2018 Assen MotoGP Sunday Results
Phew! If you thought Moto3 was close racing, you’d seen nothing compared with the 80th Dutch TT. For more than half distance eight 270-horsepower 1000c MotoGP bikes were locked in furious combat, a strong headwind keeping the pace down and the action super-close.
2018 Assen MotoGP Sunday Results
By the time they’d finished exchanging blows and paintwork, surviving near-crashes and reclaiming honours, there were barely three laps left for Marc Marquez to finally unleash his fullest potential, and for the Repsol Honda to move ahead by two seconds for one of his best-ever wins.
Marquez had started from pole, but until then couldn’t find a comfort zone. “During practice I was so comfortable, with a good rhythm, but I suspected before the race it would be difficult to open a gap, because the wind was so strong on the back straight, and it made the slipstreaming more easy for everyone. So I decided to wait, but in that transition there was a big fight. It looked like Moto3,” he said.
“I tried to push and tried to manage the tyre, and in the last four laps I gave it everything.”
Until that point, the issue was in the greatest doubt. Winner of the last two races Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati) had led most of the first half, then his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso took over, with Marquez ahead now and then throughout, and the rest all snapping at each other’s heels. It was so close and there were so many overtakes that it was never by more than a few feet.
By the end, Lorenzo had dropped away, and Marquez moved ahead. The rest were brawling right up to the final chicane.
On the final lap Alex Rins (Ecstar Suzuki) managed to get the better of Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha); but Valentino Rossi’s last-chicane attack failed, and Andrea Dovizioso had got ahead again at the flag for fourth.
Cal Crutchlow (Castrol Honda) was less than a second behind, with Lorenzo close – the top seven over the line within five seconds.
Eighth-placed Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha) dropped back in the last laps, almost caught over the line by Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Ducati)
Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Ducati) was tenth, promoted after Andrea Iannone (Ecstar Suzuki) was dropped to 11th by a time penalty for cutting the track.
Pol Espargaro (KTM) was 12th, a tenth ahead of his brother Aleix and Scott Redding (both Aprilia), with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) right behind for the final point.
Marquez extended his points lead to a comfortable 41 points, 140 to Rossi’s 99. Vinales has 93, Zarco 81 and Dovizioso 79.
2018 Assen MotoGP Sunday Results
MOTUL TT ASSEN
MotoGP Race Classification 2018
Assen, Sunday, July 01, 2018
| 1 | 25 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 171.8 | 41’13.863 |
| 2 | 20 | 42 | Alex RINS | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 171.6 | +2.269 |
| 3 | 16 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 171.6 | +2.308 |
| 4 | 13 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 171.6 | +2.422 |
| 5 | 11 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 171.6 | +2.963 |
| 6 | 10 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | LCR Honda CASTROL | Honda | 171.5 | +3.876 |
| 7 | 9 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 171.5 | +4.462 |
| 8 | 8 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 171.3 | +7.001 |
| 9 | 7 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Angel Nieto Team | Ducati | 171.3 | +7.541 |
| 10 | 6 | 43 | Jack MILLER | AUS | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 170.9 | +13.056 |
| 11 | 5 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 171.0 | +14.255 |
| 12 | 4 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 170.7 | +15.876 |
| 13 | 3 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 170.7 | +15.986 |
| 14 | 2 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 170.7 | +16.019 |
| 15 | 1 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 170.7 | +16.043 |
| 16 | 53 | Tito RABAT | SPA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 170.7 | +16.416 | |
| 17 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 169.8 | +29.073 | |
| 18 | 55 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | MAL | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 169.5 | +33.824 | |
| 19 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | 169.6 | +34.037 | |
| 20 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 168.5 | +47.853 | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 170.9 | 9 Laps | ||
| 10 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 156.7 | 9 Laps | ||
| 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Angel Nieto Team | Ducati | 165.9 | 15 Laps | ||
