Salute the Master, Salute The Doctor, Salute Valentino Rossi. The nine time World Champion takes his 10th victory at the Dutch GP across all classes, under mixed conditions. Danilo Petrucci shows his masterclass by taking a P2, while Marc Marquez just squeezes in for a P3 from Cal Crutchlow by 0.042. This race makes Valentino Rossi mark his name as a racer with the longest winning career of more than 20 years. As the lights went off at "The Cathedral of Speed", it was the pole man Johann Zarco who got the holeshot leading the Dutch Grandprix. Valentino Rossi passed Petrucci during the start, with Marc Marquez getting sandwiched between Rossi and Zarco. Maverick Viñales also picked a few spots and was seen in the top eight. Alvaro Bautista was seen at a competitive P5, though he crashed out in a few laps. Scott Redding, Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow made a good battle at the back to grab the top 6 spot.
Valentino Rossi soon made a pass on Marc Marquez and was set to attack Johann Zarco, which he eventually did later on. Rossi lead the race, while Zarco started dropping and went back to P4 allowing Petrucci and Marquez to peek in. Meanwhile Maverick Viñales crashed out of the race from P7 when he tried to increase the pace. Soon there was a surprise visitor in the form of a slight drizzle, and the white flags were out allowing riders for a bike swap. Zarco was the first rider from the lead group to go into the pits for a wet spec bike, but was penalised in the end for exceeding the pit lane speed limits. Rossi, Petrucci and Marquez stayed on with the slicks till the chequered flag.
At the final stages of the race, the drizzle was back again allowing Crutchlow to take a gamble and get to podium contention. In the end, Rossi crossed the chequered flag first followed by fellow Italian Danilo Petrucci. Marc Marquez passed Cal Crutchlow in the last corner, and finished just 0.042 seconds in front at the finish line. Andrea Dovizioso finished his race at P5, which makes him climb to the top in the Championship standings.2016 Dutch GP winner Jack Miller came home at P6. Karel Abraham, Loris Baz, Andrea Iannone and Aleix Espargaro complete the top 10 of the points table. With Viñales crashing out of the race, Dovi leads the Championship followed by Viñales and Rossi. The top three are separated by just 7 points. The next race is scheduled in a weeks time on July 2nd, live from the Sachsenring circuit in Germany. Until then, stay tuned to BikesMedia for further updates on the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.
By: Aravind Rb.