Marc Marquez equals 2nd all-time premier class wins
- Christopher Conway
- Jun 29
- 3 min read
Written by: Christopher Conway
Round 10 of the MotoGP Championship took place in Assen with the 100th running of the TT. Marc Marquez extended his championship lead with a convincing performance.
The Dutch Grand Prix at Assen got off to a great start for our championship leader, Marc Marquez. Starting from the second row. Marquez pulled off a great start, getting by Fabio Quartararo and passing Alex Marquez into turn one on lap 2.
Marquez began to grow more comfortable on the bike as the race progressed and passed his teammate for the lead on lap 5 at the GT chicane.
Although Marquez had pressure from the Aprilia behind it never really looked like he would be passed throughout the rest of the race, even with Bezzecchi finishing only 0.653s behind.
In the end, a convincing win for the Spaniard, despite incidents on Friday and a poor qualifying performance, Marquez performed when it counted and equaled Giacomo Agostini's record of 68 premier class wins, standing second in the all-time list.
Bezzecchi picks up a podium
In what can be considered an all-around great weekend for Marco Bezzecchi, picking up two podiums with a third-place finish yesterday. Bez bettered it with a P2 today.
It seemed the Aprilia rider had the pace to put Marquez under pressure throughout the race, but the Ducati's speed through the final chicane seemed to be what stopped him from passing.
Bezzecchi says he is "happy with the team and the factory" as Aprilia hopes to close the gap to Marquez and Ducati, amidst the off-track drama that is unfolding there.
Pecco's mixed race
Francesco Bagnaia had a mixed race starting from P2, he managed to get a clean start and lead the first 5 laps until the inevitable of Marc Marquez passing him for the lead.
Bagnaia dropped further back on lap 8, being passed by Marco Bezzecchi, followed by Pedro Acosta getting the pass done on the Italian on lap 9. Fortunately for the Italian, he was able to regain the podium position on lap 10.
The Italian was able to hold onto third place until the finish, setting the fastest lap on lap 16.
Quartararo's tough weekend continues
In what can only be described as a disappointing Dutch Grand Prix for Fabio Quartararo, a poor start ensured he was passed by Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, and Alex Marquez off the line.
Quartararo dropped even further back, falling behind Bezzecchi and Acosta, and by lap 2 had fallen to 7th behind Franco Morbidelli. A nightmare start got even worse for our pole sitter, who dropped to P13 after a collision between Joan Mir and Fermin Aldegeur.
The Frenchman back in P13 came out of the sprint yesterday saying, "I can't remember the last time I overtook someone." But managed to make his way back to P10.
Ultimately, the polesitter dropped to P10 after what looked like a solid weekend for the Yamaha crew after qualifying. Quartararo felt "the grip was really bad" in what was a disappointing weekend for the Yamaha rider.
Alex Marquez had a tough race, starting from P3. Marquez managed to hold his position off the line but was passed by Marc and Bezzecchi on lap 2.
Things only got worse as Alex battled Pedro Acosta. Through turn 5, Acosta caught his knee on Alex's front brake lever, causing it to lock, sending Alex to the ground, and resulting in a fractured left hand.
Today's incident puts Alex 68 points behind his brother and 2nd in the championship.
Rookie rider Somkiat Chantra picked up his first Moto GP points passing Aleix Espargaro in the process, with the Spaniard saying Chantra "deserves to be in MotoGP".
Chantra will be hoping to pick up more points throughout the season, having secured two wins and six podiums in Moto2 last year.
All in all, an exciting Dutch Grand Prix in the 100th running of the TT. Next up, the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring on July 11th.
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