Motul TT Assen

FIM MotoGP World Championship

TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands

July 1, 2018

Race Results (all on Michelin tires):

1. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 26 laps, Total Race Time 41:13.863

2. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), -2.269 seconds

3. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), -2.308

4. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), -2.422

5. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), -2.963

6. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), -3.876

7. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Ducati), -4.462

8. Johann Zarco, France (Yamaha), -7.001

9. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Ducati), -7.541

10. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), -13.056

11. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Suzuki), -14.255 (includes 2 second penalty)

12. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), -15.876

13. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), -15.986

14. Scott Redding, UK (Aprilia), -16.019

15. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), -16.043

16. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), -16.416

17. Bradley Smith, UK (KTM), -29.073

18. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (Yamaha), -33.824

19. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), -34.037 (includes 1.5 second penalty)

20. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland (Honda), -47.853

21. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), -9 laps, DNF, crash

22. Xavier Simeon, Belgium (Ducati), -9 laps, DNF, retired

23. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), -15 laps, DNF, retired

24. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Honda), DNS

World Championship Point Standings (after 8 of 19 races):

1. Marquez, 140 points

2. Rossi, 99

3. Vinales, 93

4. Zarco, 81

5. TIE, Dovizioso/Crutchlow, 79

7. Lorenzo, 75

8. TIE, Petrucci/Iannone, 71

10. Miller, 55

11. Rins, 53

12. Pedrosa, 41

13. Bautista, 33

14. Pol Espargaro, 32

15. Rabat, 27

16. Morbidelli, 19

17. Syahrin, 17

18. Aleix Espargaro, 16

19. Redding, 11

20. Nakagami, 10

21. Smith, 7

22. Kallio, 6

23. Abraham, 4

24. TIE, Luthi/Simeon, 0

More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech3:

Determined Monster Yamaha Tech3 pair battles hard in Dutch GP thriller

For the eighth round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship Johann Zarco lined up in the third row of the grid and was fighting in the front group all over the demanding 26 laps race in order to eventually see the chequered flag in eighth position. Currently, the fast Frenchman sits in fourth position of the overall standings and is well in striking distance to P2, plus leading the independent riders championship with 81 points.

On the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 garage, Hafizh Syahrin had a tough time in his first ever MotoGP race at the challenging TT Circuit. The Malaysian fought hard with his fellow rookie Takaaki Nakagami in the latter stages and ultimately earned the newcomer laurels thanks to a penalty of his opponent. Yet, Syahrin aims to score points again in just a few days’ time at the German GP.

Johann Zarco

Position: 8th – Championship: 4th – Points: 81

“This Sunday was a happy day. I saw a few things in the Warm Up and said to the team it’s going to be difficult to fight and I want to make a few steps, just to be able to battle the guys, to be able to brake well and stay with them. I think, we did that step, so it has been a good feeling. The start was good, then Iannone overtook Rins and Rins had to go wide, anyway it has been complicate to gain positions in the beginning, but immediately I was feeling good, could pass Petrucci and came to Crutchlow and was able to stay with this fantastic group, that was riding well. I could stick with them, but it was not enough to really fight because we struggled during the weekend. Maybe it has been the step that was missing to be able to fight for the podium, but I need to be happy. Some good feelings are coming back and we are fourth in the championship, so in any case we need to keep being strong. Overall, it has been a great and funny race.”

Hafizh Syahrin

Position: 18th – Championship: 17th – Points: 17

“I’m really sorry to my team! In the beginning of the race I had a good pace behind Dani Pedrosa. I had a good start, but the entry to the first corner was too tight and I didn’t pick the best line into it. Many riders passed me from the outside, so I tried to keep the pace and felt good. But suddenly after lap 10 I felt that my front tyre was dropping, I couldn’t brake really hard anymore and was not able to keep the good pace, which was maybe down to my tyre choice. In the end I can only try to learn from this. We know that we could fight for the points and something better than this position. I try to work hard and want to improve with this experience.”

Hervé PONCHARAL

Team Manager

“It has been a tough weekend for Monster Yamaha Tech3. The entire weekend we saw that everybody was so close to each other. I think both, Johann and Hafizh worked really well and very hard. The qualifying was a bit of a disappointment as five seconds to the end of it, we were first and we ended up eighth. Although the start was again not ideal, we could see Johann fighting back and being in the front group, which was eighth riders all together until the last laps. You could have the feeling that he was hanging on there, clearly, he was struggling to keep the pace of the others and very wisely he made it to the flag, got eighth position and eight points for the championship, which is still giving us enough to remain fourth in the riders championship and we’re quite proud of it. But obviously it’s been another tough weekend, where I have to thank Johann, because he never gave up and I want to congratulate him for this. Hopefully the next few tracks are going to be a bit easier for us. On Hafizh’ side, I was really happy yesterday with the Qualifying and with the way everything went, but today his first lap was bad and the pace was not enough. It’s a big drop compared to what he has been showing us in Catalunya. We hoped we could make up a few points on Franco, but we just ended up 18thand honestly, it’s been disappointing. We knew from the start, that Hafizh didn’t like Assen, but to be a top MotoGP rider, you need to be fast everywhere and it didn’t happen this weekend. We could see in Barcelona, that he can be part of the best and of course, he is a rookie and still has a lot to learn. So, thanks for his dedication and let’s hope Sachsenring will be a bit easier to allow the whole team, including the riders to go on vacation with a positive feeling.”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:

THIRTEENTH PLACE FOR ALEIX, BETRAYED BY TYRE CHOICE

SOLID RACE FOR SCOTT WHO FINISHES IN THE POINTS WITH FOURTEENTH PLACE, JUST BEHIND HIS TEAMMATE

Both of the Aprilia machines finished in the points in a spectacular race on the Dutch Assen track, the eighth round of the MotoGP Championship It was a race that, as the practice and qualifying days had foreshadowed, was characterised by a spectacular balance, so much that Espargaró and Redding missed the top ten even though they finished only 16 seconds behind the winner, Marquez.

