Marc Márquez won the anniversary edition of the TT Assen on Sunday. The 32-year-old Spaniard finished ahead of Italians Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Bagnaia on the packed circuit, enough for his first victory in Assen since 2018.
Fabio Quartararo, the winner of 2021, started from pole position on the hundredth anniversary of the TT. But the Frenchman quickly felt the hot breath of the Ducati riders on his neck. First, he was overtaken by Bagnaia, the winner of the last three editions in Assen. Then, championship leader Marc Márquez took control.
His brother Álex Márquez, number two in the standings, quickly threw his own chances away. After six laps, he crashed after fighting with compatriot Pedro Acosta for his place. The race was immediately over for the youngest Márquez brother, who had also been diagnosed with a nasty hand injury.
Marc Márquez, meanwhile, had to defend his leading position. He succeeded, even though Bezzecchi stayed close behind him. The Spaniard won his sixth race of the season and, with twelve more GPs to go, is on course for his first overall victory since 2019.
Marc Márquez now leads Álex by 68 points in the standings. Number three Bagnaia follows 126 points behind the leader.
Earlier in the day, the Dutchmen Zonta van den Goorbergh and Collin Veijer both scored points in the Moto2 race. They finished in twelfth and fourteenth place, good for four and two points in the standings respectively.
The day’s victory went to the Brazilian Diogo Moreira, who narrowly beat Arón Canet. With that, Moreira writes history, because he is now the first Brazilian with a victory in Moto2.
The Spaniard Manuel González finished third and leads in the Moto2 standings with 159 points, 5 more than compatriot Canet. Moreira is the number three and follows at 31 points. Van den Goorbergh and Veijer are in nineteenth and twentieth place.