FIM MotoGP World Championship

Assen TT Circuit, Netherlands

June 28, 2014

Race Results (wet conditions, all on Bridgestone tires):

1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 26 laps, 43:29.954, pitted

2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), -6.714 seconds, pitted

3. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), -10.791, pitted

4. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (FORWARD YAMAHA), -19.199, pitted

5. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), -25.813, started from pit lane, pitted

6. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), -29.003, pitted

7. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), -30.882, pitted

8. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), -30.985, pitted

9. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (DUCATI), -44.031, pitted

10. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), -48.662, crash on sighting lap, pitted

11. Broc PARKES, Australia (PBM-APRILIA), -51.863, crash on warm-up lap, started from pit lane

12. Scott REDDING, UK (HONDA), -60.329, pitted

13. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), -64.641, pitted

14. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (HONDA), -65.980, pitted

15. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (ART-Aprilia), -77.611, pitted

16. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (HONDA), -79.753, pitted

17. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (HONDA), -87.630, pitted

18. Hector BARBERA, Spain (FTR-KAWASAKI), -88.142, pitted

19. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), -1 lap, pitted twice

20. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (FTR-KAWASAKI), -1 lap, pitted

21. Michael LAVERTY, UK (PBM-APRILIA), -1 lap, pitted three times

22. Colin EDWARDS, USA (FORWARD YAMAHA), -3 laps, pitted three times

23. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), -8 laps, DNF, pitted, crash

World Championship Point Standings (after 8 of 18 races):

1. Marquez, 200 points

2. TIE, Rossi/Pedrosa, 128

4. Dovizioso, 91

5. Lorenzo, 81

6. Aleix Espargaro, 67

7. Pol Espargaro, 58

8. Bradl, 56

9. Iannone, 51

10. Smith, 48

11. Bautista, 43

12. Redding, 28

13. TIE, Hayden/Hernandez, 27

15. Aoyama, 24

16. Crutchlow, 22

17. Abraham, 15

18. Edwards, 8

19. Michele Pirro, 7

20. Parkes, 6

21. Petrucci, 3

22. Barbera, 2

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Marquez makes it a perfect eight after dramatic Dutch TT

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has taken his eighth win from eight races, continuing his flawless run in 2014, and has become the youngest rider to win eight successive premier class races (21 years 131 days), taking the record from Mike Hailwood (24 years and 71 days) who won the eighth of a 12-race winning sequence in 1964. Marc’s teammate, Dani Pedrosa, had a fantastic battle with Aleix Espargaro and took third place on the podium, alongside Andrea Dovizioso.

In true Assen style, the weather played a key part in today’s twenty-six lap race. As the riders left their garages for the starting grid, rain arrived and forced a delay to proceedings. Whilst some riders remained on the grid, both Marc and Dani returned to the garage to evaluate the best course of action and to decide if they should start on slicks or wet tyres. Both selected wet tyres and the race got underway at 14h20 local time.

Marc held his position from the start, and enjoyed an early battle with Dovizioso on the first lap, passing each other five times before passing him for the lead. Dani slipped down to fourth behind Aleix Espargargo as a fantastic battle began to develop. The track began to dry quickly with a dry line emerging and on lap six most of the front runners chose to enter the pits to swap bikes for the dry set-up on slicks. They filtered back on track and began to rediscover their rhythm but Marc made a small mistake on lap eight and Dovizioso passed him to take the lead. Dani was tucked in behind Espargaro and on lap nine they passed each other a few times but Dani wasn’t able to complete the pass. On lap twelve rain flags were shown again and the bikes with wet set-up were prepared in the pit lane. Thankfully the weather held off and didn’t worsen, enabling the Repsol Honda riders to continue their chase.

Dani briefly passed Espargaro on lap sixteen but was again passed back and Marc passed Dovizioso on the final turn and began to push, setting a fastest race lap (lap nineteen). Meanwhile Dani managed to pass Espargaro on lap eighteen and built himself a comfortable gap to take the final spot on the podium – his 90th podium in MotoGP.

Marc has now won in every class at Assen – MotoGP (2014), Moto 2 (2012 and 2011) and 125cc (2010) – and he celebrates this eighth win in a row with his brother, Alex, who also won on his Honda in the Moto3 class earlier today. He now has a perfect 200 points from 200 and leads the Championship by 72 points over Rossi. Dani is in third place but equal on points with Rossi (128).

