Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1000688
MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 7 / JUNE 29-JULY 1, 2018 TT CIRCUIT ASSEN / ASSEN, NETHERLANDS P74 took it back next time around, and now Valentino Rossi (Movi- star Yamaha) had also joined in, along with Andrea Dovizioso on the second Ducati. But this was not all, by any means. Alex Rins (Ecstar Suzuki) was up to third on lap nine; Mav- erick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha) had finally started well and was exchanging blows, while Cal Crutchlow (Castrol Honda)— fourth on lap one—was still well in the mix. At the same time, Johann Zarco (Movistar Yamaha) they'd finished exchanging blows and paintwork, surviving near- crashes and reclaiming lost posi- tions, only to lose them again, there were barely three laps left for Marc Marquez to finally unleash his fullest potential. The Repsol Honda moved ahead by two seconds for one of his best- ever wins. Marquez had started from pole, but as at the last two races, it was Jorge Lorenzo who seized the lead on lap one— through from row four. Marquez wind down the back straight. As Marquez explained, "It made the pace slower, and easy to slip- stream, and very hard to make a gap." But there were other factors, including a fund of talent in something of a golden age, that made MotoGP look more like Moto3 for more than half of the 26-lap race, eight 270-horse- power 1000cc MotoGP bikes were locked in furious combat. The group was hardly smaller at the end, and by the time iii My Own Race: 04 ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 4TH MOTOGP "It was an awesome race, for sure more for the fans than the riders because it was really difficult!" said Andrea Dovizioso. "We were fast and competitive and we worked well throughout the entire weekend, but in the last eight laps the rear tire unfortunately let up on me so I tried to defend my position until the end and I finished fourth. I had hoped for a podium, but to be honest today we couldn't do anything more and so in the end I'm happy, even though we must be in a position to manage the tires better be- cause we arrived at the end of the race with very little grip. In any case, we did a good job and for this I'd like to thank my team." 93 MARC MARQUEZ 1ST MOTOGP "It was a crazy race, full of adrenaline—this feeling is one of the reasons we do this sport!" said Marc Marquez. "Yesterday, I was expecting something like this, but noth- ing like it actually was! We were a wild bunch, everyone fighting against everyone; I think all of us made contact with somebody else at some point. We had to attack and defend, attack and defend. We had so many 'big moments' and risked crashing. It was crazy! It was impossible to define the best strategy, impossible to make plans, so eventually I decided to just fight and see what we could do in the end. In the last three laps, I gave it everything, no matter the tires, no matter the championship. I had been trying to reduce the group because when you're fighting for the title, you just want the fewest riders possible at the front, but it was difficult. Only when I saw I had more than one-and-a-half seconds of advantage before the last lap did I think, 'Okay, we've got it, let's just finish this lap.' It was an important win and 25 very important points." 41 ALEIX ESPARGARO 13TH MOTOGP "I am not happy. Unfortunately, I made the wrong choice for the rear tire. My Aprilia worked extremely well throughout the weekend on the soft, even if we were at the limit with wear. Precisely for this reason and after the wear problems at Mugello and the crash in Barcelona, I opted for the hard, thinking that it would be a safer choice. In reality, I did not have grip from the start, so all I could do was simply try to finish the race. A pity because we really worked well in all the sessions and then the worst came right at the decisive moment, where the points are earned."