Francesco Bagnaia yesterday won the Grand Prix TT Assen to extend his lead in the championship.
Pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi took second with Brad Binder in third only for KTM’s South African rider to pick up a penalty for exceeding track limits that saw him demoted to fourth.
That promoted Aleix Espargaro to the podium after Binder had the same fate in Saturday’s sprint.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Bagnaia takes a 35-point lead over Jorge Martin into the summer break, with racing resuming in early August at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone.
“It’s fantastic. It wasn’t easy, they were pushing a lot behind,” the Ducati factory race winner said. “I was on the limit. I love this track, this crowd — Assen, you are fantastic.”
A full house with 105,000 fans at a sweltering hot “Cathedral of Speed” — one of the jewels in MotoGP’s crown — watched Binder get a blistering start.
Photo: Reuters
The KTM rider surged into the lead at turn one past a trio of Ducatis — Bezzecchi, world champion Bagnaia and Luca Marini.
Binder’s teammate Jack Miller made an early exit, the Australian crashing out at the end of the opening lap.
He was quickly followed by a crash between French duo Johann Zarco and Fabio Quartararo, as up front Bagnaia nicked the lead off Binder.
One man absent from the race was Honda star Marc Marquez who was forced to pull out of hours before yesterday’s eighth round of the season due to injury.
The six-time former world champion missed the previous weekend’s race in Germany in similar fashion.
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
The Golden State Warriors on Wednesday withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading Thunder 116-109. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Golden State erased a double-digit deficit and pulled away late for the victory. “We just stayed solid,” said Curry, who entered the contest mired in a shooting slump and had just four points on one basket in the first half. “Just all-around effort.” The Thunder, fueled by 31 first-half points from Gilgeous-Alexander, led by as many as 14 in the
Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs. With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner. Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an
RSS