For Aleix it was a disappointment explained by the conservative choice of putting a hard rear tyre on for the race. Off the line well from the third row – earned thanks to a brilliant qualifying session – Aleix was eighth at the end of the first lap, but then he lost five positions due to contact with Zarco. Clawing his way back up to thirteenth place was made difficult by the poor grip conditions his tyres provided throughout the race and he finished in that position, 15.986 seconds behind the leader.

Scott rode his best race yet astride the RS-GP on the historic Dutch track. Starting from the sixth row, Scott was seventeenth at the end of the first lap. Finding a good pace, he moved up through the pack until catching up, and on one occasion overtaking, his teammate. The fourteenth place finish, 16 seconds behind the winner, is a good result that shows the progress the English rider has made in the last two races.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“I am not happy. Unfortunately, I made the wrong choice for the rear tyre. My Aprilia worked extremely well throughout the weekend on the soft, even if we were at the limit with wear. Precisely for this reason and after the wear problems at Mugello and the crash in Barcelona, I opted for the hard, thinking that it would be a safer choice. In reality, I did not have grip from the start, so all I could do was simply try to finish the race. A pity because we really worked well in all the sessions and then the worst came right at the decisive moment, where the points are earned.”

SCOTT REDDING

“I am happy especially with the consistency I was able to maintain in the race. We made the right tyre choice. After warm up, I considered the hard option on the rear, thinking about duration, but after lapping well with the soft in practice, it was smart to ride the race with that one as well. I had fun, staying close to Pol and Aleix and managing to fend on Pedrosa’s attacks. We worked well, calmly and without pressure and the results are clear. It is a small step forward. Now we need to continue in this direction.”

More, from a press release issued by Angel Nieto Team:

BAUTISTA TAKES THIRD CONSECUTIVE NINTH PLACE FINISH

Ángel Nieto Team rider has an excellent race to finish inside the Top 10 at the Dutch TT, becoming the top independent Ducati rider at Assen

In one of the most exciting races of the season so far, Marc Márquez took the win at the Dutch TT this Sunday afternoon. A group of eight riders formed at the head of the field, providing countless overtaking moves, until finally the reigning World Champion emerged victorious. On the final laps Márquez was able to establish a gap between him and the rest of the field, breaking away and leaving Álex Rins and Maverick Viñales to join him on the podium. Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi, Cal Crutchlow and Jorge Lorenzo finished behind them, all less than five seconds off the winner.

The Ángel Nieto Team and Álvaro Bautista repeated a familiar result at Assen, with their third consecutive ninth place finish. The Spaniard was held up on the opening laps by Jack Miller, but once he passed him he was able to ride at a similar pace to that of the leading group. Bautista would finish the race just 7 seconds off race winner Márquez, and hopes to keep this form up at the coming races. Karel Abraham, who started from nineteenth place on the grid –having missed out on Q2 by just 5 tenths of a second- made a good start and moved up into 21st. However, he was unable to complete the race because of a sensor issue on the rear of his bike. This result gives Bautista 13th place in the overall standings, whilst Karel Abraham is 23rd. The next round of the MotoGP World Championship will take place on the weekend of July 15th, at Sachsenring in Germany.

9th Álvaro Bautista: “We continue to improve steadily and this is the result of everything that we have been doing this season. At the start of the year we found it hard to get the right setup but we’ve never stopped working, and this weekend we’ve improved our qualifying showing to ride closer to the main group. I started well today but the first lap was crazy, with everyone trying to overtake. I found it hard to pass Miller, even though I felt faster than him, but when I eventually got by I was running the same pace as the front group. It’s a pity, because if I would have started better, then I would have been with them. I’m very motivated and I feel stronger than ever.”

Karel Abraham (DNF): “I’m angry about not being able to finish the race. I wasn’t having a great race, but I’d got a good start and was riding 21st. Suddenly the bike began to stop and start; we had a problem with a rear sensor that prevented me from finishing the race. It’s a shame.”

More, from a press release issued by Alma Pramac Racing:

 DutchTT Assen – RACE

#DutchGP Race. Top 10 finish for Jack Miller. Danilo Petrucci crashed 8 laps to the end

The #DutchGp does not give particular satisfaction to Alma Pramac Racing. The high light of the day is Jack Miller’s Top 10. Danilo Petrucci crashed 8 laps to the end after a not particularly brilliant race.

The Australian rider started off well and recovered 4 positions at turn one. In the second lap he fought with Petrux for P11 and then was overtaken by Bautista. Halfway through the race Jack tried to chase Iannone for the Top 10 which he got for the 2 seconds penalty inflicted on the Italian rider by the Race Direction.

Petrux defended the 11th position after the start but on lap 11 he lost 4 positions due to a contact with Bautista. The rider from Terni pushes hard and the race pace is good but 8 laps from the end his race ends with a crash.

DNF – Danilo Petrucci

“It was not a good weekend. I’m sorry for the team because we did a good job anyway. I didn’t find feeling in braking but I tried to recover to take some points for the standings. I can’t wait to be in Germany to make a good race”.

P10 – Jack Miller

“It was a complicated weekend. I couldn’t find the right feeling. I was expecting a bit more to be honest, but in the race I managed to finish in the Top 10 and this is a good result. In Germany I want to do better”.

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Marc Marquez takes a mighty win at Assen, in one of the best MotoGP races ever

The 70th Dutch TT at Assen will probably long be recalled by bike fans around the world as one of the best MotoGP races in the series’ history; the eight protagonists for a podium finish in today’s 26-lap battle will definitely remember it that way.

The fight began when the lights went off and only ended when the chequered flag established the top-3 riders who fought in the closest top-fifteen of all time.

By that point, Marc Marquez had finally pulled a two-second gap on the chasing group, but until around three laps from the end he had been fighting tooth-and-nail with Rins, Viñales, Dovizioso, Rossi, and Lorenzo, without a moment’s pause.

