2021 Dutch MotoGP, TT Circuit Assen – Race Results

Fabio Quartararo extends his world championship lead with a dominant victory in the 2021 Dutch MotoGP at Assen, his fourth win of the season.

Quartararo cut across Yamaha team-mate Vinales’ nose to take the holeshot at Turn 1, only to in-turn lose the early lead to a charging Bagnaia.

The Ducati rider continued to put up a commendable defence, but the Frenchman eventually made a pass stick with 20 laps to go and never looked back.

By contrast, Bagnaia was left at the head of a pack of riders, the Ducati’s lack of pace through the fast end of the lap being somewhat countered by impressive bike-squatting acceleration out of the final chicane.

But the Italian was hit with a long-lap penalty for exceeding track limits with 13 laps to go, dropping him to ninth. At almost the same time, team-mate Miller slid out of eighth at the hairpin. The Australian was later black flagged for a technical issue.

When the dust had cleared Vinales, now at the centre of shock rumours he will split from Yamaha and join Aprilia next season, was at the head of the pack competing for second, with Mir carving through to third.

After finishing in last place just a week ago at the Sachsenring, Vinales, the only rider to chose the soft front tyre, initially took some sizeable chunks out of Quartararo’s 3.5s lead.

Ultimately it was too little, too late and the Spaniard responded to cross the line 2.757s behind the #20 for what was his first podium since winning round one in Qatar.

But Vinales looked far from happy in parc ferme, shrugging his shoulders after removing his helmet and then standing on his own and watching Quartararo celebrate.

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The battle for the final podium place went down to the flag with reigning champion Mir just keeping Zarco at bay, with Oliveira in fifth.

Starting from his worst MotoGP qualifying of 20th, Marc Marquez fought through to eleventh on the opening lap.

While there was to be no repeat of last Sunday’s Sachsenring heroics, Marquez – sore after a huge highside on Friday and using the new Honda chassis – held a competitive pace and spent the closing laps in a group battle for sixth with Bagnaia, Espargaro and Nakagami.

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Rins was sent off-track during an early pass from Zarco, rejoining in last.

Rossi’s race came to a violent conclusion when, after a nightmare start that left him in last, the Italian went on to suffer a bike-destroying fall at Turn 7.

Garrett Gerloff was replacing the injured Franco Morbidelli at Petronas Yamaha, alongside Rossi. The American finished his first MotoGP race in 17th, ahead of Marini.

The MotoGP summer break now takes place until the first of the back-to-back Red Bull Ring rounds in Austria, on August 6-8…

* Rookie

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