Marquez makes it eight, West triumphant

MotoGP
1. Marc Marquez: Repsol Honda, 43m 29.954s
2. Andrea Dovizioso: Ducati Team, 6.714s
3. Dani Pedrosa: Repsol Honda, 10.791s

Pole position: Aleix Espargaro, 1:38.789 = 165.5 km/h
Fastest lap:  Marquez, 1:34.575 = 172.8 km/h

Championship top 3
Marquez 200 points • Rossi 128 • Pedrosa 128

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) has been everything so far in 2014, with brilliant offence supported by equal doses of defence. At Assen he added ‘measured’ to his CV as he became the first rider since Giacomo Agostini in 1971 to win the first eight premier class races of the season.

Assen was in a word, frenzied, with the drying track presenting a conundrum for the riders: wet tyres or slicks to kick off proceedings. Most opted for wets – Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) only going with the flow at the last minute, which meant he started the race from pit lane – and it was Marquez who got the jump from Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), the duo then dominating the race from that point.

The pits, as expected, were a hive of activity as the riders who started on wets swapped over to their slick-laden second bikes at different intervals, but it certainly didn’t upset the momentum of the two leaders.

Marquez did have one small lapse when he ran off the track, but he soon composed himself and made it eight on the trot with a 6.714-second victory over Dovizioso, followed by Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) in third.

“I was very nervous as the conditions are what no-one wanted, very dangerous,” said Marquez. “We started on the right tyres as we knew it would dry. To risk slicks was too dangerous. I made a small mistake after swapping.

“I was happy with second but then it started raining a tiny bit. After that I settled into a rhythm and I passed Andrea. It was still very hard, and I had to stay 100 per cent focussed.”

Polesitter Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing Yamaha) was fourth, well clear of Rossi, who battled hard after being on the back foot early. Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing Ducati) was sixth, while Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha) was 13th.

Australia’s Broc Parkes (Paul Bird Motorsport) rode superbly to finish 11th – his best rookie MotoGP result – but only after crashing on the warm-up lap when another rider clipped his handlebar.

“I got back to the pits for my spare bike with slick tyres and had to start from pit lane,” said Parkes. “At the start it was still raining and I was even going to pull in because I was really slow but then the track dried fast and I was pushing like crazy on the slick tyres in the wet corners as I could see I was catching everyone.

“Even when I changed to the other bike my pace was still good. I would really like to thank the team for all their hard work.”

Despite all the confusion, Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) was the only retirement after crashes on slicks and then wet tyres.

Moto2
1. Anthony West: QMMF Racing Team, 46m 02.089s
2. Maverick Vinales: Pons HP40, 0.318s
3. Mika Kallio:  Marc VDS Racing Team, 0.743s

Pole position: Rabat,  1:37.311 = 168 km/h
Fastest lap: Dominique Aegerter, 1:43.643 = 158 km/h

Championship top 3
Rabat 157 points • Kallio 131 • Vinales 109

It’s been 11 long years, but 32-year-old Australian Anthony West has won his second grand prix in the most tenacious of circumstances – at the same circuit where he won his first in 2003.

That event was rain affected just like the 2014 version, and West lived up to his ‘wet-weather specialist’ moniker by rocketing through the pack on his QMMF Racing machine from the outset, jumping 13 spots from his lowly position on the grid (23) within the space of a lap.

And his heroics continued: he was in fourth by lap three; third by lap five; second by lap nine; and finally at the sharp end by lap 12 when long-time leader Simone Corsi (NGM Forward Racing) crashed. Corsi remounted to finish 13th, while Briton Sam Lowes (Speed Up) was keeping pace with Corsi early on before he too fell on the slick track.

Meanwhile, West put the shutters up for the last 12 laps, flashing across the finish line ahead of Maverick Vinales (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing). Kallio’s teammate and championship leader Tito Rabat was eighth.

“I am happy! I won my first grand prix at Assen 11 years ago and my dad, who doesn’t come to many races, was present back then. The fact that it’s happened again in similar conditions and with my dad here once again is a really funny situation,” said West. “In the race, I saw the two guys in front of me (Corsi and Lowes) crash out and thought it would be best to keep my own pace, keep a clean line and keep the other guys behind me.

“I knew they would have to take big risks trying to pass me, because I was on the narrow dry line and they would have had to go onto the damp part of the tarmac if they wanted to catch me. It worked out well in the end and I am really happy for myself and for the entire QMMF Racing Team.”

Moto3    
1. Alex Marquez: Estrella Galicia 0,0,  38m 07.648s
2. Alex Rins: Estrella Galicia 0,0, 2.960s
3. Miguel Oliveira: Mahindra Racing, 3.644s    

Pole position:  Jack Miller, 1:42.240 = 159.9 km/h
Fastest lap (record): Roman Fenati, 1:42.914 = 158.8 km/h

Championship top 3
Miller 117 points • Fenati 110 • Marquez 110

The only dry race on Saturday saw Alex Marquez lead home teammate Alex Rins in a magnificent quinella for Estrella Galicia 0,0, with Mahindra Racing’s Miguel Oliveira in third position. Australia’s Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) hit the deck on lap two while leading the race.

Miller, who lost the front end at turn one, was unable to continue, and then main championship rival Roman Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46 KTM) amazingly fluffed two chances to take over the lead in the standings. He ran off the circuit early, sliced his way back to 10th (complete with a new lap record), and then crashed and remounted before finishing 18th – no points.

Miller still leads by seven points (117 to 110), but the battle is intensifying with Marquez now joining Fenati in equal second, while Rins is close behind in fourth.

South Aussie Arthur Sissis (Mahindra Racing) finished in 21st position.

FULL RESULTS AND STANDINGS