The World Champion ultimately prevailed over all his opponents to take his 65th career win and his 39th in MotoGP, extending his advantage in the world Standings to 41 over Valentino Rossi.

Dani Pedrosa struggled to find a good pace in the early phases and was unable to make up ground from his back-of-the grid start. Step by step, he improved his speed and ended the race in 15th place.

Marc Marquez 93

WINNER

“It was a crazy race, full of adrenaline—this feeling is one of the reasons we do this sport! Yesterday, I was expecting something like this, but nothing like it actually was! We were a wild bunch, everyone fighting against everyone; I think all of us made contact with somebody else at some point. We had to attack and defend, attack and defend. We had so many ‘big moments’ and risked crashing. It was crazy! It was impossible to define the best strategy, impossible to make plans, so eventually I decided to just fight and see what we could do in the end. In the last three laps, I gave it everything, no matter the tyres, no matter the Championship. I had been trying to reduce the group because when you’re fighting for the title, you just want the fewest riders possible at the front, but it was difficult. Only when I saw I had more than one and a half seconds of advantage before the last lap did I think, Okay, we’ve got it, let’s just finish this lap. It was an important win and 25 very important points, but we need to keep going, keep pushing, and keep this same level.”

Dani Pedrosa 26

15TH

“It’s been a very difficult weekend, including the race. We didn’t start well and couldn’t make any progress in the early laps. In the beginning I had the same feeling from practice but little by little I started to be faster and more comfortable, so I improved my pace in the end and was able to do some decent lap times. I still wasn’t fast enough in the final chicane, but at least in the end I was lapping better than during the rest of weekend. We must work and try to be faster in qualifying.”

More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:

 Difficult weekend for Rabat and Simeon at Assen

MotoGP Dutch GP – Circuit Assen TT

The Dutch GP weekend started with difficulties for the Reale Avintia Racing riders and things didn’t improve in the race today.

Starting from 14th place on the grid, Tito Rabat overtook some riders to take 11th place after the crash of Danilo Petrucci. But with the Italian gone, Rabat started to struggle with the strong wind that blew on Sunday, he couldn’t find to his usual speed and had bad feelings riding the bike. Nevertheless, he continued to fight and finished in 16th position after a great battle with five more riders that were separate by just 0.5s when the chequered flag came down.

Teammate Xavier Simeon also had a tough weekend. He had a good start and was ahead of Abraham and Lüthi on the opening few laps of the race, but then the Belgian rider ran into problems with his rear tyre and eventually decided to retire.

The MotoGP World Championship will be back in action in two weeks time at the Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix.

Tito Rabat | P16

“We had difficulties all weekend long and today made no difference. First I felt good in the race and I was comfortable riding behind Petrucci, but when he crashed, it became very difficult to ride the bike because of the strong wind. I had no confidence, I was losing positions and in the end I couldn’t fight for more than 16th place. We have to work and prepare better for the next windy race, because it’s obvious that we have to improve in this area. At the end we got no points, but I finished only 16 seconds behind the winner, which is not so bad.”

Xavier Simeon | DNF

“It was difficult to understand what happened this weekend. After the test in Barcelona, where we did a promising race simulation and I got a good feeling with the bike, I was expecting a good result here at Assen. I’ve been always fast here and I love the track, so I came here determined to do well in front of the Belgian fans. But I was not comfortable during the whole weekend. In the race I struggled with the rear tyre after ten laps and we don’t know why. I want to say sorry to my team, because we all came here looking forward to a good result. Now we have to think of Germany”.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Showtime: Marquez wins a true clash of the titans at the ‘Cathedral’

Eight riders fight it out in one of the most incredible races of all time as the Dutch GP showcases the best of MotoGP™

Few races are written immediately into the history books as the flag flies at the finish line, but the 2018 Dutch GP will be one of them. It was Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who emerged from the melee to take the win on the Championship’s 70th visit to the track, but the headlines were stolen somewhat as the TT Circuit Assen hosted a showcase of the best of MotoGP™ starring Marquez, Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), teammate Maverick Viñales, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), teammate Jorge Lorenzo, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol). And those on the podium at the end – Marquez, Rins and Viñales – fought to the top in the closest top fifteen of all time.

Marquez took the holeshot from pole, with Crutchlow initially on his tail from second on the grid until Lorenzo sliced through from tenth to P2 after another awe-inspiring launch. The Italian and Catalan GP winner didn’t wait long to strike for the lead either, attacking Marquez and the two side-by-side in a war of wills until Lorenzo edged ahead. Marquez hit back a lap later at Turn 15, before Lorenzo repaid the favour once more. The duel was the first of many; an early taste of what was to come.

Rossi then made his first attack of the race at the final chicane, a first rehearsal, and set off after Lorenzo – with the Spaniard then suffering a moment soon after and Rossi smashing into the rear of the Ducati, unable to avoid him. But both stayed on and both stayed ahead, with Marquez, Dovizioso, Rins, Crutchlow and Viñales forming a train of riders fighting at the front.

Marquez took Rossi, Viñales took Crutchlow, Dovizioso took Rossi, Dovizioso took Marquez, Marquez struck back, Rins took Rossi and then Dovizioso…but Lorenzo held firm at the front. With eight riders within a second, from Lorenzo down to Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) at the back of the train, the touch paper was well and truly lit on an absolute classic.

The war continued before another bout of bigger drama with 15 laps to go as Rins attacked Marquez and the two were only a hair’s breadth apart – minimal contact, but the reigning Champion suffered a big moment as he got back on the gas. That dropped him back off the lead, with Lorenzo chased by Rins and Dovizioso.

The Italian dueled his teammate for the lead soon after and Lorenzo began to drop back slightly, with Viñales then taking the lead for the first time with eight to go. Next time around Marquez had sliced back through into the lead, before the next lap saw both almost throw it all away as they dueled and both headed wide. Then Rossi took over – another stunner from the ‘Doctor’ at the final chicane – but ‘DesmoDovi’ took him back.

