MotoGP Assen: Rossi wins after a year-long drought

The reason we watch racing is partly the danger. We know it can end in tears, but we applaud the skill that these fearless participants display at incredible speeds. The icing on the cake is an unpredictable finish, with lots of overtaking. That's exactly what the Dutch TT of Assen offered. 

The order of the races was changed up this race weekend, with Moto2 running after MotoGP so as not to clash with the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan. The weather also was unpredictable during the entire weekend, which saw the field getting shuffled as well. Lorenzo had his worst qualifying since 2003, a combination of a bike that didn't turn well coupled with the wet weather and memories of a broken collarbone in similar conditions a few years ago. Pedrosa also was way down the ranks, because he couldn't get heat into the tyres with his light weight. Vinales was in a low position as well, so everything pointed to Zarco winning his first race with a little bit of luck. It was the first MotoGP pole of his short career in the class, and nobody was surprised to see him there. 

Come Sunday, though, and as always, things changed. The top four broke away, Scott Redding with his excellent fifth place qualifying holding up a total of eight riders, all jostling for fifth place. Vinales put his head down and started gaining, but his impatience at the final chicane did him in. He fell, Dovizioso narrowly avoiding him, to get exactly zero points from this outing. Meanwhile at the front, things hadn't gone exactly to Zarco's plan: Petrucci, Marquez and Rossi were snapping at his heels after a couple of laps, waiting for the drop in performance of the soft tyres he was running. Around half distance, Rossi made his move. During the ensuing laps, Rossi ran slightly wide at one corner, but shut the door firmly on Zarco. There was contact, and suddenly the Frenchman found himself trailing the leading group on tyres that were past their prime. However, it started raining, so he (and a few others like Lorenzo) decided to pit for the rain bikes. The two leading groups stayed out, however. 

Just before the rain arrived, Dovizioso upped the pace, broke away from the second group and started fighting for the lead. The wet weather made him back off - he has a lot to gain by settling for a good number of points instead of fighting for the lead. Conversely, the rain seemed to ignite something in Cal Crutchlow, who was suddenly riding around a couple of seconds faster per lap than the leading group. At the front, Petrucci seemed to have the measure of Rossi but ran into back markers on the last two laps - the second time, he had contact with Alex Rins. Meanwhile, Crutchlow had overtaken Marquez and the Spaniard fought back on the last lap. Dovi, Crutchlow and Marquez crossed the line nearly side by side. 

Result: Rossi first, Petrucci second and Marquez third. A well-deserved win for Rossi with the new chassis, and Dovizioso now leads the riders' championship by a mere 4 points from Maverick Vinales. We couldn't ask for a more exciting series, headed into the last race before summer break. On to the Sachsenring this upcoming weekend!