Having been fast all weekend, Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) looked set to make an incredible comeback from last on the grid. His cause was helped by the weather, rain causing everyone to be more cautious than usual in the opening laps. Within two laps he was inside the top ten, creeping inside the top five by only the sixth lap of the race. ‘The Maniac’ was on a roll until he crashed on lap 14 having closed down the riders fighting for victory. Fortunately this is when the red flag came out due to the rain, Iannone able to return to the pits and make the restart.
"I am pleased with both of my starts: in the first after the opening lap I was eleventh and shortly after already up to sixth, and maybe starting a few rows further up I could even have fought for the podium"Iannone had to start from the sixth row during the restart due to his fall, once more charging from the back of the grid. Yet again, he was inside the top five by lap four, remaining there for the rest of the race. Fifth is an incredible result after having had to twice start from the back of the grid and crashing, Assen always producing magic moments. With 52 points, Iannone is eighth in the championship table and only six points behind Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing), who is the leading Ducati.
Andrea Iannone: “Overall I think it’s been a positive weekend for us, because in the dry we were always competitive and we had a good chance of finishing the weekend well despite the rain, which until yesterday was a problem for me because I didn’t have much confidence, as well as the fact that I had to start from last place. In MotoGP it’s never easy to recover from the back, but I am pleased with both of my starts: in the first after the opening lap I was eleventh and shortly after already up to sixth, and maybe starting a few rows further up I could even have fought for the podium. I was right at the back of the grid again in seventeenth place in the second start, but I managed to recover well and cross the line in fifth place. In the end today’s result was quite positive for us and we managed to bring home some important points.”