Four wide at times, Marquez then made his way back into P1…and that was all she wrote, for the lead at least. After one of the closest, most spectacular races in the history of the world’s oldest motorsport Championship, the reigning Champion was able to pull clear to take a stunning fourth win of the year – and increase his points lead.

The battle behind wasn’t over, however, and Viñales had pushed through to second before a last lap attack from Rins – with the Suzuki rider taking his second ever premier class rostrum. Viñales was forced to settle for third but back on the podium for the first time since Texas…and the fight for fourth showed why Rossi had been rehearsing.

The ‘Doctor’ left it late but lunged up the inside of Dovizioso into the famous Geert Timmer chicane on the final lap, and he was ahead – but ‘DesmoDovi’ took him back on the exit, getting such a good exit that the number 04 was almost on a par with Viñales over the line.

Marquez, Rins, Viñales, Dovizioso and Rossi were followed home by Crutchlow and Lorenzo, with Zarco, Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team) and Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) completing the top ten in one of the greatest races contested on two wheels.

Sadly, that’s now it from the TT Circuit Assen for another year. Can anything top the Dutch GP? After one of the best races of all time, the first to try will be the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring on the 15th July…and then, there are 10 more chances to showcase more of the stunning class of 2018.

Bagnaia blasts clear from stunning podium fight

The Championship leader extends his lead with Assen win as drama and classic battles unfold behind

Francesco Bagnaia (Sky Racing Team VR46) took a dominant fourth victory of the season at the Motul TT Assen after leading from start to finish, eventually taking the checkered flag 1.748 seconds ahead the chasing pack. But Catalan GP race winner Fabio Quartararo (Lightech – Speed Up Racing) produced a stunning fight back through the pack to secure his second consecutive podium in P2 and light up the fight for the podium, beating third placed Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) to the line after Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) retired out of second place with a rare puncture on Lap 21 – a cruel blow for the Italian after a brilliant ride.

‘Pecco’ got the perfect launch from pole to grab the holeshot into Turn 1 as the top three on the grid held station, with Marcel Schroetter (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Marquez tucked in behind the Italian. Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was the early hard charger, climbing up to fourth on Lap 1 before getting the better of his teammate a lap later.

Bagnaia’s gap was hovering around the 0.5 second mark for the first half-dozen laps, before the Championship leader pulled the pin to stretch his lead to over a second on lap eight, with Marquez moving his way up to second. After starting 13th, Baldassarri was man on the move, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap eight to reel in Mir, before carving his way past Schroetter and Marquez to slot into second position.

By this point, Bagnaia was looking imperious as the gap crept up to the two second mark, with Baldassarri stretching away from the battle for third. Further down the order, Miguel Oliveira’s (Red Bull KTM Ajo) early race progress to seventh halted, with Quartararo now the rider with scintillating pace. The Frenchman put himself firmly in the podium picture with four laps to go, passing Mir and then quickly made Schroetter his next victim with a sensational pass at Turn 8. Then, heartbreak hit for Baldassarri as the Italian pulled into the pits with a rear tyre puncture with three to go, before Quartararo used his superior edge grip to slice past Marquez at Turn 4 – a sublime move.

In the end though, no one had an answer for the number 42 at the front, with Quatararo and Marquez rounding out the podium. Schroetter was P4 for a second race in a row, beating Mir to the line as the rookie finished fifth. Oliveira salvaged sixth after starting P17, but loses ground in the Championship to Bagnaia heading into Round 9, with teammate Brad Binder recovering to P7 after starting 22nd.

After earning his first Grand Prix front row start, Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) leaves Assen with a solid eight points under his belt with P8, as Sam Lowes (Swiss Innovative Investors) crossed the line P9 for a second consecutive race. Just behind the Brit was Andrea Locatelli (Italtrans Racing Team), who got the better of teammate Mattia Pasini – the two Italians were P10 and P11 respectively. Augusto Fernandez (Pons HP40) was an impressive 12th at Assen as he looks forward to the rest of the year in the Pons team, with Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) and Simone Corsi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) – recovering from the back of the grid – rounding out the point scoring positions.

A commanding weekend for Bagnaia at the ‘Cathedral’ means he takes a 16-point advantage to the German GP over Oliveira, as the intermediate class head towards the mid-point of the season. Will the Championship pendulum swing once again at the Sachsenring? We’ll see on the 15th July.

Martin times it to perfection amid Moto3™ drama at Assen

The Spaniard turns his run of bad luck around at the Dutch GP to take the victory and the Championship lead

Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) has become the first to win a Moto3™ race at the TT Circuit Assen from pole position, breaking the jinx in style to fight it out at the front before pulling the pin to perfection. The Spaniard crossed the line nearly seven tenths clear of a duel to the line between second-placed Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and P3 finisher Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing), and the 25 points see Martin take back the top of the Championship after late drama for former points leader Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PruestelGP) as the Italian crashed out of contention on the final lap.

Martin got the perfect start from pole, safe from attack into Turn 1 as Bastianini tucked in behind and third was taken by his teammate Lorenzo Dalla Porta. Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) dropped from the front row, and the biggest gain was made by Championship leader Bezzecchi from tenth on the grid, with Italian taking third by the end of Lap 1.

Bezzecchi then attacked Bastianini for second and set his sights on race leader Martin, with the two joined by Canet in the hunt to cut the gap the leader had pulled out. But it was Canet who had the pace to do it, taking Martin as soon as he reached him and Bezzecchi then doing the same.

John McPhee (CIP – Green Power), meanwhile, had pulled away from the second group to join the fight for the win as it became a five-way scrap for glory with 16 to go. With some incredible moves exchanged between the five men, the laps ticked down with nothing in it and positions chopping and changing – classic Moto3™ at the ‘Cathedral’.

