Last weekend, Alberto Puig experienced his eighth race as manager of the Repsol Honda Team, watching Marc Márquez take his fourth victory of the year.
The MotoGP World Championship is about to reach the halfway point of the season and, after eight Grands Prix, Marc Márquez is calling the shots. On Sunday he increased his advantage with his fourth victory of the year, in an exciting race in which the reigning world champion took advantage of the work done during practice with his team to open up a small gap in the final laps.
What was the strategy for today's race in Assen?
“It was a difficult and very complicated race, in which it was difficult to escape from the large group in front. But Marc played his cards well; he chose the right tires, waited and then used his full potential. He was able to show what we saw throughout this weekend; his advantage of two or three tenths per lap.
The positives and negatives after the race?
“The positive thing is that Marc won the race and we widened the gap in the World Drivers' Championship and the World Manufacturers' Championship. The negative was Dani's weekend. He never felt comfortable because this track is almost always very difficult for him and he could not recover the time lost during practice. I hope he will be in the lead again in two weeks at the Sachsenring in Germany, a track he likes.”
The view from the wall during the race?
“Today it wasn't a fast race in terms of speed, but it was a very good race, and one that was quite difficult for our nerves! »
The inside story, outside of official commentary?
“Assen was incredible, as usual. The atmosphere was excellent, with 150 people enjoying a beautiful show and magnificent weather throughout the weekend.”
Dutch Grand Prix Assen MotoGP Race: Standings
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 41'13.863 |
| 2 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | +2.269 |
| 3 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | +2.308 |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | +2.422 |
| 5 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +2.963 |
| 6 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | +3.876 |
| 7 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | +4.462 |
| 8 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | +7.001 |
| 9 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | +7.541 |
| 10 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | +13.056 |
| 11 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | +14.255 |
| 12 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | +15.876 |
| 13 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | +15.986 |
| 14 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | +16.019 |
| 15 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | +16.043 |
| 16 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | +16.416 |
| 17 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | +29.073 |
| 18 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | +33.824 |
| 19 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | +34.037 |
| 20 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | +47.853 |
| Unclassified | ||||
| 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 9 Tours | |
| 10 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | 9 Tours | |
| 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 15 Tours |
source: Box Repsol