Marc Marquez

1st – Championship Standing: 1st – 200 points

“It was a tough day because this was a race where I could have lost many points, but we were still able to extend our lead in the Championship so I’m very pleased with how it has gone and how we dealt with the flag-to-flag. It was our first experience of a race like this, with both wet and dry conditions, and we even had a little scare after the bike change. We are very happy with this victory and to have got a very important 25 points on a weekend we had circled on the calendar”

Dani Pedrosa

3rd – Championship Standing: 3rd – 128 points

“It was a very difficult race and was even a bit chaotic at first, when it came to having to decide which tyres to put on the bike. I kept a cool head and chose the option of wets, because at first the track was a little damp. I should have pushed more in the opening laps – but I chose not to incase it rained again – as the track began to dry out. The rain didn’t come and I had a good fight with Aleix for the podium in the dry. I am happy to have taken the rostrum finish, because you never know how races like today’s might go, but this one went well for us and we are now focusing on doing a good job in Germany”

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

Grand Prix of The Netherlands

Rossi Rides to Fifth in Chaotic Assen TT

Assen (The Netherlands), 28th June 2014

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi rode impressively this afternoon to take fifth during an unpredictable race at the Assen TT. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo briefly led the race, but later fell back after a tyre change, finishing in 13th place.

There was uncertainty before the start of the Dutch GP, with the riders already on the starting grid when the race was delayed due to the rainy conditions. It was finally declared a wet race and two extra sighting laps were given.

Rossi initially went out on slicks but decided last-minute to change to wets after the warm-up lap. Though this meant he had to start the race from pit lane, the setback didn’t hold him back for long and he was quick to move up the order, reaching 13th by lap three. At the end of lap six chaos ensued again as the track started to form a dry line and half of the riders came into the pits for another tyre change. Rossi dived into the pits with the first group, rejoining the race in tenth position. He was quick to find a good rhythm and closed the gap of 2.325s to Pol Espargaro, Carl Crutchlow, Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl over the next six laps. The Doctor then only took another three laps to move up to fifth place. He was consistently closing on Aleix Espagaro in fourth, but there were not enough laps, leaving him to hold fifth at the line

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo had a good start, the Spaniard moving up from ninth to sixth in the first lap. Having found a good wet pace, he threatening to break into the top five when changing weather again disrupted the race. Lorenzo made the change to a dry bike and having returned in 17th was able to move up several positions to 13th by the flag.

With fifth place Rossi scores 11 points and is now tied for second place in the championship with Dani Pedrosa, 128 points behind Marc Marquez. Jorge Lorenzo gains three points, leaving him in fifth in the championship standings, ten points behind Dovizioso in fourth.

Valentino Rossi

5th / +25.813 / 26 laps

“You know, I took a risk because the conditions looked good but unfortunately one minute before the start it started to rain again so I had to change bike and start from last. It’s a shame because if I had started with the wets I could stay in front with the top guys. Anyway it’s something about luck today and unfortunately this time it ended like this. I’m quite satisfied with the rest of the race because I had good pace and a good feeling with the bike. Also here in Assen I was quite fast.”

Jorge Lorenzo

13th / +1’04.641 / 26 laps

“I have to say that the bike was working quite well on the wet and the dry, I just had a bad race as a rider. My confidence wasn’t great; I didn’t want to crash like last year. I didn’t have value enough like the other riders to go fast, it was a bad race for me. I would like to apologize with my team, the engineers and my fans because they all did their best but today it was definitely my worst race ever. In the dry I’m confident and not afraid of crashing but when it’s spitting maybe I have the memory of last year and I didn’t have things clear in my mind. In future if something happens like this I hope to be more confident and less scared of crashing.”

Massimo Meregalli

“Unfortunately it was clear from the start of the weekend that the weather was going to be the biggest factor today. As always the team worked hard from the first session to give both Vale and Jorge the best possible set up for the race. In typical Assen fashion we had the weather changing every couple of minutes in the lead up to the start, making it a real gamble to decide which tyres to start on. Having started from the pit lane Vale did well to come back and ride through the chaos to take fifth. Jorge gambled on staying out a lap later than the leaders to change to slicks and so had a bigger challenge to come back. It’s a shame as our results don’t represent what we have been capable of here, had the weather been more consistent. We’ll put this weekend behind us now and hope for either fully wet or fully dry at the Sachsenring!”

More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing:

Weather decided in Assen, Abraham finishes on fourteenth position

Unpredictable weather was the main factor that decided about the results of Dutch Grand Prix in Holland. Karel Abraham, thanks to good selected tactic, reached another two world points.

