MotoGP Riders reflect on Assen Dutch TT Thriller

#DutchTT MotoGP Rider Quotes

Marc Marquez – P1

“It was a crazy race, full of adrenaline—this feeling is one of the reasons we do this sport! Yesterday, I was expecting something like this, but nothing like it actually was! We were a wild bunch, everyone fighting against everyone; I think all of us made contact with somebody else at some point. We had to attack and defend, attack and defend. We had so many ‘big moments’ and risked crashing. It was crazy! It was impossible to define the best strategy, impossible to make plans, so eventually I decided to just fight and see what we could do in the end. In the last three laps, I gave it everything, no matter the tyres, no matter the Championship. I had been trying to reduce the group because when you’re fighting for the title, you just want the fewest riders possible at the front, but it was difficult. Only when I saw I had more than one and a half seconds of advantage before the last lap did I think, Okay, we’ve got it, let’s just finish this lap. It was an important win and 25 very important points, but we need to keep going, keep pushing, and keep this same level.”

Alex Rins  – P2

“This morning I was feeling really sick, some problems with my stomach. But the doctors at Clinica Mobile gave me some medicine and it took away the pain, so I must really thank them, because when I felt better I thought ‘wow, this will be my race!’. It was a fantastic battle and I learned a lot of things during the race. Our race pace was good and I was able to enjoy it! There were a lot of over-takes and tight moves, so I was always trying to push to stay with the others and hold my space. I feel very positive with my bike and with my team, we all really want to improve and win. We’ve had a really competitive bike since Qatar, but we’ve been able to change a few things to get extra power and better performance, so I hope I can stay at the top for the next races too. I feel confident for Sachsenring.”

Maverick Viñales – P3

“For sure I’m very happy. We’ve been studying how to improve the first laps, we worked hard, and it was good to feel strong, especially in the middle of the race. After that the tyre dropped a lot, but I think we can solve this pretty easily for the next races. The TT Assen track helps a little, because I’m fast here, but for the other tracks we need to continue to work hard. My plan today was to get to first place and push, that’s why I didn’t want to let Marc pass me in turn 9. Then I went very close to the gravel, because I braked so late. Anyway, it’s nice to be back and nice to be strong. We weren’t in the best position to win, because we started a little bit towards the back, but in the next races we need to think back to this weekend, because this strategy works. On lap 6 I rode a 1’34.1s. I thought I could ride faster towards the end, but I got a little bit of arm pump and couldn’t control the speed and it was crazy. Last year in Germany was a good race, I was quite strong, and we need to keep working like this. We know the way to go fast in Sachsenring, so it’s time to work and get the job done.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P4

“It was an awesome race, for sure more for the fans than the riders because it was really difficult! We were fast and competitive and we worked well throughout the entire weekend, but in the last eight laps the rear tyre unfortunately let up on me so I tried to defend my position until the end and I finished fourth. I had hoped for a podium, but to be honest today we couldn’t do anything more and so in the end I’m happy, even though we must be in a position to manage the tyres better because we arrived at the end of the race with very little grip. In any case we did a good job and for this I’d like to thank my team.”

Valentino Rossi – P5

“It was a wild race. I was so happy to be there, at the front, because it was exciting for all of the race, but I’m sad because I think I had the potential to arrive on the podium. The problem was that at the beginning I was very unlucky with Lorenzo. Lorenzo touched the curb and lost the front at a very high speed. I was already accelerating, but I overtook him in a good way, and we didn’t crash, so that was very good. After, during the race, it was very difficult and I tried to control the tyre degradation, because I had the soft option on the rear, so I knew that at the end it could be very much on the limit. With four or five laps to go I tried to attack. I was doing well, because I was in second place. When fighting with Dovizioso, he tried to overtake me in the first corner, but he arrived a little in delay so, unfortunately, I had to go outside of the track. We lost a lot of time, me especially. I think me and Dovi both had the potential to arrive on the podium and like this we arrived just in fourth and fifth place.”

