MotoGP Dutch GP: Marc Marquez soaks up the pressure as Alex Marquez crashes out

Marc Marquez withstood race-long pressure from the Aprilia of Marco Bezzecchi to win MotoGP’s Dutch Grand Prix at Assen on Sunday.

The factory Ducati rider’s world championship lead stretched to an impressive 68 points as his nearest challenger, brother Alex Marquez, crashed his Gresini Ducati. The younger Marquez also fractured his left hand in the process.

Fabio Quartararo had yet another day to forget after claiming pole position, and ended the race in 10th place. 

The Frenchman lost his lead immediately after a poor start, as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), Alex Marquez and Marc Marquez slotted in ahead of him.

As Marc passed Alex at the start of the second lap, it was already becoming clear that some riders were on the move and others were struggling. Bezzecchi had taken Quartararo’s fourth place moments earlier, joining Marc as a man looking for more.

Marc got exactly that when he passed Bagnaia at the chicane on lap five to stake his claim for race honours.

Quartararo and Alex Marquez, on the other hand, were heading in the opposite direction. By lap six, the poleman’s Yamaha was out of the top 10 and Alex had dropped behind both Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta (KTM).

Alex’s battle with Acosta for fourth came to a nasty end as the Gresini rider attempted to fight back and the pair touched coming out of Strubben. A suspected brush on the brake lever saw Alex suddenly fall on his way out of the corner – and the crash resulted in a fractured hand, which was confirmed before the race was even over.

In a bad few moments for Gresini, Fermin Aldeguer also high-sided, taking Honda’s Joan Mir with him. 
These incidents punched a couple of holes in the running order, creating a clear top five consisting of Marc, Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Acosta and Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati).

On lap eight, Bezzecchi continued his progress by passing Bagnaia to assume second position. Acosta followed him past the Italian a lap later.

Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Behind them, Fabio di Giannantonio was emerging as another man on a mission as he fought his way back from a poor start on the other VR46 bike.

As the pace remained modest, the top five became a top seven, with Maverick Vinales (Tech3 KTM) and di Giannantonio joining the back of the train.

At half-distance, however, Marquez set a fastest lap as he began to ask real questions of his chasers. 
This split the top seven into a top four and a top three: only Bezzecchi, Acosta and Bagnaia could keep pace with Marc.

Bagnaia reclaimed third position from Acosta as the pace hotted up and the laps wound down. ‘Pecco’ ultimately shook off Acosta, but by the end of the race he had also lost touch with the leading pair.

Only Bezzecchi was able to keep Marc honest throughout the race, looking like the fastest man for most of the way. But, just as Alex had discovered in the sprint, Marc was unbeatable on the parts of the track that mattered for overtaking.

The battle for fifth also fizzled out in the final laps, with Vinales coming home ahead of di Giannantonio and Morbidelli, who had to serve a long lap penalty for sneaking across the chicane in an attempt to keep his team-mate behind with a few laps to go.

Raul Fernandez finished a lonely eight on the Trackhouse Aprilia, with Enea Bastianini (Tech3) and Quartararo rounding out the top 10. 

MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix results

Photos from Dutch GP – Race