The 10th round of the MotoGP, the Dutch Grand Prix, was held at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands from June 27th to 29th, and following on from the Italian Grand Prix, Marc Marquez (Ducati) won both the sprint race and the final race.
Ai Ogura (Aprilia) finished 16th in the sprint race and crashed out of the final race.
Marc Marquez wins the sprint and the final
In qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) took pole position for the fourth time this season, followed by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) in second place and Alex Marquez (Ducati) in third place, with championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati) in fourth place.
Ai Ogura (Aprilia) crashed in qualifying and finished 20th, meaning she had to start from the back of the pack.
In the sprint race held on Saturday afternoon, Marc M. won. His brother Alex M. came second, and Aprilia factory rider Marco Bezzecchi came third. Ogura finished in 16th place.
In Sunday’s final race, Ogura crashed at the fifth corner on the first lap and was forced to retire early.
Bagnaia took the lead in the race. Marc M. took second place, and Bezzecchi, who started from fifth, took third. Quartararo, who started from pole position, dropped back to seventh. Furthermore, Pedro Acosta (KTM) overtook Alex M. to move up to fourth place.
On the fifth lap, Marc M. caught up with Bagnaia and took the lead. Bagnaia was in second, Bezzecchi in third, Acosta in fourth, and Alex M. in fifth. However, Alex M. made contact with Acosta and fell, forcing him to retire.
According to MotoGP.com, Alex M, who is second in the championship standings, was examined at the medical centre and diagnosed with a fractured left hand. Alex M will return to Madrid, Spain, for surgery. The FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel has not issued a ruling on either rider for the accident.
On the ninth lap, midway through the race, Bezzecchi caught up with Bagnaia and moved up to second place. Meanwhile, Bagnaia was briefly overtaken by Acosta, but later regained third place. However, the gap between Bagnaia and Acosta was small, and Acosta stayed close to Bagnaia as he completed the laps.
Marc M. maintained his lead and took the win. This was his sixth win of the season. It was also his sixth win of the season, winning both the sprint race and the final race. Bezzecchi came in second, and Bagnaia came in third.
Acosta came in fourth, and Maverick Viñales (KTM) came in fifth. Yamaha’s best finish among Japanese manufacturers was 10th place with Quartararo. Honda’s best finish was 12th place with Johann Zarco.
The 11th round, the German Grand Prix, will be held at Sachsenring in Germany from July 11th to 13th.
Although he missed out on pole position, Marc M. won the race ©MotoGP.com
