Assen has not been kind to Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) in 2016, the Spaniard unable to advance through Q1 and started the Motul TT Assen in 15th place. Rain before the race through the grid a curveball, the situation made more complicated as the track looked set to dry before the race was over. Off they went, Pedrosa slowly dropping back as the track dried. He was as low as tenth but then the rain came down again and he shot forward, closing down the leaders and moving up to fifth. But then the red flag was shown, the rain too severe for riders to continue.
"I upped my pace very quickly while others were at a disadvantage. However, that was when the Race Direction decided to stop the race. I felt unlucky, because it turned out that thinking ahead or trying to pick a different strategy wasn’t beneficial"Pedrosa would then be betrayed by the conditions in the restart, falling on the first lap. He picked himself up, knowing that points are always a possibility in the wet. His determination was rewarded with 12th place; not the result he had wanted but at least he got some points. Pedrosa holds fourth in the championship, 17 points back on Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) who failed to score in Assen.
Dani Pedrosa: “It's been a pretty tough weekend but races like today are a lottery. In the first race it seemed that the strategy of running the soft tyre had gone well. At first, when the track was drying, I went slowly, but when it started to rain I upped my pace very quickly while others were at a disadvantage. However, that was when the Race Direction decided to stop the race. I felt unlucky, because it turned out that thinking ahead or trying to pick a different strategy wasn’t beneficial. In the second race I crashed on the first lap, because I had a new rear tyre without too much grip. It has been a difficult Grand Prix but we will try to find better solutions for the next race and regain our feeling in order to go faster.”