, hoping that Rossi would maybe run a little wide... which did not happen.
The Doctor had to be quick at picking up his bike and was forced to cut the final corner right through the gravel trap. Luckily, he carried enough speed to avoid sinking into the gravel and crash, so he charged on to take the win.
An investigation was carried out after the finish of the round, but the Race Direction decided it was a racing incident and no penalties have been handed out. Tough less severe than former incidents involving Marquez, the Assen clash keeps us wondering how much has he learned from all the crashes this year.
Barbera and Miller crash out in the first lap, Bradl has a fractured scaphoid
No less than five riders failed to finish the race, with Hector Barbera and Jack Miller being the first to go down. The two clashed in the opening lap and crashed out of the race. No points for them in the Netherlands, but at least they didn't sustain any injuries.This cannot be said about Stefan Bradl, who was found to have a fractured scaphoid bone in this right arm. The DNF list was completed by Alex de Angelis and Eugene Laverty, both declared okay.
The top ten included Pol Espargaro, Cal Crutchlow, Bradley Smith, Dani Pedrosa, with the Suzuki riders Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales showing once more that the GSX-RR has a great potential even from its first premier class year.
Rossi extended his lead on both Lorenzo and Marquez, and now has 163 points. Lorenzo is still the runner-up with 153, while Iannone remains third with 107 points. Marquez is fourth with 89 points and passed in front of Dovizioso, whose 12th position at Assen only brought in 4 points, for a total of 87.
We have one more race before the summer break, so we're up for an interesting round at Sachsenring on July 12.
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