Although qualified in 14th position on the grid for the Dutch Grand Prix, Loris Baz was certain to have all the cards in hand to compete against his opponents.
After a cautious start, the Frenchman was in 15th place on the first lap. Despite the rain that occurred nine laps from the finish and a right arm paralyzed by pain, Baz knew how to stay on his wheels to gradually move up the hierarchy. At the end of a tough fight against Karel Abraham and Andrea Iannone, the French driver finished eighth, just a few thousandths behind his Czech rival.
Satisfied with this result, the Ducati rider, who is only two points behind Scott Redding in the general standings, is already heading towards the next meeting on the calendar at the Sachsenring.
Loris Baz: “ Overall, the race went pretty well, even if the first laps proved complicated: I lacked feeling with the front of my machine, mainly due to the little riding we did in the dry. In addition, my right arm is causing me more and more pain.
“He was already paralyzed on the second pass. So I adapted my style accordingly in order to maintain my pace, stay in the points and hold off everyone I was ahead of. When the rain arrived, I immediately felt that there was something to be done. I pushed as hard as possible to keep my tires warm, as that is often the key in these conditions.
“Despite everything, I managed to move up the rankings. Iannone and I fought a neck-and-neck battle, which benefited Abraham who narrowly overtook us. However, I remain satisfied with this result with this arm which is bothering me more and more. I will have surgery on the Wednesday following the German Grand Prix in order to best approach the second half of the season. »
Dutch Grand Prix results:
1- Valentino Rossi – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha YZR M1 – 26 laps
2- Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 0.063
3- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 5.201
4- Cal Crutchlow – LCR Honda – Honda RC213V – + 5.243
5- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP – + 5.327
6- Jack Miller – Marc VDS 0.0 EG – Honda RC213V – 23,390 +
7- Karel Abraham – Pull & Bear Aspar Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP15 – 36,982 +
8- Loris Baz – Royal Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP15 – 37,058 +
9- Andrea Iannone – Ecstar Team Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-RR – 37,166 +
10- Aleix Espargaro – Aprilia Racing Team Gresini – Aprilia RS-GP – + 1'01.929
11- Pol Espargaro – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM RC16 – + 1’09.384
12- Tito Rabat – EG 0.0 Marc VDS – Honda RC213V – + 1’10.121
- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 1’10.344
14- Johann Zarco – Monster Yamaha to Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1’35.655
15- Jorge Lorenzo – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP at 1 lap
16- Hector Barbera – Royal Avintia Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP at 1 lap
17- Alex Rins – Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki GSX-RR 1 lap
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1 Andrea DOVIZIOSO-Ducati 115 points
2 Maverick VIÑALES-Yamaha 111
3 Valentino ROSSI-Yamaha 108
4 Marc MARQUEZ-Honda 104
5 Dani PEDROSA-Honda 87
6 Johann ZARCO-Yamaha 77
7 Danilo PETRUCCI-Ducati 62
8 Jorge LORENZO-Ducati 60
9 Cal CRUTCHLOW-Honda 58
10 Jonas FOLGER-Yamaha 51
11 Jack MILLER-Honda 40
12 Alvaro BAUTISTA-Ducati 34
13 Scott REDDING-Ducati 33
14 Loris BAZ-Ducati 31
15 Andrea IANNONE-Suzuki 28
16 Aleix ESPARGARO-Aprilia 23
17 Tito RABAT-Honda 23
18 Hector BARBERA-Ducati 21
19 Karel ABRAHAM-Ducati 20
20 Pol ESPARGARO-KTM 11
