Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) during a 2017 MotoGP race.
Marquez Climbs on Top of the Podium, and ‘The Doctor’ is Back in Contention
One hundred and fifteen career wins over twenty years in MotoGP, with 89 wins in the top class.
And no, it is not a dream, it is indeed possible – and it is exactly the milestone reached by Valentino Rossi at the Dutch GP. “The Doctor”, nine times MotoGP World Champion on the No.46 Movistar Yamaha, has now the longest winning career across all classes.
At the Motul TT Assen, Rossi took the win over Danilo Petrucci of Octo Pramac Racing, and reigning World Champion Marc Marquez of Repsol Honda Team. Andrea Dovizioso of Team Ducati crossed the finish line in the fifth position and landed on top of Championship standings with 115 points, followed by the former leader Vinales at 111, then Rossi with 108 and Marquez with 104.
Only seven points away from the championship leader, Rossi was clearly battling again as a contender for the final title of World Champion, for the first time since 2009.
Dovizioso’s reign atop the standings was short lived as the next race, the GoPro Motorrad GrandPrix Deutschland, had Marquez on the top step of the podium and on top of the standings. This marks eight wins in a row at Sachsenring for Marc Marquez.
Second place went to a local favorite: rookie German Jonas Folger on the Monster Yamaha No.94, who battled with Marquez up until the checkered flag.
Third place was taken by a teammate of Marquez, Dani Pedrosa, on the Honda Repsol No.26.
Rossi, Dovizioso, and Vinales battled for the 4th place points, and Vinales crossed the line in 4th place followed by Rossi in 5th, while Dovizioso dropped back and ended up crossing the line in 9th place.
After the German GP, the classification was shaken down again, and the current standings see the top four competitors within ten points of each other: Marquez on top with 129 points, followed by Vinales with 124, Dovizioso with 123, and Rossi with 119.
With how close these four are, and how hard they battle each other at every race – the 2017 title is still pretty much up for grabs.
The MotoGP, which made its annual US stop last April, will now be on Summer break for a month until it resumes with the GP of the Czech Republic in August.
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