Bikesportnz

The eighth round of 20 in this season’s MotoGP championship set alight the race track at the “Cathedral of Speed” in Assen, in the Netherlands, at the weekend.

Italy’s defending world champion Francesco Bagnaia and the Ducati Lenovo team completed the perfect weekend in the Netherlands courtesy of an incredible win in the 25-lap MotoGP race on Sunday (Monday morning NZ time).

Meanwhile, his team-mate Enea Bastianini put together an impressive comeback as he secured third place at the end of a heroic performance in the second part of the encounter.

Bagnaia had yet another perfect start to the race from pole position as he managed to create a little separation with his immediate opponents on lap one.

Over the following laps, Bagnaia had in Spain’s world series leader Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac Racing Ducati) the only rider able to stay in touch with him.

Thanks to an unmatched race pace – which included the new best race lap in 1:31.866 – the Italian rider managed to overcome the Spaniard’s resistance and to cross the line a lonely winner.

Following the weekend’s success, Bagnaia reaches a total of 23 wins with Ducati in MotoGP, equalling the current record held by Casey Stoner.

After a more challenging than expected first part of the race, Bastianini managed to find the right feeling with his Desmosedici GP and courtesy of a streak of quick lap-times, he managed to bridge the gap with the group of riders fighting for the podium (made of four other rivals).

Bastianini’s second half of the race was perfect, as in five laps he managed to go from seventh all the way to third before successfully defending his position up to the chequered flag.

With the DutchGP drawing to a close, Bagnaia is now only 10 points shy of Martín’s championship lead in second place, with Bastianini fourth and 64 points in arrears of Martín. The Ducati Lenovo Team still leads the team standings with 326 points, with Ducati on top of the manufacturers’ standings (278 points).

The racers will all be back in action in less than five days for the German Grand Prix, taking place at the Sachsenring on July 5-7.

“I really had fun this weekend and everything went perfectly.” Said Bagnaia afterwards.

“I’d like to thank the team because we did a fantastic job: on Thursday we already had a clear idea regarding the bike set-up and after FP1 we were basically ready.

“The race today was 30 seconds faster than last year, which is incredible. I managed to be quick and precise, the weather was fantastic and we were able to show our full potential. Next is Sachsenring, where I expect two hard-fought races.”

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Leading MotoGP World Championship standings after round 8: