Photo: MotoGP
Moto GP races at the spectacular Assen track in the Netherlands tend to be dramatic and unpredictable, and the June 26 event was no exception.
This time the big joker wasn’t due to riders, but to the highly changeable local weather. From perfect sunny and dry conditions for the Moto 3 race, it degenerated quickly to the point the Moto GP race started in the wet, began to dry, then was halted by a torrential downpour that flooded the track.
The restart was still in heavy rain but conditions kept changing, to the point that half the grid crashed at one point or another, and while some of them managed to restart and continue, there were only 13 of 21 starters running at the end, three of those having crashed and restarted. Early leaders Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi both crashed out in the treacherous conditions, leaving the race victory to a surprising Jack Miller, who caught and passed double world champion Marc Marquez for the win. It was an incredible result for the young Aussie, who had been lucky to get near the top 10 previously in his two years of Moto GP.
He was nearly in tears at the end, saying “It gives Honda something back for taking such a big gamble on me and … the amount of criticism they have taken, and the amount of criticism I have taken, so big thanks to them and to my family as well.” Asked about his family back in Australia he said, “It’s 4 a.m. there, so they’re either asleep or on their 40th beer!”
The Moto 2 and Moto 3 races both threw up new winners, Taka Nakagami grabbing his first victory for the Honda Asia team run by former 500 cc GP star Taddy Okada, holding a commanding lead when the race was stopped because of rain with two laps left. In Moto 3 Francesco Bagnaia grabbed his first win and the first for the Mahindra factory in a typically crazy race, at one point 14 riders in the lead draft!
There’s now a three-week break before the German GP at the Sachsenring circuit July 10, with Honda’s Marc Marquez (second at Assen) leading Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi in the title chase.
Also at the Assen race, the final factory ride for the 2017 season was announced, as Aleix Espargaro, dumped from Suzuki with their signings of Ducati’s Andrea Iannone and Moto 2 ace Alex Rins, announced he’ll be joining Moto 2 series leader Sam Lowes at the Aprilia team. That leaves the team line-up for 2017 looking like this:
Factory Teams
Repsol Honda: Marc Marquez, Dani Pedrosa
Movistar Yamaha: Valentino Rossi, Maverick Vinales
Ducati Team: Andrea Dovizioso, Jorge Lorenzo
Suzuki: Alex Rins, Andrea Iannone
KTM: Bradley Smith, Pol Espargaro
Aprilia Gresini: Sam Lowes, Aleix Espargaro
Satellite Teams
LCR Honda: Cal Crutchlow
Marc VDS Honda: Jack Miller, second seat unknown
Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Jonas Folger, almost certainly Johann Zarco
Pramac Ducati: no signings yet, but likely that Scott Redding and Danilo Petrucci will continue
Aspar Ducati: no signings yet, but continuing with Eugene Laverty and dropping Yonny Hernandez for Alvaro Bautista seems likely
Avintia Ducati: no signings yet, Hector Barbera and Loris Baz are the current seat holders
One more piece of news from the Dutch weekend: the Grand Prix Commission has officially banned wings in all classes effective next year, striking a blow for esthetics and safety!
