Today, marks the most legendary race on the MotoGP calendar. It's the annual Dutch TT (or Tourist Trophy) at the Assen circuit in Assen, Holland. This is the only race run on a Saturday, and Assen, is the only track that has always been on the schedule, since the start of the World Championship back in 1949.
It's one of the most anticipated races of the season. We are looking at Aleix Espargaro as our polesitter. The weather will be a factor. Will it be a wet/dry race? Yamaha have won four of the last five races. Will it be time for another Marc Marquez win? If he does, he'll win eight straight races.
Bikes have been raced here since 1925. It once was a road circuit at over 17 miles long. This is an 18 turn course. The track is now 2.824 miles. The current layout has been in existence since 1955. Initially, it was 4.8 miles long. There was a race for Champ Cars in 2007 at Assen as well. Again, watch out for Yamaha. Valentino Rossi has won at Assen, eight times. Last year, Jorge Lorenzo had a broken collarbone from a crash where he had surgery, and came back the next day to race. If Marquez wins, he would become the youngest rider to win eight straight races.
That would mean he takes the record away from Mike "The Bike" Hailwood. In the silly season, there are rumors swirling about Yamaha, Honda, and Ducati. Will Andrea Dovizioso be a Suzuki rider next year? Now, there are clouds, and possible intermittent rain. We don't know if it will be a wet or a dry race here. Q1 was dry and the skies opened just before Q2. The rain came during the 15 minutes for Q2. The riders were on slick tires. Aleix Espargaro put his bike on pole.
Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa will start on the front row, too. Cal Crutchlow qualified fifth. Jorge Lorenzo only mustered ninth, and Valentino Rossi (who won the Dutch TT last year), will start 12th. Again, Aleix Espargaro is on pole, and he's also the first rider to put an Open class bike on pole. Danilo Petrucci is back racing this weekend. Nicky Hayden will start caboose on the field, with his injured wrist that he's still contending with.
We also look forward to the Indianapolis Grand Prix, coming up in just over a month. Now, Stefan bradl crashes on the formation lap. He needs his spare bike. Broc Parkes also had issues. So, we have a delay of the start here, chaps. We've got to wait for the rain to pass. It looks OK on one side. But, it's rainy, on the other side. Fans have come to Assen, on their motorcycles. It's called Speed Week. The MotoGP bikes will do two sighting laps to look at the track and decide what tires to use.
The decisions are critical. The riders are ready to go to find out what the conditions are. Watch out, because you might get snookered. It's now starting to dry as we are on the warmup laps to look at the track. This is where the best riders in the world come to the fore. The start of the Dutch TT, is next. These are vital moments. There's a 58 point gap in the top two points positions, and of course, Marc Marquez is going for eight in a row.
Valentino Rossi will start on slick tires. This is a real lopsided grid. We don't know who will be quickest. This is nothing less than a lottery. Weather played it's hand in Moto 2 and Moto 3, too. Look for results and brief highlights of those events, tomorrow. This is a wet race. 26 laps scheduled. Dani Pedrosa won his first race here, in 125cc competition, 12 years ago. Pol Espargaro and Valentino Rossi are both on slicks. Andrea Ianonne is fourth. He's won here in Moto 2. The Ducati's could do well here. Marc Marquez will not have an easy race.
We're on the warmup lap, getting ready for a start. But, Valentino Rossi will go out on slicks in the wet. Pol Espargaro switches to his spare bike with a wet setup, as Broc Parkes is stopped on track, too. Is it game over for Parkes? Valentino Rossi will have to start from pit lane, changing to wet tires. But, will the motorcycles be up to temperature and ready to race? This is going to be wild. Everyone starts this race on wets. Here we go.
At the start, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedorsa get a good start. Parkes and Rossi get away. Everyone is OK except for Danilo Petrucci who stopped. Now, Andrea Dovizioso leads on his Ducati. Aleix Espargaro is fighting back, passing Andrea Ianonne. Marc Marquez is now challenging Dovizioso. Watch the curbs. They are wet, and lethal. Marquez leads this race. Into the chicane, flick it right, then left. Lap one done and dusted, but rain is falling harder now. Rossi passes Michael Laverty and Mike DiMeglio. Yonny Hernandez has changed to wet tires.
Marquez leads Dovizioso. Hiroshi Aoyama is up to eighth. Nicky Hayden is up to 12th with Colin Edwards 13th in his last Assen TT before retiring at the end of this season. Marquez is trying to set a pace. Valentino Rossi needs to catch up, after winning last year. He passes Pol Espargaro. This race is 118 kilometers or almost 74 miles. Cal Crutchlow is ahead of Jorge Lorenzo as Lorenzo struggles for grip on his Yamaha. Marquez is now pulling away.
The Ducati runs well in these conditions, and though Marquez is not a good wet rider, he'll be fine. Marquez has only had two wire-to-wire wins at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and at Jerez, in Spain. Aleix Espargaro and Forward Racing want a podium. It's not been raiining for a bit. But, the surface could still be wet even though the camera doesn't make it look wet. Alvaro Bautista passes Bradley Smith for ninth as Andrea Dovizioso sets fast lap, but the time, is unclear.
He is within 7/10ths of a second of Marquez. Stefan Bradl is still at the back of the field. Dovizioso is trying his best to keep up with Marquez. He hasn't won at Assen, but has had some good finishes. Marc Marquez won here in 125cc and Moto 2 competition. Or, maybe, just 125cc. Not sure. Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Ianonne battle. Dovizioso continues to close on Marc Marquez. They are taking the cover off Marc Marquez's spare bike.