With two laps to go, Bezzecchi was in the lead but the Italian headed wide and Martin pounced, with the Spaniard then immediately pulling the pin, half a second clear in the blink of an eye. Canet was the man pushing to catch him, before drama then hit as McPhee suddenly slid out at Turn 9 and the fight became four.

Martin was free and clear of it with almost eight tenths in his pocket as they began the final lap, but the drama behind wasn’t over there as another bike then slid out into the gravel – that of Bezzecchi as disaster struck for the Italian. That made the stakes that much bigger for Martin as he crossed the line clear to take not only the win but also the Championship lead – with Canet just able to hold off Bastianini for second.

The second group fighting over sixth was eight riders all packed together to squabble it out, but with the crashes up ahead it became the fight for fourth and a stunning performance from top rookie Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai) took that fourth by a mere tenth. He finished just ahead of Czech veteran Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PruestelGP), who came from 23rd on the grid after a penalty and put in an impressive push through the pack to complete the top five.

Dalla Porta beat Darryn Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) to P6 by just 0.022 but it was nevertheless the South African’s best result of the season so far, with another close fight just behind the two to decide eighth as Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Skull Rider) pipped Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) and Bulega. Bulega, completing the top ten from the front row, therefore put his first points on the board in 2018 after a difficult start to the year for the former FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ Junior World Champion.

Marcos Ramirez (Bester Capital Dubai) split the two Sky Racing Team VR46 machines in P11 as Bulega’s teammate and fellow former Moto3™ Junior World Champion Dennis Foggia came home twelfth for his first points of the year as well, with Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Albert Arenas (Angel Nieto Team Moto3) and Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) completing the scorers – Toba from P29 on the grid.

Now it’s time to leave the ‘Cathedral’ and head a little south and a little east as the paddock heads for the German GP, with the lead and the momentum having changed once again. Will the Sachsenring give it another shake up? Find out on 15th July.

More, from a press release issued by KTM:

POL ESPARGARO WINS BATTLE FOR 12TH PLACE AT ASSEN WITH SECOND CLOSEST FINISH TO THE TOP

RACE 8th Rd. MotoGP 2018, TT Circuit Assen (NED)

Sunny, blustery and warm conditions at the historic TT Circuit Assen was the stage for Pol Espargaro to pick up 4 points for 12th position at what was the eighth round of nineteen in 2018 MotoGP.

MotoGP

A 26 lap extravaganza of intense racing, overtaking and close-calls again demonstrated why MotoGP is one of the most watchable sports in the world. Red Bull KTM played their part in the middle of the premier class pack with Pol Espargaro emerging triumphant from a duel with the factory Aprilias and obtaining 12th position on the KTM RC16 for his seventh consecutive points-scoring performance.

The Spaniard crossed the finish line fractions of a second ahead of his brother Aleix, Scott Redding and factory Honda rider Dani Pedrosa for a strong culmination to a weekend that saw both some technical progress but also some frustration through the fast kinks and elongated corners of the Dutch layout. Overall #44 was less than sixteen seconds from race winner Marc Marquez.

Bradley Smith missed the points with his 17th position. The Brit, who boasts two podium finishes at Assen in two different categories, had to drop his speed due to a problematic rear tyre that affected his grip.

Espargaro: “I think I prefer a 12th place like we managed today than a thousand P11s! I think we deserved this position and we were in front of a lot of people as well as being just fifteen seconds from the top. We are not missing that much anymore and it is good to finish the race like this and with the feeling you have done a good job. We need to work on making one good fast lap in qualifying because we cannot take profit enough of a new tyre…but we can make some improvements during the race. It is now easier to ride this bike compared to last year. We couldn’t do more than 12th here but we’re happy with that. It was a busy and fun race.”

Smith: “The first half of the race was good and I was in the same group as Pol but then something strange happened with my rear tyre and we hadn’t experienced anything like that all weekend. I had the same tyres as Pol we ended up pretty much on the canvas, so something went amiss there and we have to analyse everything. My tyre just fell off the earth and even in a straight line it was spinning. A frustrating way to end the race but these things happen. When the tyre was there I was competitive and fighting for points. I’ll just have to accept that today wasn’t my day.”

Mike Leitner (Team Manager MotoGP): “Even though it doesn’t look like it on paper I think this was one of our better races of the year because we looked good in FP3, FP4, Warm-Up and then the race proved our form. Unfortunately we could show our potential in Q1 with a lap-time, and this is why we started far back on the grid and it did not help us for the race result. If Pol could have started further towards the middle of the field, like usual, then we might have been able to gain one or two positions more. But we should be happy because we made some small steps with our package that seems to have worked. We have to fight for each position and it is tight and tough but 2018 has shown that we have settled in the middle of this 24-rider grid as a stable competitor and everybody at KTM should be proud of that. We’ll keep pushing and working to make the top ten consistently.”

Moto2

Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder took their Red Bull KTM Ajo’s KTM Moto2 machines to 6th and 7th positions in the 24-lap Moto2 dash. Swiss Innovative Investors’ Sam Lowes was also in the top ten with 9th place. Oliveira lost a little ground to series leader and Grand Prix winner Francesco Bagnaia and the gap between the pair at the peak of the Moto2 standings is now 16 points.

Aki Ajo (Team Manager Moto2): “This has been a tricky weekend for all our Moto2 team. We have to be very happy with the final results in the race: The sixth position from Miguel (Oliveira) and seventh for Brad (Binder). Despite this and the great work done by the entire team throughout the weekend, we have not yet been able to perform at our best in practice. We have to find the key to achieving better positions on the grid. If we do that, we will not have to risk so much in the race. We’ll see in Germany if we can find the solution.”

