Márquez records win at dramatic Dutch TT

It was Technomag-CIP’s Dominique Aegerter and Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone who got away best, yet there was drama at the start as Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2’s Ratthapark Wilairot and Tom Lüthi collided on the first lap, putting an end to Lüthi’s race. There was however more to come, as the weekend’s pace-setter Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró crashed out of the lead as he lost the back end of his bike. Both Lüthi and Espargaró were uninjured in the incidents, while Wilairot re-joined.

Three laps in, Iannone had taken the lead, followed by Aegerter, Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding and Márquez. With 18 laps left, Redding had snuck into second place to pursue Iannone, as he looked comfortable at the front. Márquez, who looked to be held up by Aegerter, made his way past the Swiss rider to chase the leading two. In the meantime it was more misery for the Pons team as its other rider Axel Pons crashed as well.

With 14 laps remaining Iannone had pulled out a three second gap at the front as Márquez and Redding provided the entertaining battle for second behind. At this point Espargaró’s teammate Esteve Rabat had joined the pursuing group in fifth ahead of Corsi, who had lost the tail section of his machine early on. And it was Rabat who took Redding with 11 laps left for third, as he started to hunt down his compatriot Márquez. All the while NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis has worked his way up on his FTR chassis into fourth.

A lap later Corsi crashed out, putting an end to what was a very good race for the Italian, whilst Desguaces La Torre SAG’s Damian Cudlin retired with a mechanical issue. With six laps remaining Márquez had closed the gap significantly to Iannone and looked to be catching the Italian quickly. On the same lap Redding re-found some pace and took Rabat for third.

With three laps left the scrap at the front began, with Márquez making his first pass, yet Iannone fighting back immediately. A lap later the Spaniard repeated his move, with Iannone responding in the same way again. The two were fairing to fairing as they headed into the last lap, with Márquez taking the lead on the outside of turn 1. Iannone fought back, but couldn’t make it stick as he ran wide after the two almost touched.

It was ultimately Márquez who took his third win of the season, with Iannone in second and Redding completing the podium. Márquez now leads the championship with Iannone in second. Redding’s podium was the first time the Brit has ever recorded back-to-back podiums in his Grand Prix career. The top three were followed by Rabat, De Angelis, Tech 3 Racing’s Bradley Smith, Aegerter, JiR Moto2’s Johann Zarco, Mapfre Aspar Team’s Toni Elías and Redding’s teammate Mika Kallio.