The start to the race was postponed due to cloudburst and most riders started on wet tyres and after a few laps, the track was getting dry and all starting grid headed to the garage. Karel Abraham managed under this situation to hold his position in group of five riders fighting for points positions and he gradually got to the head. In the end he was overtook by Jorge Lorenzo on the factory Yamaha, who was getting in front from back positions.

Karel Abraham

“It was pretty crazy race from the beginning. The starting procedure was confusing, so I missed the chance to do two sighting laps. My team did very good job while changing the bike, on the other hand if we had did it two laps earlier, we would get higher position. However this result is very positive. I was able to overtake many riders in our group and leave them far behind me. And I cut a lot from the gap between me and Redding in the end. If we had have a piece of chance and better tactics, the result should be much better.”

Marco Grana, Cardion AB chief mechanic

“This is the kind of race, when the whole team is engaged. The conditions were unbelievable from the beginning. We made good decision to change the tyres immediately, but Karel wasn not fast as we expected and lost few seconds within first two laps. But everything turned better after changing the bike. We did 12th fastest lap time and this is really very fast. We finished fourteenth, but we stay in front of Aoyama and Hayden, and this is good result. It´s easy make a mistake in this kind of race. Karel and the team deal with it, so we can be happy with this result. Now we will see what happens in Sachsenring. But I can say that we fight in the higher level of classification more and more.”

More, from a press release issued by Drive M7 Aspar Team:

DRIVE M7 Aspar riders have tough race at Assen

Hiroshi Aoyama and Nicky Hayden place 16th and 17th at Dutch TT, riding well in the wet before change of bikes

The MotoGP race suffered the same fate as the Moto2 contest. In the moments before the start, the rain intensified, disrupting plans. Firstly because it was necessary to postpone the race start and secondly because, as in Moto2, the race was truly wild. The premier class riders started the Dutch TT in wet conditions, with plenty of doubts. Márquez and Dovizioso battled for most of the race at the front, but things were swiftly levelled out by a series of bike changes. The entire field had switched machines to their second bikes by Lap 7, and on a dry surface Dovizioso led the way. Márquez eventually hunted him down, passed him and took an eighth successive victory of the season. Dani Pedrosa and Aleix Espargaró had an entertaining duel for the final podium spot, with Pedrosa winning out for third.

The DRIVE M7 Aspar riders had a very eventful race, defined by two distinct parts. Hiroshi Aoyama and Nicky Hayden started from fourteenth and twenty-second positions, respectively, but had the wet weather pace to move up the field. Before the change of bikes, the two were up into the Top 10, having passed several riders. Unfortunately, their feeling changed considerably on the dry asphalt and they progressively lost touch. They nevertheless managed to complete the race near the points. Hiroshi Aoyama was sixteenth and Nicky Hayden seventeenth.

16th Hiroshi Aoyama: “Today we had a very tough race, especially from the moment that we had to swap bikes. I felt very comfortable with the wet setup at the start, we were been able to push hard and gain positions as we closed in on the frontrunners. I felt so comfortable in the wet, that when the track dried out I found it hard to change bikes. When I went to the bike with the dry setup my feeling was worse and I was not as fast as yesterday. I lost many positions as a result. This weekend I had a new front fork available that has allowed me to ride faster, and although the result was not what we had hoped for I am happy with the way I felt at this Grand Prix. I hope that in Germany we can get a better result.”

17th Nicky Hayden: “The conditions for today’s race were quite tough. Even so, I started pretty well in the wet; the bike worked perfectly at the start of the race, which allowed me to enjoy riding and overtake several riders. Unfortunately for us it continued raining and the track dried out, so we had to change bikes. Leaving the pits I noticed something strange in the acceleration of the bike. I also had some problems with the front end that prevented me from pushing hard. During the two laps after changing bikes I lost a lot of time and positions. Also, in the dry I did not manage to go as fast as I had expected. This weekend has been quite frustrating for us. Now it is time to focus on Germany and a good result there to take the bad taste from this round away.”

More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:

Superb race for Espargaro at Assen, 4th after a great battle for the podium

The NGM Forward Racing rider Aleix Espargaro made a great performance in difficult conditions at Assen, famous in the world as the “Cathedral”.

In a race which started after a delay due to wet conditions, Espargaro was among the protagonists since the first lap, maintaining the third position for 6 laps behind Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso. The track gradually dried and both Aleix and Colin entered the pit lane to change bike with dry set up. Aleix was able to ride with a good pace, maintaining the third position for other 10 laps fighting hard with Dani Pedrosa for the podium. Aleix was very strong under braking, while Dani was overtaking him on the straight. Aleix finally finished with a well-deserved 4th position and as first open.

