Dutch TT MotoGP Assen highlights Marc Marquez held off a relentless Marco Bezzecchi to secure victory in a dramatic race that saw six DNFs including Alex Marquez crash.
The event, marking the 100th anniversary of the Dutch TT, unfolded under sunny skies and optimal track conditions, setting the stage for a fierce 26-lap contest that would test the mettle of the world’s best riders and their machines.
From the outset, anticipation was high as the grid formed with Fabio Quartararo starting from pole position in a special livery celebrating Yamaha’s 70th anniversary.
However, Quartararo’s hopes for a homecoming triumph quickly faded when he was slow off the line, dropping to fourth by Turn 1 as Francesco Bagnaia launched perfectly from the front row to seize the early lead.
The opening corners saw a flurry of jostling with Alex Marquez and Marc Marquez also surging forward, while Quartararo had to fend off Franco Morbidelli who nearly lost control exiting Turn 1, momentarily allowing Quartararo to regain fourth.
While Bagnaia proceeded to lead the opening four laps, Marc Marquez wasted no time in asserting his intentions, making a decisive move into second place at Turn 1 on the second lap, relegating his brother Alex to third.
The younger Marquez, however, soon found himself under pressure from Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta both of whom were determined to break into the leading group. Bezzecchi later executed a bold pass on Alex while Acosta tried to muscle his way past the Gresini Ducati.
However, as Alex and Acosta engaged in a fierce battle at the Turn 5 hairpin on lap six the two riders made contact, resulting in Alex Marquez crashing out heavily.
Later medical reports confirmed a fracture to his left hand, specifically a second metacarpal neck fracture, likely requiring surgery. The crash which topped MotoGP Assen highlights was reviewed by the FIM Stewards, who deemed it a racing incident with no further action necessary.
The drama continued as Alex’s Gresini teammate Fermin Aldeguer suffered a highside crash shortly after, forcing Quartararo onto the grass to avoid the incident. Honda’s Joan Mir was also caught up in the aftermath and retired from the race.
The attrition rate grew further with early retirements for Pramac’s Miguel Oliveira and Trackhouse Aprilia’s Ai Ogura, the latter crashing out on the opening lap.
With the field reduced, the focus shifted to the battle at the front with a seven-rider lead group featuring Marc Marquez, Bezzecchi, Acosta, Bagnaia, Morbidelli, Maverick Viñales, and Fabio Di Giannantonio in contention.
Bezzecchi methodically picked off rivals, passing Bagnaia and later set his sights on Marquez. However, Marquez’s mastery of defensive lines and the Ducati’s superior rear grip on corner exit made overtaking nearly impossible, forcing Bezzecchi to bide his time and look for any opportunity.
Bezzecchi hounded Marquez for nearly 20 laps, never allowing the Spaniard to relax but he was pushing his Aprilia over the limit, resulting to a big rear slide through Turn 12.
With the setback, Marquez managed to eke out a small gap and ultimately crossed the line just 0.635 seconds ahead of Bezzecchi, marking his 68th premier-class victory and etching his name alongside Giacomo Agostini in the MotoGP record books.
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Francesco Bagnaia settled into a lonely third place ultimately finishing 2.666 seconds behind Marquez.
Acosta, meanwhile, delivered his best performance of the season for KTM, briefly challenging for the podium before losing touch with the leaders and finishing fourth while Tech3’s Maverick Viñales made it two KTMs in the top five.
Fabio Di Giannantonio claimed sixth after a spirited duel with VR46 teammate Franco Morbidelli who was handed a long lap penalty for not yielding time after shortcutting the final chicane in his efforts to defend against Di Giannantonio.
Morbidelli ultimately finished seventh, ahead of Raul Fernandez, who brought his Trackhouse Aprilia home in eighth.
Enea Bastianini crossed the line ninth narrowly ahead of Fabio Quartararo whose race was compromised early by the chaos ahead of him and never recovered the pace that had earned him pole position, finishing a disappointing tenth for Monster Yamaha.
Brad Binder, Johann Zarco, Alex Rins, and Jack Miller rounded out the points-paying positions, with rookie Somkiat Chantra scoring his first MotoGP point in fifteenth for Idemitsu Honda LCR.