Cal Crutchlow – P6

“I think it was a good race, but the last two laps were my downfall as I made a big mistake when I passed Valentino (Rossi) and thought I could push for the guys at the front. But I ran really wide at turn eight and only just stayed on the bike and had to settle for sixth position. I got a good start and not too bad a first lap, but I decided not to push too hard at the start as the front tyre was too soft for the Hondas it seemed – this is why you probably saw Marc (Marquez) get past on the braking a few times. I was happy in sixth or seventh where I was and just wanted to maintain my rhythm and do a good pace. But it was a good battle, I said (before the race) any one of eight guys could be on the podium and it seemed that way. All credit to my team though, they did a good job.”

Jorge Lorenzo – P7

“Today the wind made the track conditions difficult and I knew it was going to be a complicated race, but I made a very good start, one of my best with the Ducati, and I was able to gain a lot of positions and conclude the opening lap in the lead. The pace wasn’t very fast and I stayed in the lead for a lot of laps. Then, when Dovizioso passed me, I lost a bit of rhythm, I began to feel the gradual deterioration of the rear tyre, and several riders were able to pass me. The positive part of this weekend is that, even though we didn’t have the best pace, we were able to do a great race in any case and be competitive for lots of laps, although I’m not very satisfied with the final position at the flag.”

Johann Zarco – P8

“This Sunday was a happy day. I saw a few things in the Warm Up and said to the team it’s going to be difficult to fight and I want to make a few steps, just to be able to battle the guys, to be able to brake well and stay with them. I think, we did that step, so it has been a good feeling. The start was good, then Iannone overtook Rins and Rins had to go wide, anyway it has been complicate to gain positions in the beginning, but immediately I was feeling good, could pass Petrucci and came to Crutchlow and was able to stay with this fantastic group, that was riding well. I could stick with them, but it was not enough to really fight because we struggled during the weekend. Maybe it has been the step that was missing to be able to fight for the podium, but I need to be happy. Some good feelings are coming back and we are fourth in the championship, so in any case we need to keep being strong. Overall, it has been a great and funny race.”

Álvaro Bautista – P9

“We continue to improve steadily and this is the result of everything that we have been doing this season. At the start of the year we found it hard to get the right setup but we’ve never stopped working, and this weekend we’ve improved our qualifying showing to ride closer to the main group. I started well today but the first lap was crazy, with everyone trying to overtake. I found it hard to pass Miller, even though I felt faster than him, but when I eventually got by I was running the same pace as the front group. It’s a pity, because if I would have started better, then I would have been with them. I’m very motivated and I feel stronger than ever.”

Jack Miller – P10

“It was a complicated weekend. I couldn’t find the right feeling. I was expecting a bit more to be honest, but in the race I managed to finish in the Top 10 and this is a good result. In Germany I want to do better”.

Andrea Iannone – P11

“It was a bit of a difficult race. From the beginning I had problems with the bike moving a lot, so I struggled with this problem. But together with the engineers we’ll try to resolve it. We’ve already tried a few things, but we won’t give up until we find the solution. We have good one-lap pace, but we need to improve race pace and tyre longevity. I was on the limit a lot today and for that reason I made a mistake, but sometimes it’s like this in racing. I’m really happy for Alex, he made a really good race and it shows our potential. I hope I can use all of my potential soon too. Today my pace was good and I was quite close to the front group, so our target for Sachsenring is to try to improve a few things and stay closer to the front.”

Pol Espargaro – P12

“I think I prefer a 12th place like we managed today than a thousand P11s! I think we deserved this position and we were in front of a lot of people as well as being just fifteen seconds from the top. We are not missing that much anymore and it is good to finish the race like this and with the feeling you have done a good job. We need to work on making one good fast lap in qualifying because we cannot take profit enough of a new tyre…but we can make some improvements during the race. It is now easier to ride this bike compared to last year. We couldn’t do more than 12th here but we’re happy with that. It was a busy and fun race.”

Aleix Espargaro – P13

“I am not happy. Unfortunately, I made the wrong choice for the rear tyre. My Aprilia worked extremely well throughout the weekend on the soft, even if we were at the limit with wear. Precisely for this reason and after the wear problems at Mugello and the crash in Barcelona, I opted for the hard, thinking that it would be a safer choice. In reality, I did not have grip from the start, so all I could do was simply try to finish the race. A pity because we really worked well in all the sessions and then the worst came right at the decisive moment, where the points are earned.”