Michael Laverty and Scott Redding have come in for spare bikes. Yonny Hernandez pits to switch for slicks. It's not often you see pit stops in these races. Dani Pedrosa pits, too, and so does Marc Marquez. Box, box, box. Dovizioso is also in. No radios on motorcycles. Just come in and switch bikes. The pit speed is 37 miles an hour. Not everyone has come in. Jorge Lorenzo leads after staying out. The Aspar Honda's are second and third. Have they made the right choice?
The rear tires are beginning to take a pasting, and they'll feel spongy to a rider. They might go slow for a bit and then turn up the wick later. Marc Marquez has overshot the corner in the middle of the track. He's back on. No worries. Maybe he can catch back up. He brakes, wiggls, and thank goodness, he hangs on! Jorge Lorenzo is in. Spare bike. Go. Rossi is in, too, and so are other riders. Hiroshi Aoyama leads. Karel Abraham was released ahead of another bike. He was straight in the path of Pol Espargaro!
Yikes! Andrea Dovizioso has taken the lead from Hiroshi Aoyama. Now, Marquez is third. Hiroshi Aoyama has won at Assen on a 250cc bike before. Watch out! Marquez has the confidence in these conditions. Now, Dovizioso has run fast lap. He too, is on slicks as Aoyama pits. Eighteen laps left. This is a wild race. Aleix Espargaro can't slow down, and Dani Pedrosa passes. Broc Parkes has the PBM bike in sixth. PBM stands for Paul Bird Motorsports.
Dovizioso leads Marquez by four seconds. Could Ducati win? Could Marc Marquez be beaten? It's not over yet. Valentino Rossi is quickest, in ninth. Can Ducati win for the first time in four years? Casey Stoner won for them in 2010. Marquez has a quicker lap than Dovizioso. 1:36.6 for Dovizioso, and 1:36.4 for Marquez. Aleix Espargaro wants his first podium in MotoGP as he fends off the challenge of Dani Pedrosa. There's more rain. Broc Parkes is struggling, trying to pass Andrea Ianonne.
Broc Parkes has run at Assen before in the FIM World Supersport championship. 15 laps to go now. Jorge Lorenzo languishes in 16th. He's just got to keep going. Will the rain return? Will Ducati win? Will Marc Marquez close in and take another victory? Dovizioso continues to lead this race. It's Dutch, it's damp, and it's dynamite, folks. The rain stays away, but the skies want to open. We have twelve laps left. The chicane was installed here in 1976 to slow the bikes down.
Rossi passes Cal Crutchlow. Marc Marquez continues to close on Andrea Dovizioso. But he has to make a move. Jorge Lorenzo is 1.2 seconds off the leaders. But, he's 17th. Aleix Espargaro is third. Andrea Dovizioso knows that Marc Marquez will pass him. What will happen if the rain comes? Dani Pedrosa has now taken third place back. Rossi has passed and gone to the top five. Aleix Espargaro overtakes Dani Pedrosa.
Where will Marc Marquez make his move? Pol Espargaro ditches his bike but might continue. This is Marquez's opportunity. Will Marquez do it? Yes. He takes the lead. He sets fast lap of the race. But, Colin Edwards has pitted to change bikes back again. Marquez is pulling away. Andrea Dovizioso will keep going. He led at Le Mans both last year, and this year. Valentino Rossi runs fast lap. Pol Espargaro is back on track, but he has wet tires.
It's not raining. Espargaro has nothing to lose. Aleix Espargaro wants to get his first podium. The rain is holding off. Marquez is going for it. It's good news for #93 right now. But, don't speak too soon. Marquez runs a 1:34.9. Eight laps left. Rain isn't going to be coming. Valentino Rossi, Andrea Ianonne and others, are running very well. So is Broc Parkes. Andrea Ianonne wants by Rossi. Andrea Dovizioso hung in there. But he might just have to settle for second, and it's still a good result. Marc Marquez, if he wins, will do exactly what the great Giacomo Agostini did, winning eight straight races in 1971.
Marc Marquez laps Yonny Hernandez. Five bikes and riders are a lap down. Jorge Lorenzo tries to pass Danilo Petrucci and does. For Pol Espargaro, it's game over. Take your ball, and go home. Colin Edwards is one of the riders a lap down. Andrea Dovizioso will finish second for the second time this year, also doing that, in Austin, Texas. Can anyone stop Marc Marquez? Not necessarily. Five laps to go now. The rain stays away.
Marquez is unbeatable right now. The dark clouds are still above the Assen track. Bradley Smith has passed his former team mate Cal Crutchlow. Dani Pedrosa has opened a gap on Aleix Espargaro. Rossi turns his personal best lap. Bradley Smith is up to eighth past Cal Crutchlow. Three laps to go now. If the results stay the same as they are now, Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi will stay tied for second and third, 72 points behind Marquez. Dovizioso brakes hard into turn one.
The track is damp, but somewhat dry. Alvaro Bautista runs seventh. Bradley Smith closes up on Bautista, who has won at Assen in 250cc competition. Two more laps left now. Can Dani Pedrosa dispense of Andrea Dovizioso? Probably not. Pedrosa will finish third more than likely. This has been quite the race at Assen today, folks. Just over a lap to go, and Marc Marquez will have won eight in a row! Again, it's the first time someone will win eight straight, since Giacomo Agostini.
Agostini is here this weekend and he must be marveling at Marquez's performance. Espargaro and Rossi will have decent finishes. Marc Marquez is going to win at the Dutch TT. He's won, again! He's unbeatable. Marc Marquez, wins eight in a row!
#93 Marc Marquez ESP. Honda
The next MotoGP race is the halfway mark in the season. It's the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring in Saxony, Germany, in two weeks.
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