2014 Assen MotGP ResultsSpoiler Alert: 2014 MotoGP results from the Dutch Grand Prix at the Assen TT circuit listed below
Weather had a major impact on round eight of the 2014 MotoGP held Saturday at “The Cathedral” Assen TT circuit.This affected qualifying, and the top open-class rider so far this season – NGM Forward Racing’s Aleix Espargaro – capitalized on the wet stuff. He earned the pole Friday ahead of the reigning MotoGP Champion Marc Marquez and his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa.The rain continued Saturday ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, but when it began one rider was against dominate – Marquez. The 21-year-old Spaniard led all 26 laps at Assen, achieving victory ahead of Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso and Pedrosa, respectively.“I was very nervous before. The conditions are what no one wanted, very dangerous. 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 stared raining a tiny bit. After that I settled into a rhythm and I passed Andrea. It was still very hard, I had to stay 100% concentrated,” Marquez says.“The team had everything under control which helped me a lot, seeing them calm kept me calm. They were so clever. The slick was too dangerous at the start, this was the key decision. I just concentrated on riding. It was hard going from wet to dry. But I felt better with each lap and I had a high pace throughout. I was able to push hard.”Marquez and Dovi battled at the beginning of the race, but the Honda RC213V pilot was able to pull away from the Ducati GP14. Marquez eventually took the win by 6.7 seconds. His victory allowed him to match the legendary Giacomo Agostini’s record of winning the first-premier class races in a season (Ago achieved this in 1971).As for Dovizioso, this was his second podium of the year following a third at Texas’ Circuit of the Americas.Pedrosa was able to hold off Espargaro for third. The Spaniard Espargaro finished ahead of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi, whose pace quickened in the second half of the race. Why? The nine-time World Champion swapped back from slicks to wets at the start. Rossi started from pit lane on wets, therefore, and recovered considerable ground before and after eventually the swap back to slicks, MotoGP said.Completing the top 10 were Pramac Racing Ducati’s Andrea Iannone, GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Bradley Smith, Ducati Team’s Cal Crutchlow and LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl.Two-time MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo struggled at Assen, finishing 13th. As for the Americans, Drive M7 Aspar’s Nicky Hayden finished 17 as he struggled with his wrist issues, and NGM Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards 22nd.Broc Parkes (Paul Bird Motorsport) rode superbly to 11th having started from pit lane following a problem on the warm up lap. Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) retired with six laps to go after crashes on slicks and then wet tires.With his win at round eight of 18, Marquez now has a perfect 200 points. He leads the riders tied in second and third by 72 points, Rossi and Pedrosa. In fourth with 91 points is Dovi, and Lorenzo is in fifth with 81.The 2014 MotoGP Championship now breaks for two weeks before reaching its halfway point at Sachsenring in Germany.2014 Assen MotoGP Results:
Pos.
Points
Num.
Rider
Nation
Team
Bike
Km/h
Time/Gap
1
25
93
Marc MARQUEZ
SPA
Repsol Honda Team
Honda
162.8
43’29.954
2
20
4
Andrea DOVIZIOSO
ITA
Ducati Team
Ducati
162.4
+6.714
3
16
26
Dani PEDROSA
SPA
Repsol Honda Team
Honda
162.2
+10.791
4
13
41
Aleix ESPARGARO
SPA
NGM Forward Racing
Forward Yamaha
161.6
+19.199
5
11
46
Valentino ROSSI
ITA
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
Yamaha
161.2
+25.813
6
10
29
Andrea IANNONE
ITA
Pramac Racing
Ducati
161.0
+29.003
7
9
19
Alvaro BAUTISTA
SPA
GO&FUN Honda Gresini
Honda
160.9
+30.882
8
8
38
Bradley SMITH
GBR
Monster Yamaha Tech 3
Yamaha
160.9
+30.985
9
7
35
Cal CRUTCHLOW
GBR
Ducati Team
Ducati
160.1
+44.031
10
6
6
Stefan BRADL
GER
LCR Honda MotoGP
Honda
159.9
+48.662
11
5
23
Broc PARKES
AUS
Paul Bird Motorsport
PBM
159.7
+51.863
12
4
45
Scott REDDING
GBR
GO&FUN Honda Gresini
Honda
159.2
+1’00.329
13
3
99
Jorge LORENZO
SPA
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
Yamaha
158.9
+1’04.641
14
2
17
Karel ABRAHAM
CZE
Cardion AB Motoracing
Honda
158.8
+1’05.980
15
1
9
Danilo PETRUCCI
ITA
Octo IodaRacing Team
ART
158.1
+1’17.611
16
7
Hiroshi AOYAMA
JPN
Drive M7 Aspar
Honda
158.0
+1’19.753
17
69
Nicky HAYDEN
USA
Drive M7 Aspar
Honda
157.5
+1’27.630
18
8
Hector BARBERA
SPA
Avintia Racing
Avintia
157.5
+1’28.142
19
68
Yonny HERNANDEZ
COL
Energy T.I. Pramac Racing
Ducati
155.9
1 Lap
20
63
Mike DI MEGLIO
FRA
Avintia Racing
Avintia
154.9
1 Lap
21
70
Michael LAVERTY
GBR
Paul Bird Motorsport
PBM
151.9
1 Lap
22
5
Colin EDWARDS
USA
NGM Forward Racing
Forward Yamaha
143.8
3 Laps
Not Classified
44
Pol ESPARGARO
SPA
Monster Yamaha Tech 3
Yamaha
147.0
8 Laps
2014 MotoGP Championship Point Standings (after eight of 18 rounds):
This week, Senior Editor Nic de Sena rides the all new Ducati Monster. Big changes have been made by Ducati–has the company ruined the considerable heritage of the iconic Monster–or are the changes worth it? In the second part of the show, we chat with Nick Ienatsch, Founder and Head Instructor at the Yamaha Champions Riding School. He says: “We aim to change your riding life by introducing you to Champions Habits: The techniques, approaches, skills, and the mindsets of the best riders in the world. These Champions Habits are the foundation of safety and consistency to whatever speed you ride, in any venue on any bike. Street riders, this is just as much for you as track riders. The best way to make safe riders is to make good riders.“ We hope you enjoy this episode!
