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.
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