Marquez: It was a crazy race!

Reigning double MotoGP champion Marc Marquez has branded the Dutch TT as a “crazy race” following more than 100 passes which were exchanged in the leading group. The Repsol Honda ace took his second premier class win at Assen and moved onto a 41 point lead in the championship over Valentino Rossi.

“It was a crazy race, full of adrenaline—this feeling is one of the reasons we do this sport! Yesterday, I was expecting something like this, but nothing like it actually was! We were a wild bunch, everyone fighting against everyone; I think all of us made contact with somebody else at some point,” said the Spaniard.

“We had to attack and defend, attack and defend. We had so many ‘big moments’ and risked crashing. It was crazy! It was impossible to define the best strategy, impossible to make plans, so eventually I decided to just fight and see what we could do in the end.

“In the last three laps, I gave it everything, no matter the tyres, no matter about the Championship. I had been trying to reduce the group because when you’re fighting for the title, you just want the fewest riders possible at the front, but it was difficult.

Only when I saw I had more than one and a half seconds of advantage before the last lap did I think, Okay, we’ve got it, let’s just finish this lap. It was an important win and 25 very important points, but we need to keep going, keep pushing, and keep this same level.”

With the next round taking place at the Sachsenring, Marquez will be the favourite again – having won every single race he has taken part in at the circuit since 2010 – including all five premier class appearance. A win in Germany could turn the championship around in the Spaniard’s favour, even with 10 races still left after the round.