1993
In 1993 Kevin Schwantz arrived at Assen leading the championship after winning three of the first six races that year and having never finished off the podium. His arch-rival reigning 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey was second, just a few points behind him, having won two races and recorded another three podiums. Strangely though, Rainey would struggle during the race and not be able to fight for the lead.
Runner up in the championship for the previous two years, Mick Doohan, started from pole ahead of Schwantz and Alex Barros. The battle between these three for the race win was an absolute classic, coming right down to the final chicane...
2002
The 2002 season saw the dawn of a new era as 500cc 2-stroke bikes lined up on the grid against the new 990cc 4-stroke MotoGP™ machines. Valentino Rossi was the reigning champion and he had dominated proceedings so far that season. 'The Doctor’ had won five of the first six races of the season, finishing second in the other, and had a 48-point lead in the championship standings over Tohru Ukawa.
Nothing prepared people for what was to come though as Rossi, starting from fourth on the grid, became involved in a brilliant race long battle with Alex Barros. Rossi was riding the new RC211V 4-stroke Honda, while Barros was on the NSR500 2-stroke, the Brazilian having to ride out of his skin to try and match the Italian on the more modern machinery…
2015
The 2015 Dutch GP saw Jorge Lorenzo arrive in Assen riding a wave of confidence, having won four races in a row. In the process the Spaniard had closed down his teammate Valentino Rossi’s early season advantage in the standings to just one point. Rossi knew he had to stop the rot and swing the pendulum back in his favour, but he didn’t quite count on reigning champion Marc Marquez who was determined to bounce back from two DNF’s in a row that had effectively ended his chance to defend his title. Rossi was a man on a mission and 'The Doctor’ secured his first pole position of the season in an effort to halt Lorenzo’s charge. Marquez started from the front row in third, with Lorenzo recording his worst qualification result of the season in eighth.
What happened next was simply epic, as Rossi and Marquez had an incredible scrap over the final few laps that culminated in a rather dramatic finish at the last chicane…