Under an air of inevitability, the Argentina MotoGP kicked off with the only question being how far everyone was going to finish behind the dominant Marquez. Happily, however, at least the first few laps were entertaining.
As the lights went off the MotoGP grid suddenly turned into a Moto2 pack of hounds as all hell broke out for four laps. What a cracking start to a race.
Lorenzo led initially; not for long...
Away from the chaos, at the front Lorenzo attempted to take off while behind him Marquez was involved in the hugely entertaining battle for position. But then the inevitable happened.
Clear of the rest of the field, Marquez hunted down Lorenzo and sat behind the Spaniard while the laps counted down. Could Lorenzo stay ahead? You got the feeling that Marquez was simply taking his time. Or making a bit of a race of it.
While at the front it wasn't overly entertaining, behind Lorenzo and Marquez the battles between were still being fought.
With nine laps left, Marquez was obviously bored of looking at Lorenzo's exhaust and passed with ease before clearing off into the distance. Remember the days that Rossi used to toy with the competition? It looks like Marquez has been studying his history.
With Marc leading the way, the field was now pretty strung out and the tail end of the race was a bit of a procession. Pedrosa hunting down Lorenzo was a spark of entertainment in the last few laps, but Lorenzo threw the towel in pretty easily. Marc took the win, Pedrosa got second and Lorenzo third. Once again you have to hand it to Bradley, who beat his team mate with ease. Nice work Bradders.
A tight Moto2 grid saw the Brits down the order, however at least they both managed to avoid first lap trouble this time. A disappointingly drawn out Moto2 race saw Rabat take the win from Simeon and Salom. A superb race saw Lowes secure 8th from 22nd.
Moto3 and could anyone beat Jack Miller? On qualifying performance it seemed unlikely but with some big slipstream straights, the Moto3 race promised to be spectacular, especially as Danny Kent and John McPhee qualified well. A proper freight train between Miller, Fenati and Vazquez was interrupted mid race by the arrival of Marquez and Rins, only adding to the excitement. A predictably hectic last lap saw Fenati take the win, Marquez second and Miller third (on the grass!). Kent finished ninth, in the gravel...
MotoGP
1. Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)
2. Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team)
3. Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
Moto2
1. Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team)
2. Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2)
3. Salom (Pons HP 40)
Moto3
1: Fenati (Sky Racing Team VR46)
2: Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
3: Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
Cal Crutchlow (MotoGP) - DNS
Bradley Smith (MotoGP) - 7
Michael Laverty (MotoGP) - 18
Scott Redding (MotoGP) - 14
Sam Lowes (Moto2) - 8
Gino Rea - (Moto2) - DNF
John McPhee (Moto3) - DNF
Danny Kent (Moto3) - 9
Assen always throws up some great racing and with the stands stacked full of Brits, a lot was expected of the British riders. Although for the first time in ages, it wasn't Sykes' green Kawasaki on pole, instead teammate Baz lined up at the front of the grid.
Great weekend for Rea with two podiums
Under gloomy and dampish conditions, race one kicked off with Guintoli taking the advantage and Rea in second place. Jonathan loves Assen and his Dutch Honda team always seems to go well here, but you can never write off the super fast Kawasakis.
Mid race and with Laverty and Iddon both crashing out, the British focus was on Sykes and Rea, who were chasing down leader Guintoli. With just four laps to go, and the gap to Guintoli narrowing, the red flags came out due to the Buell's engine going pop. Again. Is that three engines in two races for the Buell team?
After a delayed start due to the weather, race two started under a flood of rain and with Sykes minus his beard! As in race one, it was Guintoli who took the early advantage. Funnily enough, there was also a Bimota in the mix and the Italian factory has a history of doing well in the wet... Could lightning strike twice?
Thankfully, due to the horrific conditions, the WSB organisers took the correct decision and stopped the race before anyone got injured.
The restarted race saw Rea leading the ten lap dash with Sykes and Guintoli behind until the Frenchman highsided out a few laps into the race. With Rea in a clear lead, the excitement behind was being provided by Lowes, who was giving it his all to get his first WSB podium. Could he make it a win? In the end Rea took the win with Lowes an impressive second.
In Supersport the Brits Kev Coghlan, Jack Kennedy and Frazer Rogers were hoping to give the crowd something to cheer about. After a strong showing, Kennedy hit the deck mid-race, crashing out of a potential top five finish, and leaving Coghlan to do the business. The Scot got a solid fourth, while Van Der Mark took the win. Rogers was 19th while Kennedy DNFed.
Race 1:
1. Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team)
2. Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3. Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
Race 2:
1. Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
2. Lowes (Voltom Crescent Suzuki)
3. Giugliano (Ducati Superbike Team)
Eugene Laverty (Suzuki) -DNF, DNF
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) - 2, 4
Leon Haslam (Honda) - 8, 5
Jonathan Rea (Honda) - 3, 1
Chaz Davies (Ducati) - 7, 8
Alex Lowes (Suzuki) - 9, 2
Leon Camier (BMW) - 13, DNF
Christian Iddon (Bimota) - DNF, 12
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