Assen MotoGP race
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Medium front and soft rear for Marquez, Crutchlow, Rossi and Vinales. Medium - hard for Dovizioso, Rins, Aleix Espargaro, Zarco, Iannone.
Lorenzo is the outlier in the top 10 with a soft front and hard rear.
Lorenzo is the outlier in the top 10 with a soft front and hard rear.
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Championship standings (top 10): 1 Marquez, 115; 2 Rossi, 88; 3 Vinales, 77; 4 Zarco, 73; 5 Petrucci, 71; 6 Crutchlow, 69; 7 Lorenzo, 66; 8 Dovizioso, 66; 9 Iannone, 66; 10 Miller, 49.
If Marquez does break away today, as it looks like he could, it'll be a painful 26 laps for the other leading riders of the championship – and for the Yamaha works team in particular.
Yamaha, celebrating its 63rd birthday today, hasn't won in MotoGP since this race last year, that victory coming courtesy of Assen specialist Valentino Rossi. It's becoming a little difficult to recall the last time a works Yamaha ('works' being the key word there) was a genuine contender for victory.
Will either of them feature today? You never know with Rossi – the pace didn't really look to be there, but he did put it on the front row and he always finds something extra on Sunday.
Maverick Vinales shouldn't be ruled out either, having started the weekend the faster of the two, but he could do no better than second row on Sunday, which means he'll probably be 20th by Turn 1.
Yamaha, celebrating its 63rd birthday today, hasn't won in MotoGP since this race last year, that victory coming courtesy of Assen specialist Valentino Rossi. It's becoming a little difficult to recall the last time a works Yamaha ('works' being the key word there) was a genuine contender for victory.
Will either of them feature today? You never know with Rossi – the pace didn't really look to be there, but he did put it on the front row and he always finds something extra on Sunday.
Maverick Vinales shouldn't be ruled out either, having started the weekend the faster of the two, but he could do no better than second row on Sunday, which means he'll probably be 20th by Turn 1.
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In the lower categories today, there were wins for the championships' respective benchmark riders.
Jorge Martin shrugged off a nasty crash earlier in the weekend to win from pole in Moto3, snatching the points lead as main title rival Marco Bezzecchi crashed out of fourth on the last lap.
And in Moto2, the ever-impressive Pecco Bagnaia won for the fourth time this season, leading Fabio Quartararo – who suddenly looks like a genuine MotoGP prospect for the first time in years – and Alex Marquez.
Bagnaia's been genuinely mega this season, repaying Ducati's trust for giving him an early MotoGP 2019 deal with Pramac – where he will apparently be assisted by one Cristian Gabarrini, the current crew chief for Jorge Lorenzo.
Jorge Martin shrugged off a nasty crash earlier in the weekend to win from pole in Moto3, snatching the points lead as main title rival Marco Bezzecchi crashed out of fourth on the last lap.
And in Moto2, the ever-impressive Pecco Bagnaia won for the fourth time this season, leading Fabio Quartararo – who suddenly looks like a genuine MotoGP prospect for the first time in years – and Alex Marquez.
Bagnaia's been genuinely mega this season, repaying Ducati's trust for giving him an early MotoGP 2019 deal with Pramac – where he will apparently be assisted by one Cristian Gabarrini, the current crew chief for Jorge Lorenzo.
The good news is that Assen isn't much of a Marquez stronghold – he's won here just once and hasn't been on pole until yesterday.
The bad news is that he's been class of the field in long runs throughout practice, as we explain in our race pace preview analysis:![Analysis: Has Yamaha lost its final MotoGP stronghold?]()
The bad news is that he's been class of the field in long runs throughout practice, as we explain in our race pace preview analysis:
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Grid: 1 Marquez; 2 Crutchlow; 3 Rossi; 4 Dovizioso; 5 Rins; 6 Vinales; 7 A Espargaro; 8 Zarco; 9 Iannone; 10 Lorenzo; 11 Petrucci; 12 Bautista; 13 Nakagami; 14 Rabat; 15 Syahrin; 16 Miller; 17 Redding; 18 Pedrosa; 19 Abraham; 20 Smith; 21 P Espargaro; 22 Luthi; 23 Simeon.
Franco Morbidelli is absent after sustaining an injury in FP3.
Franco Morbidelli is absent after sustaining an injury in FP3.
This is a big one. Not just because it's the Dutch TT, one of MotoGP's most exciting and most prestigious races, but also because of the implications it will have for the championship picture.
Ask Marc Marquez's rivals about his lead now and they'll tell you over and over again that it's a long season. Long season this, long season that, long season until it's mathematically impossible.
And, hey, it's certainly a long enough season to make up the current 27 points. But if he wins here and wins at Sachsenring, he would head into the summer break with the kind of lead that would take an unprecedented collapse – or, heaven forbid, an injury – to overhaul.
Odds are, they probably won't be able to stop him at Sachsenring. But defeating Marquez at Assen should be enough to at least keep the hope alive for when action resumes in August.
Ask Marc Marquez's rivals about his lead now and they'll tell you over and over again that it's a long season. Long season this, long season that, long season until it's mathematically impossible.
And, hey, it's certainly a long enough season to make up the current 27 points. But if he wins here and wins at Sachsenring, he would head into the summer break with the kind of lead that would take an unprecedented collapse – or, heaven forbid, an injury – to overhaul.
Odds are, they probably won't be able to stop him at Sachsenring. But defeating Marquez at Assen should be enough to at least keep the hope alive for when action resumes in August.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 2018 edition of the Dutch TT at Assen.
By: Matt Beer
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