MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
MOTOGP
ROUND 8/JUNE 28, 2014
CIRCUIT VAN DRENTHE/ASSEN, NETHERLANDS
P42
WET. DRY.
MARQUEZ
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
N
either hell nor high water, it
seems, can stop Marc Marquez.
There was a certain amount of
each at the always-atmospheric As-
sen. But Repsol Honda's defending
champion won anyway, and amused
a 90,000-strong crowd at the classic
Dutch venue by mimicking a breast-
stroke swimmer as he crossed the line
for his eighth win in eight straight races.
Some still call even the new shorter
Assen "The Cathedral of Motorcycle
Racing." I have always preferred to call
it "The University" because it offers so
much for a rider's further education.
Marquez graduated on Saturday sum-
ma cum laude. It might be time for him
to start calling himself "Doctor" as well.
It had been another extraordinary
display, and a more fraught situation
than he has had to face so far in his still
young MotoGP career – his first flag-to-
flag race in wet-and-dry conditions (the
artificial flag-to-flag in Australia last year
doesn't count).
Assen is steeped in character as well
as history. Much of it comes from the
summer solstice weather at this north-
ernmost race of the year. Seldom does
a day pass without some rain, and a
typical fine day is one where the sun
appears now and then, as one shower
after another passes over. Some are
quite heavy, few last more than a few
minutes. Changeable.
NO MATTER WHAT'S THROWN AT HIM,
MARC MARQUEZ ALWAYS PREVAILS
