An incredible attack through Marc Marquez’s field at the Dutch TT delivered seventh from 20th on the grid, while Pol Espargaro took another top ten finish.
The ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship 2021 was held under a clear sky on the historic TT Circuit Assen. The Repsol Honda Team was on the grid to prepare for a mountainous challenge. The morning started well with Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro, who finished the morning warm-up in the top ten and showed a promising pace. Early fears of rain soon disappeared when the starting field for the 26-lap Grand Prix was formed later that day.
Marc Marquez was unstoppable from the line as he jumped up the order when the lights went out and finished the first lap in 12th place after starting 20th on the grid. In just three laps, Marquez had made up a total of ten places by joining the front of the group and preparing for the race. Consistent pace and mistakes at the top brought Marquez up until the second half of the race when he started attacking and slipped past Aleix Espargaro to seventh place. Their battle should be rekindled in the final laps and the Honda RC213V won the advantage in the final lap. His attack across the field would leave Marquez in seventh place after starting from 20th on the grid and making up 13 places over the course of the race – a strong finish after his hard crash on Friday.
A hectic start to the race put Pol Espargaro on the defensive on the first lap and fought for his position in the leading group. Espargaro tried to stay with his fast-starting team-mate, held his ground behind in the fight and finished in 11th place for most of the race. Espargaro now crosses 41 championship points and goes into the summer break. Saturday remains a critical point for Espargaro and provides the focus in qualifying after the break.
Takaaki Nakagami delivered an exciting race on board the LCR team’s Honda RC213V and fought for the podium with Viñales and Bagnaia at the start of the race. Nakagami would eventually cross the finish line in ninth place.
The MotoGP World Championship is now enjoying the mid-season summer break and is returning on August 8th at the Styrian Grand Prix. For the Repsol Honda Team, it offers the chance to regroup and attack in 2021 after a difficult start to the second half of the season.