Marc Marquez beats Marco Bezzecchi in a drama-filled race that claimed his brother Alex, who crashed out of the competition.
Marc Marquez delivered a scientific masterclass at MotoGP’s Cathedral of Velocity to assert victory on the Dutch Grand Prix whereas his brother and closest contender Alex suffered a race-ending crash that left him with a fractured hand.
As Assen celebrated its centenary of bike racing, the elder Marquez seized management on the second lap on Sunday and didn’t look again as he prolonged his championship benefit to a commanding 68 factors over Alex as he seeks a seventh title.
Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi completed second whereas Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia got here third, with the two-times champion now gazing a frightening 126-point hole to his teammate after 10 rounds.
Bagnaia had gained the final three races in Assen however regardless of taking the lead early on, he was pushed right down to fourth place earlier than he recovered to complete on the rostrum forward of KTM’s Pedro Acosta.
Marc, who crashed onerous twice on Friday, additionally equalled motorcycling nice Giacomo Agostini with 68 premier class victories and now units his sights on his former rival Valentino Rossi who completed his profession with 89 wins.
Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo had claimed pole place however crashed in Saturday’s dash – the place Marc claimed his ninth victory
of the season – and the Frenchman was sluggish off the road whereas Bagnaia made the proper begin.
Gresini Racing’s Alex was in second place however on flip one of many subsequent lap, Marc made his transfer to overhaul his brother and slot in behind his teammate, ready patiently to pounce with 24 laps left within the race.
Alex briefly misplaced his focus and Bezzecchi, sporting a brand new aero package deal on his Aprilia, squeezed his well beyond the Gresini rider whereas Acosta additionally made an overtake stick with push the youthful Marquez right down to fifth.
Alex Marquez crashes out
Up entrance, Marc discovered a spot earlier than the ultimate chicane on lap 5 to overhaul Bagnaia and take the lead whereas his brother Alex crashed closely when he leaned into Acosta and misplaced his stability after they made contact in a battle for fourth.
Alex appeared to lock his entrance tyre within the incident, which gave a puff of smoke because the bike tipped its rider straight onto the bottom.
He was instantly taken to the medical centre the place a left hand fracture was confirmed, with Gresini saying the 29-year-old would fly to Madrid for surgical procedure in a while Sunday. Extra details about Alex’s anticipated restoration timeline is anticipated to emerge on Monday.
Bagnaia appeared to be shedding tempo as each Bezzecchi and Acosta moved into podium positions. However the Italian Ducati rider snatched third place again from Acosta on the finish of lap 14 to set his sights on Bezzecchi.
However no matter Bezzecchi did to place strain on Marc, the six-times MotoGP champion didn’t budge as he managed his tyres and maintained his tempo till he took the chequered flag.
The MotoGP calendar has a weekend off earlier than they reunite for the German Grand Prix in a fortnight.
