Dutch TT, Assen: MotoGP Round 8 Post-Race Report
The Doctor is back on top with a win at the Dutch TT in Holland! The race became a two-way battle between Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi. The Italian Stallion was unable to shake Marquez from his tail and managed to keep ahead with some major controversy on the last corner on the last lap! There are many views and opinions on the incident. Marc felt that he won the race and Rossi cut the corner gaining an advantage. Livio Suppo also agreed and was of the view that Rossi cut the corner and being an intelligent rider knew what he had accomplished. However, Rossi thought Marc bumped him off the track and that his only option to stay upright was to cut the corner. This will be a topic that fans talk about for the next couple of weeks as it could have finished either way. Jorge Lorenzo was not able to take his fifth straight win and was unable to keep up with Marc and Valentino’s race pace. The Spanish Champion believed that Rossi was more competitive from the start. The harder tyre option gave Lorenzo more problems and the time lost could not be regained. Jorge is looking ahead to the German race, which is going to be a challenge. This is an event where he has not had a race victory but anything can happen in MotoGP.
Without a doubt it was one of Rossi’s best race victories to date. Rossi pushed to the maximum and he will be looking to maximise the points in every race because the Championship is so close. There is a 10-point gap between Rossi and Lorenzo. Rossi thinks the Championship will arrive to the last race and the last lap! In contrast to this, Dani Pedrosa did an impeccable job to stay in the race at Assen. Dani finished in 8th position after suffering a nasty crash, which cut up his fingers and damaged his bike beyond repair. Pedrosa had to use his second bike and from the start did not feel comfortable. The success of a rider rests upon their mental strength and courage. Dani took on board the pain and pushed through to finish in the top ten. Well-done Pedrosa!
It was a very unfortunate race for both Jack Miller and Anthony West who did not get through the race to bank some points and key data. Jack was taken out by Hector Barbera and hit the gravel very hard. Jack is lucky that he did not damage his neck. Anthony West on the other hand was part of a nasty accident that had Spanish rider Luis Salom jumping off his bike that was on fire and damaging his foot. The amount of oil on the track caused the race to be red flagged and reduced to a race distance of 16 laps. It was Johann Zarco that took the victory from Tito Rabat and claimed yet another backflip in crocs! Zarco did an incredible job. Race of the day goes to the Moto3 class. Every lap was full of adrenaline and it came down to the last lap and last sector for victory. Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira won ahead of French rider Fabio Quartararo and Championship leader Danny Kent. The highlight of the end of the race was Niklas Ajo’s gutsy control to finish on his knees across the finish line after being thrown from his bike and keeping it up. See you all for the next race in Germany!
