Larry Lawrence | June 26, 2016
In one of the most unexpected wins in the history of the Motorcycle Grand Prix, Marc VDS Honda’s Jack Miller bravely risked it all on a wet Assen Circuit and it paid off hugely for the Australian with his first career MotoGP victory. Miller, who was ranked 20th in the series coming into this race, survived and actually thrived in an attrition-filled Dutch TT, which at one point was red-flagged for track flooding and delayed before a 12-lap restart.
Photo by Gold & Goose
Honda’s Marc Marquez rode a smart race and finished second, extending his series lead to 24 points over Jorge Lorenzo after his closest rivals faltered. Valentino Rossi crashed out after the restart while leading and Lorenzo struggled in the conditions to finish 10th. Scott Redding finished third to score just his second ever MotoGP finish.
Miller’s victory is the first MotoGP win by an Australian since Casey Stoner’s final victory in Phillip Island. He also becomes the first rider on a non-factory bike to win a race since Toni Elias won the infamous Portuguese GP in 2006.
Miller was not surprisingly emotional after his stunning victory.
“I don’t know what to feel at the moment,” Miller said with a tremble in his voice. “A lot of people have bad-mouthed us and everything like that and said that this project wouldn’t work. I just hope that we’ve showed them wrong and that I can ride a bike, I’m not an idiot. Thank you to Honda for taking this risk on me. It’s amazing, I can’t talk anymore.”
The race ran in wet weather conditions, with everyone prepared for a possible pit stop should the track begin to dry.
Redding, one of the few using the soft option rear tire, got a great start and led the field into the first turn at the start of the 26-lap race. Unfortunately for the Brit, he ran a bit too fast into the turn, couldn’t hold his line and was swamped, getting pushed back to eighth as Valentino Rossi took over the lead followed by pole winner Andrea Dovizioso. Yonny Hernandez ran third.
On the second lap Hernandez took over the lead on his Pramac Ducati with an inside pass on Rossi.
By as early as the third lap teams began to scramble in the pits, as dry lines were already forming in certain sections of the circuit, while other sections remained wet.
By lap five Hernandez extended his lead over Rossi to 2.3 seconds. The rider on the move was Aspar Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci, who moved past Marc Marquez and Andrea Iannone to take over fourth. Notable was the fact at that point in the race Lorenzo was running 18th.
Eight laps in, just when it looked like some of the riders might pit for their dry bike, it began to rain again making things even more challenging. A lap later the rain intensified. The question now was, did the riders, who raced quite a few laps on a drying track, still have enough rubber on their rain tires?
Suddenly, with 15 laps to go, leader Hernandez was down. It was a tough turn for the Colombian in perhaps the biggest moment of MotoGP career. That put the factory Ducati of Dovizioso into the lead.
At the halfway point, now in soaking conditions, Rossi began closing in on Dovi and was bringing Petrucci with him.
Iannone fell mid-race, but would later re-emerge.
With 12 laps to go Scott Redding was on a fast charge and moved quickly from fourth to third, passing Rossi, but Rossi came right back to reclaim the position, then Redding again.
On lap 15 the race was red flagged, conditions deemed too dangerous because of standing water. The leading trio not happy about the circumstances., but it was by then simply a torrentially downpour.
Officials said should the race be restarted it would be a 12-lap sprint, but it would take some time for the deep puddles to dissipate while it was still raining.
After a roughly half-hour delay the riders were called to sighting and warm-up laps as the rain slowed. With just 12 laps nearly all rider chose the softer rain compound.
On the restart it was Marquez diving into turn one first, but ran wide allowing an opening for Dovi and Rossi to get through. Aleix Espargaro was bumped off the track. Dani Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow crashed out midway through the first lap.
Rossi took over the lead and now Dovizioso was second, Marquez third, Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro rounding out the top five in the early going of the restart.
Dovi crashed out of second-place at the fast turn 12 with 11 laps to go. Bradley Smith fell at turn 15 as attrition took a major toll and the race became one of survival.
Leader Rossi crashed at turn 10 losing the front end with 10 laps to go. That put Marquez into the lead with Miller trailing closely.
Miller, taking risks, took over the lead with eight laps to go, possibly leading a MotoGP race for the first time in his career.
With five to go the sun now was out and Miller led Marquez by 1.1 seconds. Pol Espargaro battled Redding for the final podium spot and Iannone rounding out the top five. With Rossi out and Lorenzo struggling, Marquez had no reason to push to try to gain on Miller – his world championship lead was going to be extended regardless.
With two to go Redding moved past Pol Espargaro to take over third.
In the closing couple of laps unbelievably a dry line was beginning to form, but Miller was able to hold on winning by 1.991 seconds.
Marquez was probably as happy for a runner-up finish has he’s ever been.
“Today was a race to lose the points,” Marquez said of the crazy circumstances. “I was really quiet, really concentrate, it doesn’t matter the colors of the other riders. I did my race from the first race, also the second one. I saw that Valentino was pushing a lot. I say ‘OK, I cannot follow him.’ But when I see that he crashed, I see that Miller was behind me and when he passed I say this second place today is like a victory, because it was really difficult conditions. These 20 points will be really important in the championship.”
Redding was pumped with his second-career podium.
“I struggled more in the beginning,” Redding explained. “In the end I had the bike sliding a lot more, but I had the feeling. It was hard to pass him (Pol Espargaro) because he was fast in half I was fast on half. I made the move, risked it and it paid off. I’m happy to be here on the podium. It was a crazy race out there today. I managed to come back, but two much rain, I was a bit frustrated, but in the end so happy to be here.”
Marquez now leads with 145 to Lorenzo’s 121. With his DNF, Rossi drops well back in the standings, third with 103 points.
The series next moves to Germany and the Sachsenring on July 17.
MOTUL TT ASSEN MotoGP Race Classification