MotoGP Dutch GP: Ogura takes maiden win as Bezzecchi crashes out to give championship lead to Martin

Ai Ogura claimed his maiden MotoGP win at the Dutch Grand Prix, while an early crash for Marco Bezzecchi handed the championship lead to his Aprilia team-mate Jorge Martin.

Despite dropping almost 2.5s off the lead in the early stages after battling for third place with Marc Marquez, Ogura gradually closed the gap to the front and battled past both Martin and Trackhouse team-mate Raul Fernandez to claim a sensational win at Assen.

With the result, he became the first Japanese rider to win a MotoGP race since Makoto Tamada triumphed at the wheel of a Honda at Motegi in 2004.

At the start of the race, Ogura again got the holeshot from second on the grid, only for polesitter Martin to barge past him at Turn 3 to reclaim the spot.

Meanwhile, reigning world champion Marquez was immediately on the move, passing his team-mate Francesco Bagnaia for fifth before reeling in a struggling Bezzecchi for fourth place.

As Trackhouse duo Fernandez and Ogura battled for second at the start of lap 2, Marquez pounced on the opportunity to sweep past both in a single move, although he would drop behind Fernandez shortly afterwards.

There was drama later on the same lap when championship leader Bezzecchi lost the front of his Aprilia at the high-speed Turn 15, crashing heavily into the barriers.

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

With a lead contender out, Marquez’s early charge on the soft rear tyre also began to lose steam, with Ogura retaking third spot from him on lap 5.

At this stage, the 25-year-old trailed Martin and Fernandez by almost 2.5s, but with 21 laps still to run in the race. Lap by lap, Ogura closed in on the pair, wiping out their entire advantage by lap 16. A brief scare with a malfunctioning rear ride height device halted his charge, but he closed the gap back immediately the next lap.

Among the trio, Fernandez was the first to make a move, passing Martin for the lead into Turn 1 at the start of lap 17. Ogura immediately followed Fernandez into second, starting an all-Trackhouse battle for the win.

Ogura finally struck on lap 20, passing Fernandez at Turn 9 before immediately pulling away at the front.

With the Spaniard unable to mount a counter attack, Ogura went on to claim his maiden MotoGP win by two seconds, leading a milestone 1-2 for Trackhouse.

Factory Aprilia rider Martin could put up no fight to the American team, but third place was enough to hand him a seven-point lead in the standings, with Bezzecchi failing to score for a third Sunday in succession.

With Aprilia locking out the podium, the Ducatis were left to battle amongst themselves for the best of the rest. Bagnaia appeared to have fourth place secured until he slowed down suddenly on lap 15 with what was later reported to be a brake issue.

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

With Bagnaia pulling into the pits, Fabio di Giannantonio crossed the finish line in fourth, despite being handed  a long lap penalty for going off track at the final chicane while battling with Marquez. Marquez eventually wound up seventh on the last-surviving factory Ducati, his late choice of a soft rear tyre leaving him vulnerable towards the end of the race.

Gresini’s Alex Marquez lost a place to VR46’s di Giannantonio on the final lap, but still came home a solid fifth while still struggling for fitness from his Barcelona injury.

Tech3’s Enea Bastianini finished between the Marquez brothers in sixth, ending the day as the top KTM rider after Pedro Acosta retired mid-race with an injury that was later revealed as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Both factory Yamaha riders finished inside the top 10, with Fabio Quartararo taking eighth place and Alex Rins ending up 10th. They were separated by the factory KTM of Brad Binder.

The best-placed Honda was Luca Marini in 11th, just three tenths behind Yamaha’s Rins.

Only 16 riders finished the race, with technical problems, crashes and physical issues leading to a total of six retirements.

MotoGP Dutch GP results

RACE

All Stats

 

Cla	Rider	#		Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Retirement	Points
1	A. Ogura Trackhouse Racing Team	79		Aprilia	26	40'21.905				25
2	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25		Aprilia	26	+2.004 40'23.909	2.004			20
3	J. Martin Aprilia Racing Team	89		Aprilia	26	+3.512 40'25.417	1.508			16
4	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49		Ducati	26	+9.315 40'31.220	5.803			13
5	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73		Ducati	26	+10.140 40'32.045	0.825			11
6	E. Bastianini Tech 3	23		KTM	26	+10.388 40'32.293	0.248			10
7	M. Marquez Ducati Team	93		Ducati	26	+10.288 40'32.193				9
8	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20		Yamaha	26	+19.039 40'40.944	8.751			8
9	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33		KTM	26	+19.383 40'41.288	0.344			7
10	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42		Yamaha	26	+20.302 40'42.207	0.919			6
11	L. Marini Honda HRC	10		Honda	26	+20.669 40'42.574	0.367			5
12	J. Miller Pramac Racing	43		Yamaha	26	+37.244 40'59.149	16.575			4
13	M. Viñales Tech 3	12		KTM	26	+36.755 40'58.660				3
14	D. Moreira Team LCR	11		Honda	26	+38.127 41'00.032	1.372			2
15	A. Fernandez Yamaha Factory Racing	47		Yamaha	26	+1'00.826 41'22.731	22.699			1
16	C. Crutchlow Team LCR	35		Honda	25	+1 Lap 41'32.928	1 Lap
dnf	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	63		Ducati	15	+11 Laps 24'01.045	10 Laps		Retirement
dnf	T. Razgatlioglu Pramac Racing	7		Yamaha	13	+13 Laps 20'37.701	2 Laps		Retirement
dnf	P. Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	37		KTM	13	+13 Laps 20'52.183	14.482		Retirement
dnf	F. Morbidelli Team VR46	21		Ducati	9	+17 Laps 14'28.367	4 Laps		Accident
dnf	M. Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing Team	72		Aprilia	1	+25 Laps 2'52.151	8 Laps		Accident / injury
dnf	J. Mir Honda HRC	36		Honda	0	+26 Laps 58.622	1 Lap		Accident
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