Moto3

KTM placed in the top five of a typically chaotic and gripping Moto3 affair thanks to Bester Capital Dubai’s Jaume Masia and Redox PruestelGP’s Jakub Kornfeil finishing in 4th and 5th on the KTM RC250 GP respectively. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Darryn Binder ended the race on 7th place which was also the best finsih for the younger brother of Brad Binder. Sadly Kornfeil’s teammate and championship contender, Marco Bezzecchi, crashed out of the podium fight on the last lap. The Italian trails Jorge Martin by just 2 points.

D. Binder: “The bike has worked well all weekend. I was just struggling to be consistent and fast for several consecutive laps. I knew that when I started the race I could have a good pace, so when the lights went out I tried to gain as many places as possible. I enjoyed a good fight; I was in the group that finally peaked for fifth place, and in the end I managed to finish seventh. I felt strong today. If at the next few GPs we can find a better pace on Friday and improve our result in Saturday qualifying, then I’m sure that we can fight for the top positions on Sundays.”

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Emerging in front after an incredible opening few laps at Assen, Can Öncü then put in another perfect performance to match his dominant Saturday victory. The 14-year-old Turk has stretched his Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup points advantage to an impressive 49 after 5 of 12 races. The chasing pack of KTM RC250 RBs provided plenty of entertainment with 16-year-old Czech Filip Salac making a very strong run into second after finishing fifth on Saturday and holding off Xavier Artigas, the 15-year old Spaniard, who had the runner up spot 23 hours before.

C. Öncü: “I am very happy about the race. Not just because I won but because I managed to control the race the way I needed to. I made another good start but I wasn’t aggressive enough at the first corner and two riders got past me then. A few corners later I think it was Yamanaka who banged my rear brake and the back tyre slid out. After that I could feel that the rear brake was very hard so I was playing with it a little down the straight and adjusting it to make it softer, it seemed to work. So in the first few laps there was a lot of passing but then I concentrated on getting in front and pushed to get a lead. I managed to open up a gap and then I could control that so I’m very happy. I want to thank everyone around me as well as all the fans, especially Francesc Julià and the other technical staff who work so hard to give me a great bike.”

From one packed and iconic venue to another: MotoGP will visit the compact and twisty climes of the Sachsenring next for the German stop on the Grand Prix calendar in two weeks time.

Next Race: July 15, 2018 – Sachsenring (GER)

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

VIÑALES TAKES PODIUM AT ACTION-PACKED RACE IN ASSEN

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi showed their superfast pace in today’s TT Assen race. The competition was incredibly tough amongst the leading group, with positions being swapped every lap. The teammates finished in third and fifth place respectively.

Assen (The Netherlands), 1st July 2018

Today the TT Circuit Assen hosted the closest battle of the 2018 MotoGP season so far. At one point the front group consisted of eight riders and Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi were in the mix, both having the pace to fight for the win. The Dutch fans were on the edge of their seats as the ranking order kept changing. Since today is also Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.‘s 63rd anniversary, the factory riders were extra eager to secure a place on the podium. Ultimately it was Viñales who took third, whilst Rossi was ran wide in the latter stages of the race and finished in fifth place.

Starting from sixth on the grid, Viñales was lying in ninth place as he approached the first corner, before settling into eighth as he completed the first lap. After six laps he moved up to sixth place and tapped onto the back of the five-rider group fighting for the lead, bringing Cal Crutchlow and Johann Zarco with him.

Following a scrapping session with Zarco, Viñales passed Rossi on lap 12. Next on the list was Alex Rins, and with 11 laps to go the younger Yamaha rider secured fourth, closely followed by the other Movistar Yamaha bike. He was at that time the fastest rider on track, and whilst battling with his teammate he managed to overtake Jorge Lorenzo. Soon after he passed Marc Marquez for second place, at the start of lap 18, and went on to take the lead from Andrea Dovizioso with eight laps to go.

However, a big wobble cost him time and saw him fall back behind Marquez to second place. The number 25 rider kept close, but they both ran wide, dropping him back to fourth. Yet, he still was not out for the count. Viñales fought his way back to second on the penultimate lap but came just came short trying to hold Rins behind him to the finish line. Despite a sensational last run through the Geert Timmer chicane, he ended the race in third place, just 0.039s from second and a 2.308s gap to first.

At the start of the race, Rossi briefly fell back from third to fifth place, but soon regained his original grid position before the end of lap 1. The Doctor didn‘t want the two front men to escape and pushed hard in the early laps. At the end of lap 4 he launched his first attack on Marquez and made it stick.

Next up was Lorenzo, but contact between the two riders meant the Italian lost some time. It couldn‘t have come at a more inconvenient moment, as the pressure from behind started to build up. On lap six the leading group had grown to a total of eight riders.

Rossi dropped back as far as seventh due to the constant attack, but he is known for his quick comebacks. He worked his way back up the order, all the while also battling with his teammate. He was lying in fourth place until 5 laps before the end, when Marquez and Viñales ran wide. The crowd favourite took the opportunity to lead the race for the first time as they crossed the start/finish line, but it wasn‘t to last. The others were not letting him get away and pushed him back to fourth. Rossi, however, had fight left in him. He regained second place, but this time he ran wide after almost colliding with Dovizioso in turn 1. With less than two laps to go, he was pushing 100 per cent. He managed to put in a final overtake on Dovizioso in the last corner, but it didn‘t stick, making the Yamaha rider cross the finish line in fifth place, 2.963s from first.

Rossi‘s fifth place keeps him in second position in the championship standings with 99 points, 6 points ahead of teammate Viñales, who remains in third position. Yamaha stayed in third place in the Constructor Championship, with a 35-point margin to first, while the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team remain in first position in the team standings and now have a 11-point gap to the second team.

MotoGP will be back in action in two weeks’ time at the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, held at the Sachsenring from July 13th – 15th.

