VOL. 53 ISSUE 25 JUNE 28, 2016 P55
clear of Pedrosa, who had also
restarted after his early crash.
Likewise Smith, three laps down
and plumb last, but still 13th and
in the points.
Pirro had also crashed out of
the second race.
The season reaches the half-
way point in three weeks' time
in Germany, and Marquez goes
there with three consecutive
second places and a comforting
points lead, 145 to Lorenzo's 121.
Rossi's crash severely dented
his chances. He has 103 points,
then Pedrosa with 86, and Vina-
les with 79.
Barbera's Avintia Ducati. But the
factory man survived, as Bautista
slipped off on the last lap, with
Barbera sixth.
Eugene Laverty (Aspar Ducati)
came through to take seventh
from a fading Stefan Bradl
(Aprilia); a couple of seconds
behind him, Maverick Vinales
(Ecstar Suzuki) was ninth, two
seconds clear of Lorenzo, whose
longstanding wet-weather Assen
apprehension had completely
spoiled his pace.
Tito Rabat (EG-VDS Honda)
had fallen and remounted to
finish a very distant 11th but still
of the next lap, and immediately
started to draw clear.
Some way behind, Pol Espar-
garo had quickly recovered from
a first-corner run-off after the
start and had gotten ahead of
a cautious Redding, The Briton
stalked him, then with three laps
to go he pounced. "My bike was
sliding a lot, but by now I had the
feeling," Redding said. "I took the
risk." It put him on the podium for
the second time in his career.
A long way back, Iannone had
been holding fifth, but at the end
was coming under threat from Al-
varo Bautista's Aprilia and Hector