Scott Redding – P14

“I am happy especially with the consistency I was able to maintain in the race. We made the right tyre choice. After warm up, I considered the hard option on the rear, thinking about duration, but after lapping well with the soft in practice, it was smart to ride the race with that one as well. I had fun, staying close to Pol and Aleix and managing to fend on Pedrosa’s attacks. We worked well, calmly and without pressure and the results are clear. It is a small step forward. Now we need to continue in this direction.”

Dani Pedrosa – P15

“It’s been a very difficult weekend, including the race. We didn’t start well and couldn’t make any progress in the early laps. In the beginning I had the same feeling from practice but little by little I started to be faster and more comfortable, so I improved my pace in the end and was able to do some decent lap times. I still wasn’t fast enough in the final chicane, but at least in the end I was lapping better than during the rest of weekend. We must work and try to be faster in qualifying.”

Tito Rabat – P16

“We had difficulties all weekend long and today made no difference. First I felt good in the race and I was comfortable riding behind Petrucci, but when he crashed, it became very difficult to ride the bike because of the strong wind. I had no confidence, I was losing positions and in the end I couldn’t fight for more than 16th place. We have to work and prepare better for the next windy race, because it’s obvious that we have to improve in this area. At the end we got no points, but I finished only 16 seconds behind the winner, which is not so bad.”

Bradley Smith – P17

“The first half of the race was good and I was in the same group as Pol but then something strange happened with my rear tyre and we hadn’t experienced anything like that all weekend. I had the same tyres as Pol we ended up pretty much on the canvas, so something went amiss there and we have to analyse everything. My tyre just fell off the earth and even in a straight line it was spinning. A frustrating way to end the race but these things happen. When the tyre was there I was competitive and fighting for points. I’ll just have to accept that today wasn’t my day.”

Hafizh Syahrin – P18

“I’m really sorry to my team! In the beginning of the race I had a good pace behind Dani Pedrosa. I had a good start, but the entry to the first corner was too tight and I didn’t pick the best line into it. Many riders passed me from the outside, so I tried to keep the pace and felt good. But suddenly after lap 10 I felt that my front tyre was dropping, I couldn’t brake really hard anymore and was not able to keep the good pace, which was maybe down to my tyre choice. In the end I can only try to learn from this. We know that we could fight for the points and something better than this position. I try to work hard and want to improve with this experience.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P19

“Of course I’m a bit disappointed about today’s race. After the start I was fighting a lot within the group, but I was struggling to find the rear grip with our option of the hard tyre on the rear. It was not the wrong choice because we tested this tyre twice and it worked well for us, but I just struggled for grip until towards the end of the race and my pace wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. The team, as always, did a great job this weekend and I’m disappointed about the result, but I’m looking forward to the Brno test and am hoping to find another step forward. We’ll keep pushing hard and look to improve. The next race at the Sachsenring will be a completely different test, but I have good memories there and will stay positive.”

Danilo Petrucci – DNF

“It was not a good weekend. I’m sorry for the team because we did a good job anyway. I didn’t find feeling in braking but I tried to recover to take some points for the standings. I can’t wait to be in Germany to make a good race”.

Xavier Simeon – DNF

“It was difficult to understand what happened this weekend. After the test in Barcelona, where we did a promising race simulation and I got a good feeling with the bike, I was expecting a good result here at Assen. I’ve been always fast here and I love the track, so I came here determined to do well in front of the Belgian fans. But I was not comfortable during the whole weekend. In the race I struggled with the rear tyre after ten laps and we don’t know why. I want to say sorry to my team, because we all came here looking forward to a good result. Now we have to think of Germany”.

Karel Abraham – DNF

“I’m angry about not being able to finish the race. I wasn’t having a great race, but I’d got a good start and was riding 21st. Suddenly the bike began to stop and start; we had a problem with a rear sensor that prevented me from finishing the race. It’s a shame.”