LIN JARVIS

MANAGING DIRECTOR, YAMAHA MOTOR RACING

Today was a fantastic race for MotoGP. I can‘t possibly imagine how many overtakes there were from start to finish. Both Maverick and Valentino had great form, so we‘re a little disappointed we couldn‘t have both riders on the podium today. Obviously, we also really wanted to win, but that said, it‘s good to see Maverick back on the podium – a real confidence boost for him. The biggest difference today was that, despite both our riders not having the best start, we saw Maverick being more aggressive at the beginning of the race. I think that helped him today to stay with the leading pack, catch up, and take the well-deserved podium. Valentino could have definitely been on the podium as well if he hadn‘t run wide in the latter stages of the race when he was close to Dovizioso. Now we move on to Sachsenring, which is generally not bad for us as well, so we‘ll continue to work hard and push. But first I want to thank both our guys and the crew for their great efforts today.

MAVERICK VIÑALES

For sure I‘m very happy. We‘ve been studying how to improve the first laps, we worked hard, and it was good to feel strong, especially in the middle of the race. After that the tyre dropped a lot, but I think we can solve this pretty easily for the next races. The TT Assen track helps a little, because I‘m fast here, but for the other tracks we need to continue to work hard. My plan today was to get to first place and push, that‘s why I didn‘t want to let Marc pass me in turn 9. Then I went very close to the gravel, because I braked so late. Anyway, it‘s nice to be back and nice to be strong. We weren‘t in the best position to win, because we started a little bit towards the back, but in the next races we need to think back to this weekend, because this strategy works. On lap 6 I rode a 1‘34.1s. I thought I could ride faster towards the end, but I got a little bit of arm pump and couldn‘t control the speed and it was crazy. Last year in Germany was a good race, I was quite strong, and we need to keep working like this. We know the way to go fast in Sachsenring, so it‘s time to work and get the job done.

VALENTINO ROSSI

It was a wild race. I was so happy to be there, at the front, because it was exciting for all of the race, but I’m sad because I think I had the potential to arrive on the podium. The problem was that at the beginning I was very unlucky with Lorenzo. Lorenzo touched the curb and lost the front at a very high speed. I was already accelerating, but I overtook him in a good way, and we didn’t crash, so that was very good. After, during the race, it was very difficult and I tried to control the tyre degradation, because I had the soft option on the rear, so I knew that at the end it could be very much on the limit. With four or five laps to go I tried to attack. I was doing well, because I was in second place. When fighting with Dovizioso, he tried to overtake me in the first corner, but he arrived a little in delay so, unfortunately, I had to go outside of the track. We lost a lot of time, me especially. I think me and Dovi both had the potential to arrive on the podium and like this we arrived just in fourth and fifth place.

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:

A SUPERB SECOND PLACE FOR ALEX RINS IN ASSEN

Alex Rins: 2nd (+ 2.269)

Andrea Iannone: 11th (+ 14.255)

• A best-ever result in MotoGP for Alex Rins.

• Andrea Iannone stays on the cusp of the lead group.

• Team SUZUKI ECSTAR take 4th podium in 8 races.

The ‘Cathedral of Speed’ was fast furious throughout the weekend, and Sunday’s race was no exception. Assen Circuit stayed dry and the pace was hot from the get go.

Alex Rins, from the second row, was able to get a good start and Andrea Iannone soon joined him, also making good progress from his 9th slot start. The pair began to mix it in the leading group, and as the frantic and combattive race got closer with each lap, Alex Rins used his good feeling and form at Turn 5 to great effect; passing several riders there and constantly placing himself in podium contention. The young Spaniard executed a brave move on Marquez for 2nd place with 15 laps to go, proving his desire to bring his GSX-RR back to the podium. In the final laps he pushed hard once again and completed a great pass on Viñales before the final chicane, fighting all the way to the flag for his second podium of 2018. Meanwhile, Andrea Iannone managed to keep himself in the Top 10 throughout the race, despite struggling with rear grip and movement, but a 2-second penalty for over-running turns 15-18 demoted him to 11th place.

Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager

“It was an incredible race. This morning Alex’s feeling was not so good, so despite hoping for a good race I couldn’t imagine getting this second position. Andrea had good speed, especially in qualifying, but it didn’t transfer to the race. This is a problem we’ve had for the last few races, so we have to fix it. We’ve had several podiums now, some third positions and some second positions, now we have to go for a win.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager

“Of course we enjoyed the race a lot, it was really great to have Alex in the middle of the pack, battling with all the top riders. I really liked his spirit, fighting until the end and making a move on the last lap for second position. Assen is a difficult circuit and it’s easy to make mistakes, a few riders did, but he was very good for the whole race – this is the Alex we hope to see every Sunday! Unfortunately Andrea couldn’t do a really good race, he was struggling, especially with movement on the rear. At the beginning he was there in the front group, but then he lost some ground and unfortunately he couldn’t keep contact with the others, despite good lap times. I hope next time we’ll have both riders fast and fighting together. Anyway, we’re happy with this fourth podium.”

Alex Rins

“This morning I was feeling really sick, some problems with my stomach. But the doctors at Clinica Mobile gave me some medicine and it took away the pain, so I must really thank them, because when I felt better I thought ‘wow, this will be my race!’. It was a fantastic battle and I learned a lot of things during the race. Our race pace was good and I was able to enjoy it! There were a lot of over-takes and tight moves, so I was always trying to push to stay with the others and hold my space. I feel very positive with my bike and with my team, we all really want to improve and win. We’ve had a really competitive bike since Qatar, but we’ve been able to change a few things to get extra power and better performance, so I hope I can stay at the top for the next races too. I feel confident for Sachsenring.”

Andrea Iannone

“It was a bit of a difficult race. From the beginning I had problems with the bike moving a lot, so I struggled with this problem. But together with the engineers we’ll try to resolve it. We’ve already tried a few things, but we won’t give up until we find the solution. We have good one-lap pace, but we need to improve race pace and tyre longevity. I was on the limit a lot today and for that reason I made a mistake, but sometimes it’s like this in racing. I’m really happy for Alex, he made a really good race and it shows our potential. I hope I can use all of my potential soon too. Today my pace was good and I was quite close to the front group, so our target for Sachsenring is to try to improve a few things and stay closer to the front.”