The NGM Forward racing rider leaves Assen with a pole position, a 4th place and the 6th position in the championship with 67 points.

It was a difficult race for team mate Colin Edwards who struggled the whole weekend and couldn’t improve in the race. He played a bit with the tyres, trying to find the confidence on tricky and changeable track conditions, but he didn’t had the right confidence to push as he would have wanted and finally finished 22nd.

Colin Edwards

“It was a difficult weekend and I struggled a lot also in the race. The tracks conditions were very tricky, I played a bit with the tyres but it didn’t work. I lack of confidence and I cannot push as I would like. I need to figure out something for the German GP”.

Aleix Espargaro

“It was a great race and the battle with Dani Pedrosa on a factory Honda was hard but it was good fun. On the wet I was cautious so I lost the contact with Andrea (Dovizioso), but with the dry set up I pushed hard to fight for the podium. We had a very good battle with Dani: he was overtaking me on the straight and I passed him in the corners. It’s a pity, but I’m happy with this result. We gained important point for the championship and now we are 6th. We leave Assen happy with the results and we will return stronger in Sachsenring”.

More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:

Assen: Sixth place for Iannone

The weather influence today too, forcing the riders to make drastic setup changes. At 13:45, as scheduled, the pit lane open for the sighting lap, a downpour forced the race director to postpone the start. The race was declared a “wet race” but in the meantime, the rain stopped falling. Andrea Iannone and his teammate Yonny Hernandez lined up on the grid hopping to have made the right choice.

During the warm-up lap, the rain came down again. Andrea Iannone, who had opted to start with the wet tires was able to keep up with its rivals, losing only one position. On the second lap it stopped raining and the track slowly began to dry out. On the sixth lap Andrea decides to return to the garage to change bike a take the one with slick tires. He returned to the track in mid-rankings, lap after lap he makes his way through his opponents overtaking them, in this race that never seems to end Andrea Iannone takes home his best finish in MotoGP for the second time this year with the sixth position.

A Different race for Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing) who decides to start the with slick tires, unfortunately the rain of the first two laps forced the Colombian rider to return to change bike and take the one with the wet tires and lose valuable time. The track started dying back up and Yonny is forced to return back to the garage on lap five to change again bike this time getting back on the one with slick tires. This change made him to waste more time. For the first time this year, he did not reach his goal finishing the race in the points, qualifying nineteenth.

Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing)

“Today was difficult situation, it was difficult to decide whether to get out on the bike dry or wet tires. Compared to last year I found myself much better in spite of these climatic conditions. Too bad that it took me a while before finding a good pace. I think I could have finished the race in a better position. When I picked up the pace it was about the same as Dovizioso, but I’m glad for this sixth position which is definitely a good result. I thank the team and Ducati for support. “

Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing)

“It was a very difficult race, the track conditions were changing constantly. I’m not very happy because I had to change bike twice. At the beginning of the race I decided to start with the slick thinking it was the right choice, then it began to rain again very hard and I thought it would have been impossible to keep going on, so I changed bike. After a while the sun came out again and I had to change bike again, losing a lot of time. I am not satisfied with the result because my goal was not achieved. However it was a good opportunity to learn new things and now I look forward now to the next race at Sachsenring. “

More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:

Smith battles adverse weather to finish 8th in Assen

Bradley Smith completed a challenging race for the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team in Assen by crossing the line in 8th after enduring the unpredictable Dutch weather for round 8 of the 204 MotoGP World Championship.

The beginning of the Iveco Daily TT Assen was delayed due to a sudden downpour of rain as the bikes lined the grid in front of 90,000 excited Dutch fans in what turned out to be the first wet race of the 2014 MotoGP season. Bradley Smith began his 26 lap sprit around the legendary 4252 metre circuit from the last grid slot of the second row before holding 8th place during the opening lap as he intrepidly powered through the rain and over the damp track surface. The historical Assen circuit proceeded to dry rapidly forcing the young British rider to enter the pits to change bikes on lap seven. He then re-joined the race and set into an incredibly competitive rhythm aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1 and in the final stages of the race he was the fastest MotoGP rider on track, also producing the 3rd fastest race time on his final lap as he just missed out on P7 by a tenth of a second.

