MotoGP Assen Day 3, Marc Marquez (Ducati/7) pulled a "Rossi": "According to race control, there was nothing there."

A somewhat strange day for Marc Marquez in Assen. Granted, he wasn't necessarily the favorite, And he himself had said that he was going to try to limit the damage because of the dangerous nature of the circuit.But in the end, this seventh place leaves a bitter taste. Because of Bezzecchi's crash and the retirements of Acosta and Bagnaia, there were clearly some very big points to be won. He crossed the finish line in sixth place, but was demoted for running wide onto the green section on the final lap, just like his teammate yesterday.

Marc Marquez was not particularly satisfied with his Grand Prix. « Well… if I were happy with a sixth or seventh place, it would mean I'm not Marc MárquezBut let's be realistic: this weekend, the objective was different. I was on the bike, I finished the race, and that's it. I'm still at the same level as the leader. But the most important thing is that on some circuits, I'm physically limited, and I have to manage that. I need to understand that I will perform better on other circuitsOn the ones I enjoy, I'll try to make the most of it. On the ones I don't, I'll finish the race and score points. I'm leaving Assen without injury, that's the most important thing. » he declared for DAZN at the arrival.

 

 

One particularly memorable image is that of him crashing through the gravel trap on the final corner after contact with Di Giannantonio. An image strikingly similar to that of Valentino Rossi in 2015, following an attempt by… Marc Marquez. « It was a racing incident. Something always happens in the last chicane.I slightly widened my trajectory, but Race Direction penalized me not for the contact, but for cutting the chicane. So, according to them, it was a racing incident.I accept Race Direction's decision. They said it was a racing incident, and that's all. There's not much more to say" he continued rather dryly.

 

 

At first, he was completely fired up: his choice of the soft tire on the rear was bold, and, in the end, it didn't pay off so much. « I opted for the soft compound because I couldn't push the tire to its limits every lapI chose the option that I thought would allow me to be faster on certain laps, and that's what I did. Today, it wasn't about pushing to the limit all the time. It was mainly a question of survival, of trying to stay with the group and waiting for the right moment. But the group was very close-knit, and everything came down to the wire.I think the best I could have done today was fifth place. But we couldn't find the right formula in the final laps. I was close, but it wasn't enough » he concluded.

Do you think Marc Marquez will shine again in two weeks, for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring? Tell us in the comments!

2026 MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix result:

 

 

Classification credit: MotoGP.com

Cover photo: MotoGP