VOLUME 56 ISSUE 26 JULY 2, 2019 P71
sixth in the gang when he slid off on
lap 11.
At half distance, the first nine were
inside 1.5 seconds. Marquez looked
set for victory after playing his tactics
right and gaining the lead on lap 19.
This put him clear of an incident that
eliminated his teammate Vierge, who
fell after contact in the slowest corner
MILLER THE BUTCHER
Jack Miller raised a laugh at the typically
grim pre-race press conference. A Dorna
promotion had Dutch schoolchildren
asking the riders sundry questions. One
of the more sensible was what rules the
riders would like to change. Miller was
quick to respond. "I'd like to cut one of
Marc's legs off."
ASSEN ISSUES
Assen's status as the cathedral of motor-
cycle racing, already threatened by the
replacement of half the fast and rhythmic
lap with slow corners in 2006, has been
further eroded since the classic track
was opened to car racing. Use for testing
and for rounds of the German touring car
championship, among others, has engen-
dered bad bumps, much worse this year
than last. Many riders complained of the
deterioration, especially at turn six, a very
fast kink on the revised old section.
DOOHAN'S THOUGHTS
Five-times 500-class champion Mick
Doohan, at the track to join in as Honda
celebrates six decades since entering GP
racing, gave some insightful comments to
Dorna TV interviewer Simon Crafar about
his fellow-Australian riders, and 2019
sensation Fabio Quartararo. Doohan first
spoke about current rising MotoGP star
Jack Miller. "Jack is right there; now he
just needs to contain it a little bit. I think
next year he'll be really strong—but let's
not write off this year." On Remy Gard-
ner, who would later claim a first Moto2
pole: "The Gardner name is synonymous
with motorcycle racing in Australia. This
year has been a marked improvement.
I'm sure a race win is not far away." And
Quartararo: "He doesn't know what the
bike will do. He's just riding the wheels off
it. We've all been there, but he's doing it
better than we did."
Briefly...
(Above) Vinales
(center) was smiling
but it was Marquez
(left) with the biggest
grin as he increased
his championship
lead. (Below)
Crutchlow and Miller
lead the early race
midpack freight train.