More, from a press release issued by Michelin:

 Sunday 1 July 2018

MICHELIN TYRES WORSHIP AT ‘THE CATHEDRAL’ AS MARQUEZ IS VICTORIOUS

Michelin saw its range of MotoGP™ tyres put through an intensive examination during today’s Motul TT Assen as the top riders in the world served up a masterclass of racing which culminated in victory for Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).

A weekend of near perfect weather led to the riders being able to assess all the different compounds of MICHELIN Power Slick tyres that were available at the 4,542m Dutch circuit, which is known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed’ due to its historic significance and the reverence with which it is held in motorcycle racing. As the competitors lined up for the start, a flurry of activity saw many teams change tyres to make sure they had the optimum pairing for their bike and rider, as the free practices leading to the race had demonstrated all compounds would be raceable and meant last-minute alterations to their selections were always likely. Pole-setter Marquez got the holeshot, but was passed on lap-one by the winner of the previous two races Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team). There then followed one of the most intense and exciting races in recent history, as six different riders on bikes from four manufacturers and using four different configurations of MICHELIN Power Slick tyres led at various times throughout the 26-lap race.

Michelin’s tyres gave the riders the confidence to push to the limit this afternoon – despite a strong breeze blowing across the track – and the lead swapped numerous time between Marquez, Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), Alex Rins (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) and Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP). The capacity crowd of 105,000 at trackside were enthralled by the skill of all concerned and with the grip generated by the MICHELIN Power Slicks as the race quickly became a classic, before Marquez eventually made the break with two-laps to go to take victory and consolidate his championship lead. He was followed home by Rins, with Viñales – who also set the fastest lap of the race – in third. Dovizioso took fourth and Rossi was fifth, they were chased home by Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) as he took sixth and the position of First Independent Rider. Lorenzo crossed the line in seventh, with Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) eighth. Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team) raced his Ducati to his third consecutive ninth place, with Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) rounding out the top-ten. The performance of the Michelin tyres was further enhanced in their ability to provide fast and close racing throughout the whole field, as the event produced the closest ever top-15 in history, as all the point-scoring riders were only separated by a fraction over 16-seconds – the previous best was a 23-second gap in Qatar this season.

Michelin and the MotoGP field will now make the short journey across the border between The Netherlands and Germany, as the paddock heads to Sachsenring, when the eastern German circuit will stage round nine of this season’s enthralling championship on Sunday 15th July.

Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team:

“Today was a really difficult race as everyone was trying to manage the tyres and it was very windy, but this created the conditions for the best race of the season. It was a great fight and this was the first time that we had used the softest tyre, so I had to learn to manage that and in the end I gave everything and the tyre was there for me, so this was really important. I feel good with the bike, my package and the tyres, and I’m happy to be part of this great championship, because today I think everyone enjoyed it.”

Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager:

“What an amazing race! It was an honour for us to be involved and to see our tyres pushed to the limit by the guys concerned, it was especially pleasing as it showed their trust and confidence in the performance of the rubber throughout the whole race. The weather has been consistent all weekend and this has enabled all the teams to get an optimum set-up for one of the season’s most complex tracks, and this has then been displayed on race day with the top-15 being so close. We again had different combinations of tyres being used on the front and rear, Marc and Maverick both chose a medium front and soft rear, whilst Alex went with a medium/hard mixture. Of the other leaders in the race, Valentino was also on a medium/soft pairing, Andrea went with a medium/hard and Jorge made up a fourth different selection with a soft front and hard rear. This is again justification of the positive mix-and-match nature we are aiming to supply to all riders and teams to give them the best performance at all circuits.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Andrea Dovizioso finishes fourth and Jorge Lorenzo seventh at the end of an exciting Dutch TT race at Assen

The two Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo finished an exciting Dutch Grand Prix held today at the Assen TT circuit in fourth and seventh place respectively.

The Italian rider, who started from the second row, fought in the leading group throughout the entire race and also held the lead of the GP for three laps after the mid-point. In the final stages however Andrea was passed by Marquez, Rins and Viñales and he finished the race in fourth place after holding off the attacks from Rossi.

Team-mate Jorge Lorenzo also ran a good race, and despite starting from the fourth row, he managed to storm into second place at the first corner. The Spanish rider then passed Marquez and crossed the line in the lead at the end of the opening lap. After being passed by his Honda rival, Jorge took control of the race for a further 12 laps, but then lost touch with the leading group on lap 18 and he took the chequered flag in seventh place.

In the overall Riders’ standings, Andrea Dovizioso moves up to fifth place with 79 points, while Jorge Lorenzo, with 75 points, is now in seventh place. Ducati maintains second in the Constructors’ standings with 145 points.

The next round of the championship will be the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring circuit from 13th to 15th July.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 4th

“It was an awesome race, for sure more for the fans than the riders because it was really difficult! We were fast and competitive and we worked well throughout the entire weekend, but in the last eight laps the rear tyre unfortunately let up on me so I tried to defend my position until the end and I finished fourth. I had hoped for a podium, but to be honest today we couldn’t do anything more and so in the end I’m happy, even though we must be in a position to manage the tyres better because we arrived at the end of the race with very little grip. In any case we did a good job and for this I’d like to thank my team.”

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 7th

“Today the wind made the track conditions difficult and I knew it was going to be a complicated race, but I made a very good start, one of my best with the Ducati, and I was able to gain a lot of positions and conclude the opening lap in the lead. The pace wasn’t very fast and I stayed in the lead for a lot of laps. Then, when Dovizioso passed me, I lost a bit of rhythm, I began to feel the gradual deterioration of the rear tyre, and several riders were able to pass me. The positive part of this weekend is that, even though we didn’t have the best pace, we were able to do a great race in any case and be competitive for lots of laps, although I’m not very satisfied with the final position at the flag.”