His Monster Yamaha Tech3 teammate Pol Espargaro suffered ill luck as he retired during round 8 of the 2014 MotoGP world championship at Assen on lap 18. The reigning Moto2 World champion began the day in positive fashion by seizing 3rd in this morning’s warm up before starting the Iveco Daily Dutch TT from 11th on the grid. After choosing to make a last minute swap to his tyre choice, the rookie had to start from the rear of the field in 23rd but expertly elevated himself up to 14th position by the end of the first lap before changing bikes on lap seven due to the drying track. The Spanish star rejoined the race and set his sights on regaining some positions but fell on lap 15. He heroically remounted and attempted to carry on after entering the pits again to swap bikes, before retiring on lap 18 from the Grand Prix. His non finish marks a disappointing end to a weekend which was full of high promise with the MotoGP rookie continuing to learn at every race in an impressive manner during his first season in the premier class.

Bradley Smith

Race : 8thChampionship : 10 thPoints : 48

“Overall I am pleased with my performance at the end of the race even if the position is not what I’m aiming for. I was very comfortable with the bike once the track had dried and my race pace would have seen me within top 5 if not on the podium. Unfortunately at the same time today was quite a frustrating situation. The bike didn’t work too well in the rain and I lost so much time at the beginning because of these wet conditions. I decided to follow Jorge’s judgement on the pit stop and remained out for one more lap with him which was definitely the wrong decision as I lost approximately 10 seconds during that lap and when looking at the time sheets now, I would have been able to fight for 4th position with Aleix had I not lost that time. However when I rejoined the race the bike was awesome in the dry. The team did a great job but it’s still just a bit irritating to end up in this position after such a solid end to the race in terms of pace. So unfortunately the result doesn’t justify our efforts but we’ve worked really well this weekend and I go hard from the beginning to the end and look forward to giving it my all next round in Germany”

Pol Espargaro

Race : DNFChampionship : 7 thPoints : 58

“It has been such an unlucky and disappointing end to this weekend! We started in a brilliant way during the practice sessions where I felt strong and competitive on the bike. My only worry was the weather and the storyboard planned the worst scenario for me. The rain arrived when we were going to the starting grid and from that moment on I got really nervous. I think , we also made a few of unfortunate decisions as it was actually a gamble which tyres to choose at the beginning of the race. Also the fact that my first ever wet laps had to be the opening ones of today’s race did not really help my confidence. However, I really didn’t feel comfortable enough to push and when we changed to dry tyres I was already far behind trying to close the gap to the riders in front of me, but I made a mistake and crashed. Afterwards, I returned to the pit box and tried to finish the race with my second bike, which was on rain tyres, but with the track already dry there was nothing I could do. Now I have to look forward to the next race in Germany in two weeks of time where we hopefully will be able to show our true potential.”

More, from a press release issued by Paul Bird Motorsport:

Saturday 28th June 2014

Parkes In The Points At Assen

Australian Broc Parkes made the most of the mixed weather conditions when he scored a career best 11th place finish at round eight of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship in Holland to record his second points scoring finish of the season at the Iveco Daily TT Assen.

With changeable weather throughout the meeting at the Dutch track, Parkes showed good pace in the Free Practice sessions aboard the Rapid Solicitors and Silkolene-backed PBM machine before claiming a row seven start on the grid in 21st place.

With a rain shower arriving just before the race was due to get underway, Parkes encountered a problem on the warm up lap and was forced to start from pit lane but was soon getting to grips with the difficult conditions and by lap seven of the 26 lapper, he was up to 15th place.

As the race entered the crucial stage with riders calling into pit lane to change bikes, Parkes found himself as high as sixth place where he maintained station for a number of laps. As the Factory bikes upped their pace, the double World Supersport runner-up slipped down the order but crossed the line in an impressive 11th place ahead of Scott Redding and Jorge Lorenzo to claim five valuable World Championship points for the Penrith-based team.

For team-mate Michael Laverty, it wasn’t such a successful race after qualifying the Rapid Solicitors and Silkolene-backed Aprilia ART-powered PBM in 19th having also shown good pace in Free Practice.

The Ulsterman was confident of a good result but lost out in the pit stops when he was forced to pit once again meaning any hopes of a good result were scuppered and he eventually crossed the line in a disappointing 21st position as he still searches for his first points of the season despite a 100% finishing record.

Parkes’ result has elevated himself to 20th overall in the 2014 MotoGP World Championship table, eighth in the Open class standings and third in Rookie of the Year. Despite his string of finishes, Laverty has yet to register on the scoreboard but importantly for the PBM team, they occupy fifth place in the manufacturer’s table and 11th in the team’s standings.

