Francesco Bagnaia controls MotoGP sprint in Dutch GP win ahead of Jorge Martin, as Maverick Vinales fights back to third.
It was a clean start from pole for Francesco Bagnaia on his Ducati in MotoGP sprint in Dutch GP at Assen as Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin was second from Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez who cleared Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales for the final spot on the podium.
Gresini’s Marc Marquez also gained couple of places to be fifth from KTM’s Brad Binder, with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro dropping to seventh from Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli and Ducati’s Enea Bastianini in the Top 9 points scoring position.
Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and VR46 Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio slotted in 10th and 11th with GASGAS Tech 3’s Pedro Acosta dropping to 12th. While Bagnaia led from Martin, Vinales passed A Marquez for third just after M Marquez crashed out in Sector 1.
He seemingly touched the kerb and lost his rear to crash, as positions changed at the fag end of the points places. Morbidelli dropped out of points which allowed Bastianini, Quartararo and di Giannantonio to push themselves into the points.
Honda’s Luca Marini was the second retirement after his engine went bust, as Bagnaia continued to lead from Martin and Vinales. The fight for fourth was on as A Marquez defended from Binder and Bastianini, who cleared Espargaro for sixth.
Di Giannantonio passed Quartararo for eighth, as Morbidelli hung on just outside of points. While the Frenchman was in the points, his Yamaha teammate Alex Rins crashed out to be the third retirement, as several MotoGP riders were marked for track limits.
In the battle for fourth, Bastianini not only passed Binder but also forced his way through A Marquez as the South African was passed by Espargaro at the same place. But the Spaniard had a wide moment which allowed Binder and di Giannantonio through.
Espargaro stayed on their tail in eighth ahead of Quartararo. The first track limits casualty was Trackhouse Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez, who was handed a Long Gap Penalty. H was followed by a Long Gap Penalty for A Marquez after his track limits situation.
But the Spaniard lost fifth on track when di Giannantonio came through Binder and lucked on to take fifth with Espargaro clearing Binder for sixth. At the front, Bagnaia was in cruise control to win the MotoGP sprint in Dutch GP from Martin and Vinales.
Bastianini was fourth from di Giannantonio as a late fall from Espargaro dropped him out where replays showed him in pain, holding his left hand. His fall allowed Binder to be sixth with A Marquez in seventh but a 3s penalty dropped him to eighth.
It put Quartararo in seventh from A Marquez, as Morbidelli gained from Espargaro’s crash to score a point in ninth where Acosta missed out in 10th.