Dutch Grand Prix
Join the MotoGP fan discussion on TalkingPoints around all the latest Dutch Grand Prix news, opinions, polls and updates from the TT Circuit Assen.
60 comments
Here's our rider ratings after a chaotic Dutch Grand Prix! đź‘€ Which scores would you change?
hughmungass97d ago
Marc a 9... for his racecraft in managing himself therefore the championship
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tyler.rowlinson97d ago
Fernandez arguably deserves a 10 alongside Ogura, both Trackhouse riders were brilliant all weekend. Maybe Quartararo deserves a high rating too, to get that Yamaha in P8 is a great effort
The top five are now separated by just 40 points! Who is your pick for the 2026 title?
cashflow09199096d ago
My pick is marquez because he now knows that he has a shot. He took an easy on this track because of the high risk of crashing. There's plenty of racing to go so the title will be determined in my opinion by the rider that makes the least mistakes. You dont have to win every race but you need to finsh so the points will add up.
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david.comerford97d ago
It sort of feels like Martin is top by accident at the moment. Marquez's Assen weekend slows the hype train a bit, but then again it's Germany coming up...
pixantz698d ago
One word: Marquez.
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Marco Bezzecchi escaped significant injury after this HEAVY crash at Assen. What do you think about his title chances now?
cashflow09199096d ago
He needs to rediscover that form he had early in the season. He has struggle for the last 3 grand prixs. Needs to finish a race to get his condidence back because his other teammates on the Trackhouse bikes are on cloud 9 right now.
david.comerford97d ago
I'm glad Bezzecchi's okay, but I'm worried about his season. The big question was whether he could handle the pressure of his first real title fight and it doesn't look like he can
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pixantz698d ago
I think he's going to break all the positve records he made in the early season by totally opposite negative records. And then some. Like, he did 5 continuous race wins, now he'll do 5(or more) DNFs. He a records man. Looks like he'll break his positive records with negative ones now though, going forward...
Ai Ogura wins his first MotoGP race at Assen! 🏆 What was your biggest takeaway from the Dutch Grand Prix?
djangoreinhardt196593d ago
Good win on a good bike and I hope he shows the other more well known riders the way home..
cashflow09199096d ago
Ai Ogura has momentum now and its going to carry him to the top of the leaderboards. He qualifies well and has great late race pace that nobody else has right now. The factory duo of aprilia are slowly fading while the Trackhouse duo is rising. The ending of this season should be fun.
pixantz698d ago
First of all, Congrats to Ogura. My takeaway though was that it was expected that the huge rock like things passing for "gravel trap" is not getting enough attention as its purely hazardous considering this is a high speed track! Anyone with even moderate speed crash pays heavily. See Fermin and Marco's results. Never seen Marc so adamant to NOT PUSH!
Raul Fernandez wins the Assen Sprint Race 🏆 But who was your rider of the race?
Let us know why in the comments!
ahambly2399d ago
Diggia was brilliant today, really took it to the Aprilia's and showed why he remains Ducati's lead rider in the riders' standings.
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kyle.archer99d ago
Raul Fernandez just delivered a fantastic ride to likely celebrate his new contract with Trackhouse! (They would sure be silly to let the Spaniard leave....)
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Jorge Martin scores pole for the Dutch Grand Prix 🇳🇱 Who surprised you the most during qualifying?
pixantz699d ago
Marquez surprised. In a not so good way. By qualifying in 7th. But the reason is obvious. He is really really scared of those large rock like "gravel" stones after really hurting his b*lls last year in a fall. Expected a change of that but since that didnt happen, he's not risking it again. Also Diggia was explosive for a change, this time. Great fight.
ahambly23100d ago
I thought a strong lap from Marquez was inevitable, but it just didn't come...
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rebecca.braybrook100d ago
Fernandez will be kicking himself for losing provisional pole! But I think the biggest surprise is Marquez down in seventh!
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Fermin Aldeguer has been declared unfit for the Dutch GP - What impact will this injury have on his season?
Aldeguer fractured the T7 vertebra in his crash in practice
kyle.archer100d ago
Fermin Aldeguer had been delivering some strong results despite his ongoing recovery from fracturing his femur in January. But now fracturing a vertebrae will put Aldeguer at a big disadvantage, and he should take time to recover.
ahambly23100d ago
Such a shame, he came back really strong after his femur injury and was beginning to look really competitive at some circuits. The only silver lining is that he is already understood to have his 2027 ride sorted.
Is MotoGP's growth being stunted by star riders like Alex Marquez regularly getting injured?
cashflow091990100d ago
Yes because alex was trending in the right direction last year and although he got off to a slow start this season, he was starting to gain momentum and then Boom! the crash happened.
ahambly23100d ago
I feel like the violent nature of some of the crashes that occur in MotoGP is one of the reasons some fans may be turned away from the sport.
marcus.chan100d ago
For sure, a lot of casual fans are often looking out for the big names and if they are always injured, the fans will quickly lose interest!
What penalty would you give Franco Morbidelli for this incident in practice at Assen?
Morbidelli received a three-place grid penalty for riding slowly on the racing line
pixantz699d ago
I think Morbidelli is borderline plain unsafe to even be on track! Always. He has a mind of his own sometimes and thats plain unsafe. No two ways about it.
kyle.archer100d ago
Franco Morbidelli has a reputation for incidents like this. So, while it may have taken place in practice, it would not be a huge shock if the VR46 rider was hit with a hefty grid penalty or a double long lap penalty for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Who had the better racecraft, Valentino Rossi or Marc Marquez? Let us know why in the comments
Rossi often sparked controversy battling Marquez, like at Assen and Sepang in 2015
david.comerford102d ago
I would actually say Marquez. Rossi is similar to Verstappen for me - formidable but crossed the line too often
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tyler.rowlinson103d ago
Has to be Rossi. Marquez has his strengths, such as braking and corner entry, but the way Valentino rode on track was nothing short of incredible
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kyle.archer103d ago
Valentino Rossi's racecraft was one of his absolute best strengths (and you would struggle to find any real weaknesses in it, even if Marc Marquez forced Vale to play with the limits at times).
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What is your one bold prediction for the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix at Assen?
Is it a surprise winner? A shock podium? Or a horrendous result?
s.scottu5101d ago
I'm looking forward to Ai (hopefully) getting his bike dialed in. His rides in the last 10 laps are epic, (his focus is incredible) makes it enjoyable to watch.
tyler.rowlinson103d ago
Bezzecchi will bounce back from his ban in emphatic fashion and beat Marquez for the win. This could be a close fight between Aprilia and Ducati
david.comerford103d ago
I think we're going to see the first real fireworks between Marquez and Aprilia this weekend now that a championship rivalry is taking shape