Measured Marquez conquers elements in Assen

Marc Marquez continued his perfect 2014 form by winning the Iveco Daily TT Assen MotoGP race on Saturday. Teammate Dani Pedrosa secured third after a hard fought battle.

Difficult weather conditions had all the riders and teams working frantically on the grid as the rain came in. Both Repsol Honda riders took advantage of the two extra sighting laps to assess the wet tires, both choosing to start on them.

Marquez became involved in a heated battle with Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso as the track began to dry. Both riders entered the pits to swap bikes and tires at the same point. Marquez then made a mistake due to a cold tire, running wide. The subsequent laps had Marquez chasing Dovizioso, catching and passing him.

Meanwhile Pedrosa was fighting hard with pole man Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing). The two passing each other multiple times before the factory Honda rider broke away. Pedrosa eventually finished almost nine seconds ahead of Espargaro.

Marquez becomes the first rider since Giacomo Agostini in 1971 to win the first eight premier-class races of the year.

"I was very nervous before. The conditions are what no one wanted, very dangerous. We started on the right tires as we knew it would dry. To risk slicks was too dangerous. I made a small mistake after swapping. I was happy with second but then it started raining a tiny bit. After that I settled into a rhythm and I passed Andrea. It was still very hard, I had to stay 100% concentrated," commented Marquez.

He continued, "The team had everything under control which helped me a lot, seeing them calm kept me calm. They were so clever. The slick was too dangerous at the start, this was the key decision. I just concentrated on riding. It was hard going from wet to dry. But I felt better with each lap and I had a high pace throughout. I was able to push hard."

Pedrosa added, "At the beginning on the grid it was very stressful to make sure everything was correct. It was not easy to make the right choice, but the team was ready and we all stayed calm, able to maintain our focus. I had a very hard battle with Aleix, but a good one. In the wet I was going very soft to save the tires in case it rained again. This was not the best strategy but we made up for it. The feeling on the bike was not 100% but good enough for the podium."

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