The stage was set even before the lights could go out and kick-start the Sunday race. The TT Circuit Assen was simmering hot with the temperature soaring high. To make matters worse, Marc Marquez withdraw from the race for the second time in a row after he aggravated his rib injury. Saturday was a complete Marco Bezzecchi show as he took pole position and squeezed past the reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia to win the sprint race. The Bezzecchi juggernaut came to a halt as Bagnaia won the Dutch GP while the VR46 rider had to settle for second place. While fighting tooth and nail KTM’s Brad Binder took the final podium position but only to be penalized for exceeding the track limits and was forced to concede as Aprilia’s Aleix Espargo took third place.
Dutch MotoGP: Flawless Bagnaia
To everyone’s surprise, it was Binder who took a lightning start and went past the Ducati trio — Bezzecchi, Bagnaia and Luca Marini. The South African was the first to exit the first turn of the race and aggressively charged ahead. Starting from the sixth, Espargo too managed to slingshot himself but he connected with Marini and damaged his front aero package. With guts and determination, the Aprilia rider remained committed as he moved up to fourth.
Coming back to the battle for the podium. In a cool and composed manner, Bagnaia overtook Binder and after that, there was no looking back for the Italian who went on to win his second successive Dutch GP. Binder was the only top rider who had opted for a soft rear tyre, which meant that the track’s hot temperature would come back to bite. With Bezzecchi breathing down the KTM rider’s neck, Binder finally made an error which helped the Italian to pounce on second position. After that move, the VR46 rider didn’t look back and took second place in the race.
Dutch MotoGP: Binder Blunder
The KTM rider showed great defensive riding skills to keep Espagaro at bay. The Aprilia rider stuck behind Binder like glue but due to a damaged front aero package, all he could do was force Binder to make a mistake as he couldn’t generate enough pace to overtake him. To Binder’s credit, he rode like a champion and showed he could defend and negate any last-lap drama. Unfortunately, for the KTM rider, he exceeded the track limits and as per the rules if this incident happens on the last lap then it’s an automatic one-position demotion. Hence, Binder lost the third position to Espargaro.