Marc Marquez believes he would have been the rightful victor after coming off second best in a final corner collision with Valentino Rossi at Assen.
The reigning champion dived up the inside of the Yamaha at the Timmer chicane, only for Rossi to close the door, and the two made contact sending Rossi across the gravel trap. Rossi emerged as the winner with Marquez second and although he was disappointed with the outcome, the Spaniard was delighted to see his Honda RC213V competing at the front again.
“I am very happy that I’m back on the podium and I had a good race, fighting for victory until the end. I think it was a moral victory for us, but we were riding at the limit on the last chicane. We have worked very well all weekend and I have to thank the team, because you regain confidence when you’re with the best team in the World. They are helping me a lot and this was shown by the fact that, at a track where we are usually not so strong, we fought for the win until the last corner. We’ll see if we can take another step forward in the coming races. We rode a last lap to win the race, especially on the last chicane. I had studied things well and knew where I had to brake in order to be able to overtake Vale, and so I did that but didn’t end like I wanted….”
Marquez and Rossi called for a rider hearing in race direction after the Grand Prix to review video footage of the incident with ‘racing incident’ the eventual agreement. Repsol Honda have chosen not to appeal the decision.