MotoGP Team Managers

Lin Jarvis – MD, Yamaha Motor Racing

“Today was a fantastic race for MotoGP. I can’t possibly imagine how many overtakes there were from start to finish. Both Maverick and Valentino had great form, so we’re a little disappointed we couldn’t have both riders on the podium today. Obviously, we also really wanted to win, but that said, it’s good to see Maverick back on the podium – a real confidence boost for him. The biggest difference today was that, despite both our riders not having the best start, we saw Maverick being more aggressive at the beginning of the race. I think that helped him today to stay with the leading pack, catch up, and take the well-deserved podium. Valentino could have definitely been on the podium as well if he hadn’t run wide in the latter stages of the race when he was close to Dovizioso. Now we move on to Sachsenring, which is generally not bad for us as well, so we’ll continue to work hard and push. But first I want to thank both our guys and the crew for their great efforts today.”

Hervé Poncharal – Monster Yamaha Tech3

“It has been a tough weekend for Monster Yamaha Tech3. The entire weekend we saw that everybody was so close to each other. I think both, Johann and Hafizh worked really well and very hard. The qualifying was a bit of a disappointment as five seconds to the end of it, we were first and we ended up eighth. Although the start was again not ideal, we could see Johann fighting back and being in the front group, which was eighth riders all together until the last laps. You could have the feeling that he was hanging on there, clearly, he was struggling to keep the pace of the others and very wisely he made it to the flag, got eighth position and eight points for the championship, which is still giving us enough to remain fourth in the riders championship and we’re quite proud of it. But obviously it’s been another tough weekend, where I have to thank Johann, because he never gave up and I want to congratulate him for this. Hopefully the next few tracks are going to be a bit easier for us. On Hafizh’ side, I was really happy yesterday with the Qualifying and with the way everything went, but today his first lap was bad and the pace was not enough. It’s a big drop compared to what he has been showing us in Catalunya. We hoped we could make up a few points on Franco, but we just ended up 18thand honestly, it’s been disappointing. We knew from the start, that Hafizh didn’t like Assen, but to be a top MotoGP rider, you need to be fast everywhere and it didn’t happen this weekend. We could see in Barcelona, that he can be part of the best and of course, he is a rookie and still has a lot to learn. So, thanks for his dedication and let’s hope Sachsenring will be a bit easier to allow the whole team, including the riders to go on vacation with a positive feeling.”

Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager

“It was an incredible race. This morning Alex’s feeling was not so good, so despite hoping for a good race I couldn’t imagine getting this second position. Andrea had good speed, especially in qualifying, but it didn’t transfer to the race. This is a problem we’ve had for the last few races, so we have to fix it. We’ve had several podiums now, some third positions and some second positions, now we have to go for a win.”

Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager

“Of course we enjoyed the race a lot, it was really great to have Alex in the middle of the pack, battling with all the top riders. I really liked his spirit, fighting until the end and making a move on the last lap for second position. Assen is a difficult circuit and it’s easy to make mistakes, a few riders did, but he was very good for the whole race – this is the Alex we hope to see every Sunday! Unfortunately Andrea couldn’t do a really good race, he was struggling, especially with movement on the rear. At the beginning he was there in the front group, but then he lost some ground and unfortunately he couldn’t keep contact with the others, despite good lap times. I hope next time we’ll have both riders fast and fighting together. Anyway, we’re happy with this fourth podium.”

Mike Leitner – KTM Team Manager MotoGP

“Even though it doesn’t look like it on paper I think this was one of our better races of the year because we looked good in FP3, FP4, Warm-Up and then the race proved our form. Unfortunately we could show our potential in Q1 with a lap-time, and this is why we started far back on the grid and it did not help us for the race result. If Pol could have started further towards the middle of the field, like usual, then we might have been able to gain one or two positions more. But we should be happy because we made some small steps with our package that seems to have worked. We have to fight for each position and it is tight and tough but 2018 has shown that we have settled in the middle of this 24-rider grid as a stable competitor and everybody at KTM should be proud of that. We’ll keep pushing and working to make the top ten consistently.”