MotoGP: Hat-Trick Win at Dutch TT

From the land of windmills, awkward late night television commercials, and mayonnaise covered French fries, comes MotoGP action at Assen. The only MotoGP race to start on Saturday instead of Sunday, Holland played host to its 80th Dutch TT this weekend. Assen saw a few riders making progress on their season, despite only 15 bikes taking to the grid. Check after the jump for race spoilers.

Taking a “hat-trick” win at Assen was Jorge Lorenzo, who has become only the 7th rider in the event’s 80 year history to win the Dutch TT in three or more classes. Sitting on the pole, Lorenzo lead into the first corner and never looked back. He was challenged early on by Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner, but the pair soon lost touch with the Spaniard as their softer tires lost their early race advantage. Pedrosa and Stoner would maintain their finishing order. Despite some close racing by the pair, Pedrosa finally got the better of Stoner as the Australian rider suffered from hand fatigue.

Having a horrible start, Randy de Puniet fell rapidly from his 2nd position starting point, back to 9th by the first turn. This surely was a disappointment to French racing fans, as de Puniet has struggled to capitalize on his impressive qualifying positions this year. The Frenchman would regain some ground though and finish 6th for the day after battling with Andrea Dovizioso and Ben Spies. Spies would go on to finish an impressive 4th place, while Dovi beat de Puniet in a great battle for 5th.

Lorenzo now takes a 47 point lead in the MotoGP Championship, which means the Spanish rider can sit out two races, and still maintain his #1 position. MotoGP racing continues next weekend in Barcelona for the Catalan GP.

Race Results from MotoGP at the Dutch TT: