Repsol Honda Team rider fights for victory until last corner of the race. Dani Pedrosa has technical problems and finishes in eighth.
Marc Marquez starred in a thrilling finale to the Dutch TT, in which he fought for the victory until the last moment with Valentino Rossi. With his second place finish, the Repsol Honda Team rider scored his third podium of the season and lies fourth in the World Championship standings with 89 points. Pedrosa, hindered by a heavy crash in the warmup that left him without his number one bike for the race, finished eighth after being hampered by technical problems. He is tenth in the overall standings with 47 points.
A good start from third on the grid allowed the reigning World Champion to place second at the end of the first lap, a wheel’s length away from poleman Valentino Rossi. After a few laps both began to break away, and the Repsol Honda rider even led the way for a three-lap spell towards the end. Rossi rallied back for the lead three laps from the finish, before Marquez reduced a gap established by his rival and tried to take victory with a pass on the famous final chicane. Despite contact, both were able to cross the finish line.
Dani Pedrosa’s race was a tough one for the Spaniard. He had to go out on his second bike due to a big crash in the final minutes of the warmup and, at the start, of the race, his clutch malfunctioned and he dropped eight places. Lap by lap he made the move up from twelfth to fifth place, but another rider ran him off the track on the penultimate time through the final chicane –allowing three other rivals to pass him. Finally, the Repsol Honda Team rider finished eighth.
The next round of the World Championship will be held in two weeks’ time in Germany.
Marc Marquez
2nd at 1.242 sec.
“I am very happy that I’m back on the podium and I had a good race, fighting for victory until the end. I think it was a moral victory for us, but we were riding at the limit on the last chicane. We have worked very well all weekend and I have to thank the team, because you regain confidence when you’re with the best team in the World. They are helping me a lot and this was shown by the fact that, at a track where we are usually not so strong, we fought for the win until the last corner. We’ll see if we can take another step forward in the coming races. We rode a last lap to win the race, especially on the last chicane. I had studied things well and knew where I had to brake in order to be able to overtake Vale, and so I did that but didn’t end like I wanted…”
Dani Pedrosa
8th at 24.656 sec.
“It was a bad day. I had a very strange crash in the morning: I was going straight, braking, and the tires were already up to temperature –but I lost the front without warning. Unfortunately the bike was damaged, then I took off my glove and saw I had cut my finger but I was still able to return for the race. I had to use my second bike and I had a problem with it, because when I released the clutch at the start the bike did not react. I had to release it completely and began to slide. I went from fourth to thirteenth and I lost many positions, but in addition I also had a problem with the brakes. I tried to adjust it but I could not control the bike under braking. It was very difficult to adapt, but in the end I managed to make up some places. However, I couldn’t brake well and on the last lap Crutchlow took me out on the chicane and I lost more positions.”