Michael Laverty: “Firstly I want to congratulate Broc on a great ride, I am happy that one of us managed to fulfil the potential we had this weekend but incredibly frustrated that I wasn’t up there with him. The race couldn’t have gone worse for me, I felt I made the correct call to pit for slicks early but unfortunately my bike wasn’t ready. I left the pits to join Broc on track but the fact that I had to pit again meant my race was ruined. I had good pace this weekend and would have easily scored a decent haul of points in the tricky conditions.”

Broc Parkes: “What a crazy race, I crashed on the warm up lap when somebody clipped my handlebar at the hairpin so I got back to the pits for my spare bike with slick tyres and had to start from pit lane. At the start it was still raining and I was even going to pull in because I was really slow but then the track dried fast and I was pushing like crazy on the slick tyres in the wet corners as I could see I was catching everyone. Even when I changed to the other bike my pace was still good. I would really like to thank the team for all their hard work.”

For more information, please visit the team’s website www.pbmuk.net and www.pbmuk.net

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Superb race by Dovizioso at TT Assen to take runner-up slot, Crutchlow ninth

Andrea Dovizioso today ran an almost perfect race on the Dutch TT circuit at Assen, where the eighth round of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship was held. With an intelligent strategy, the Ducati Team rider perfectly interpreted the difficult weather conditions to take home a well-deserved second place, behind winner Marquez. With this result, the second podium of the season after a third at Austin, Dovizioso moves up one place in the world championship and is now fourth on 91 points.

Starting well from seventh place on the grid on rain tyres for the early laps in the wet, Dovizioso found himself second behind Marquez and did not even relinquish the position during the pit-stop on lap 6 to change bikes when the track started to dry. Andrea actually took the lead on lap 8 and stayed there until lap 15, when he was overtaken by the championship leader, and he finished the race in second place, with a comfortable advantage over third-placed Pedrosa.

Team-mate Cal Crutchlow did not have an easy race. Starting from fifth on the grid after a good qualifying session yesterday, Cal was able to make it into sixth position by the mid-point, but then started to lose ground and he concluded the Dutch GP in ninth place.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd

“The conditions today were very difficult but we managed to get a good start with the right choice of tyres and a perfect race strategy. I had a good feeling with the bike right away, there wasn’t much water but the grip was good, you just had to understand which corners were wet and which were dry. Both Marc and I were able to interpret the track quicker than the others and we pulled out a good gap straight away. I followed him for the early laps, this was my strategy, then I managed to pass him when he made a mistake but his pace was quicker than mine. This second podium of 2014 is very important for us: we are all working so hard and I really want to thank my team!”

Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – 9th

“It was a really tough race today for everyone because of the weather conditions. As far as I was concerned it was a disappointing result because I felt we should have taken more advantage of the conditions as soon as the track dried, but I had the same problems as I had in every practice. We had too much understeer with the bike and I was not competitive enough. A good job by Andrea, today he got a fantastic result for the team.”

Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)

“Obviously today we are very satisfied with Dovi’s second place! We knew that our Desmosedici could perform particularly well in the wet but the conditions in this race were really difficult: the team ran an excellent strategy and Andrea was able to keep up a good pace in the rain and then maintain a high rhythm even when the track dried out. He also managed to lead for eight laps, and then when Marquez passed him, he continued to lap well to defend his position. It is a result that fills us with satisfaction and gives us confidence for the future.”

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:

BRADL ENDS 10TH AFTER A CHAOTIC RACE AT THE CATHEDRAL

Assen, 28 June: typical Dutch weather has bedeviled the MotoGP field even today just before the start of the 26-lap race which was initially delayed due to wet conditions. The LCR racer Stefan Bradl, who started from the third row, had another tough race culminated with a crash during the sightseeing lap. Luckily the German escaped unhurt from the incident rejoining his colleagues on the grid but they all changed to dry set-up machines at a certain point of the race. The Bavarian could not find the proper feeling neither in the wet nor in the dry and managed to finish the 8th round in 10th place.

