Yeah, you did just read that headline. Jack Miller has indeed won the Dutch MotoGP race at Assen after what has to go down as one of the most bizarre and dramatic MotoGP races of all time.
The race started with the rain just spitting down. All of the field were on the wet tyres, with the only variation being the compound used. On the opening laps, Yonny Hernandez emerged as the surprise leader. The Colombian managed to blitz through the field and take the lead. Behind him, Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino Rossi were scrapping it out for the remaining podium positions, with Scott Redding and Danilo Petrucci closing on them fast.
However, as this was going on, the rain continued to get worse and worse. The tyres looked to be coping with it, but by the time the red flag came out the track was basically flooded. It would be heartbreak for Yonny Hernandez, who crashed out two laps before the red flag came out.
The race was stopped for half an hour. This meant that the track conditions were able to improve. Dovizioso had pole position for the restart, followed by Petrucci and Rossi on the front row.
The restart was frantic, with Rossi and Dovizioso again hitting the front. It would not be long before more drama occurred, with Danilo Petrucci’s Ducati breaking down and Andrea Dovizioso dramatically crashing out of second place.
On the next lap, it would be Valentino Rossi who slid out of the lead. Rossi attempted to get the Yamaha going again, but was unable to do so. This will have massive consequences on the championship, especially after Lorenzo’s poor showing this weekend.
This left Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez in the lead. Marquez was going strong, but he was being closed down by an unlikely source. That being Jack Miller. Miller had been able to cut through the field and had been bumped up the grid thanks to failures in strategy and the general conditions.
Miller was able to take the lead with only a few laps remaining. The Australian was able to create a gap between him and Marquez and rode on to his first ever premier class victory, and the first by an Australian since Casey Stoner in 2012.
Behind them, it was Pol Espargaro and Scott Redding fighting for the final podium spot. The two reignited their rivalry shown in 2013 when the two were both fighting for the Moto2 world championship. Redding eventually got past Pol with two laps left to go and went on to take his second premier class podium.
Andrea Iannone recovered from crashing out in the ‘first’ race to finish fifth, with Hector Barbera coming home in sixth. Eugene Laverty finished in an impressive seventh position, closely followed by Stefan Bradl and Maverick Vinales. Jorge Lorenzo came home into tenth, a performance that will disappoint the Spaniard especially with Rossi failing to finish.
Other fallers included Alvaro Bautista and Bradley Smith. He was able to remount and come home in 13th, whilst Bautista fell on the final lap and was unable to finish the race.
The dramatic result means that Marc Marquez extends his World Championship lead to 24 points. Valentino Rossi, who was unable to finish, is now 42 points adrift of the title.
MotoGP will return in three weeks time for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.
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