Bradl: “It was a disappointing weekend for us and a crazy race which I did not enjoy at all. I crashed during the sightseeing lap on my dry bike and I immediately thought that I was living a nightmare. I tried to jump back on my bike but it was very damaged so I climbed over the wall running back to my garage for taking the second bike. It was set-up for wet conditions and in that moment it was raining so we started the race like this but for me it was tough to find the right feeling in the wet. Unfortunately I was not fast enough and it took me too much time to find the speed. After some laps I entered the pits to swap the bike to go but it was probably too late…. maybe I should have entered the pits one lap earlier. But even in the dry we missed some speed to perform well. I am really looking forward to my home race now because I can count on the support of my crowd”.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Fantastic Marc Marquez maintains winning form in complicated TT race

Marc Marquez produced a masterclass in difficult conditions at the Iveco Daily TT Assen to make it eight wins from eight races in 2014, ahead of fellow podium finishers Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) – after an entertaining flag-to-flag contest

In a race which started after a delay due to wet conditions Marquez judged the 26-lap challenge to perfection, running with Dovizioso at the front in the early stages and asserting his authority as the riders changed to dry set-up machines on the seventh lap.

Marquez eventually clinched the win by 6.7s seconds to become the first rider since the great Giacomo Agostini in 1971 to win the first eight premier-class races of the year.

Dovizioso stepped onto the rostrum for the second time in 2014, with Pedrosa completing the podium after holding off the pursuing Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) for several laps. Espargaro rode well to hold fourth, having started on pole on the ‘Open’ Forward Yamaha.

Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) took fifth having shown great pace in the second half of the race, his problem being a late decision to swap back from slicks to wets at the start. Rossi started from pit lane on wets, therefore, and recovered considerable ground before and after eventually the swap back to slicks.

Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing), Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3), Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team) and Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) completed the top ten.

Broc Parkes (Paul Bird Motorsport) rode superbly to 11th having started from pit lane following a problem on the warm up lap. Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) retired with six laps to go after crashes on slicks and then wet tyres.

Moto2™: Experienced West wins Dutch TT contest in wet-drying conditions

Wet specialist Anthony West (QMMF Racing Team) took Moto2™ victory at the Iveco Daily TT Assen, using all his experience to finish ahead of Maverick Viñales (Pons HP 40) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team) who joined him on the podium.

The 32 year-old Australian former premier class rider won from 23rd on the grid in his 211th Grand Prix, crossing the finish line 0.3s ahead of Viñales, with Kallio 0.4s further back. It is West’s first win since the 2003 Dutch TT.

The race start was delayed by 20 minutes as heavy rain fell on the initial sighting lap with pole man and championship leader Esteve Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team) crashing in that first outing. Rabat still started on pole and eventually finished eighth.

Johann Zarco (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing), Alex De Angelis (Tasca Racing Moto2), Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) and Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team) all used their considerable experience to finish in fourth to seventh places restively.

Behind Rabat, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Gresini Moto2) and Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) completed the top ten.

Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing) finished unlucky 13th after crashing out of the race lead at the midway stage, whilst Luis Salom (Pons HP 40) was 15th having crashed from third place in the final stages. Sam Lowes (Speed Up) had led the race at the start having taken the holseshot, but crashed twice after trying to stay with Corsi at the front.

Several riders crashed and rejoined on a wet track which saw dry lines forming despite further rain during the course of the 24 lap, 109 km battle. Some took gambles on slick tyres which did not pay off whilst Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert) went for a front wet, rear slick combination which only produced a 21st place result.

Azlan Shah (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia), Axel Pons (AGR Team) and Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) all crashed out whilst Randy Krummenacher (IodaRacing Project) retired having previously crashed.

Moto3™: Alex Marquez takes great victory in crash strewn Assen contest

Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) took a second successive Moto3™ victory at Assen on Saturday, with Alex Rins and Miguel Oliveira joining him on the podium after crashes for championship frontrunners Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46).

Marquez built on his Barcelona win with another dominant performance to take victory by three seconds, leading for the majority of the race from second on the grid. His teammate Rins briefly challenged him for the lead but the younger Marquez brother eventually had too much for his compatriot over the course of the 22 laps.

Rins overtook Oliveira for second in the final stages, whilst 12 seconds further back Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold) won a tremendous battle for fourth between a group of seven riders.

Those battling for fourth with Masbou were Niccolo Antonelli (Junior Team GO&FUN), Efren Vazquez (SAXOPRINT RTG), Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team), Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo), Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing) and John McPhee (SAXOPRINT RTG) – who completed the top ten.

Miller crashed in the early stages whilst Fenati battled to 18th after coming back from an early mistake and then crashing to drop back again.

Neither of the championship front runners were hurt and they remain first and second in the standings with Miller still seven points in front, though Marquez has now pulled level second with Fenati, whilst Rins sits fourth – three points adrift of his teammate.

Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Go&FUN Moto3), Niklas Ajo (Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo) and Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) all crashed out without major consequence, though Ajo was taken to the medical centre for checks on an ankle knock.

A nasty collision between Luca Grünwald (Kiefer Racing), Juanfran Guevara (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3) and Alessandro Tonucci (CIP) at the chicane on the final lap saw them all crash out, but fortunately all three were uninjured.

More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:

Marquez blows away the field in fantastic flag-to-flag Dutch TT

Round 8: Dutch TT – Race

Assen, Saturday June 28 2014

Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Extra-soft, Soft & Medium; Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)

Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)

Weather: Wet/Dry. Ambient 19-18°C; Track 22-23°C (Bridgestone measurement)

Today’s Dutch TT at Assen was an eventful flag-to-flag contest, with a wet track at the start of the race rapidly drying over the twenty-six laps, but in the end there was no stopping Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez who adapted best to the changing conditions for his eighth consecutive victory in 2014.

Marquez traded the race lead with Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso in the early stages of the race while on wet tyres, before the leading pair swapped bikes on lap six and headed out of pit lane on slick tyres to resume their battle. Marquez made the race-winning pass on Dovizioso on the fifteenth lap and then upped the pace – almost setting a new race lap record on lap 19 – to eventually take the chequered flag 6.714 seconds ahead of Dovizioso who claimed an excellent second place. Dani Pedrosa ensured two Repsol Honda’s made the podium by seizing third place.

Rain fell leading up to, and for the first few laps of the race but once it stopped the track dried extremely quickly at which point the riders on slicks were able to lap much quicker than those still on wet tyres. By the eighth lap all the riders that started on wet tyres had changed to slicks to take advantage of the improving track surface. Twenty-one riders started the race on the soft compound wet tyres front and rear with only two riders; Pramac Racing’s Yonny Hernandez and Paul Bird Motorsport’s Broc Parkes starting the race on the soft compound slick tyres front and rear. The slick tyre options that were used on the riders’ spare bikes after they changed bikes for the dry conditions were the extra-soft and soft compound front slick, and the soft and medium compound rear.

Marquez has amassed 200 championship points courtesy of his flawless win record, while Pedrosa and Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi are joint-second in the standings with 128 points each.

Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department

“The variable weather certainly made for an exciting race, but in the end Marc showed the same impressive performance so congratulations to him and Repsol Honda on another superb performance. Today was quite tricky for the riders and teams as conditions changed quickly leading up to the race which meant final decisions on race tyre choice were made just moments before the race . Almost every rider made the decision to start on wet tyres before switching to slicks, and the pace that some of the riders were able to set on slick tyres as the track dried out was very impressive. I am pleased with how both our specifications of tyres performed today in what were challenging conditions.”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda – Race Winner

“Today was incredible, before the race I was quite nervous because these are the conditions nobody wants, as it’s hard to know the best strategy. We started on wet tyres even though we knew that after six or so laps the track would dry. After I swapped bikes I made a mistake which allowed Dovi to get past me, but then after a while I was able to catch Andrea as I had a better rhythm. After that it was a bit easier but I still had to keep my concentration to take the win.”

More, from a press release issued by Scott Redding’s publicist:

Redding in the points again in difficult Dutch TT

Assen, Holland – 28 June 2014: Scott Redding finished a creditable 12th in the Dutch TT today, as the typically changeable weather conditions at Assen led to riders having to change bikes after just a few laps of the race.

Never having ridden his Honda RCV1000R on wet tyres before, Redding was cautious in the wet early stages of the race, but timed his switch to his second, slick-shod bike perfectly and was able to up his pace on the rapidly drying track, eventually finishing 12th.

Redding was the first production Honda rider home in the race, with the result elevating him to 12th in the championship standings, one point ahead of former MotoGP World Champion, Nicky Hayden.

Scott Redding // 12th

“Today was my first MotoGP race in the wet and, to be honest, I was a bit cautious in the beginning because I didn’t really know what to expect. We started from the back of the grid on wet tyres, but I was a little unsure about the track conditions, so I was a little too slow in the early stages, as I tried to understand better the tyres in these conditions. After only a few laps I came in to change bikes and I think we chose a good time to do it, as we made a good gap. In the dry I was quite fast. I passed Lorenzo and then caught Espargarò, which was motivating! When Pol crashed I just tried to maintain the same lap times to the end. After a difficult warm up this morning, it feels good to finish as the first open class Honda in such tricky conditions.”