“Missed opportunity” – why Alex Marquez couldn’t overtake Marc in Assen Sprint

Could Alex Marquez have done more to try and overtake his brother Marc for victory in Saturday’s Dutch MotoGP Sprint?

That was one of the main talking points after the Gresini Ducati rider shadowed the title leader for almost the entire 13-lap race, yet never mounted an attack.

Alex Marquez, who had started third on the grid, remained locked in the slipstream of the #93 throughout, visibly gaining in the fast Turn 11 and 12 of Sector 3.

However, Marc was stronger in the key hard-braking zones for the final chicane and Turn 1, Assen’s classic overtaking hotspots.

“We missed an opportunity to win a Sprint. But I gave it my 100%. I was faster than Marc in Sector 3, but that’s not the sector to make a move!” Alex told MotoGP.com

“I didn't make a move because he was stronger than me in Turn 16 and Turn 1, the places where it’s more clever to make a clean move on the inside.”

Alex’s victory hopes were dealt a further blow by a track limits warning.

“I was trying to understand if I was able to do a move somewhere in Sector 3, but when I had the warning for the track limits, I needed to be a bit more calm.

“I was not able to push at 100% because in turn 13-14, it's really easy to touch the green.

“And if you are really close to somebody, it's even easier to make that mistake."

Marc's winning margin was just 0.351s.

“I was not able to make the move. But we were able to be fast and I fought until the end," said Alex.

“I’m 90% satisfied. Tomorrow we’ll try again, with a special focus on the start.”

Marc used an outside line as he rocketed from fourth to second at the start of the Sprint, almost passing pole man Fabio Quartararo for the lead at Turn 1.

The GP25 rider then dived under the Yamaha at the end of the lap, with Alex moving into second shortly after.

Marc later confirmed he had focused on the braking zones to keep Alex - the only rider to beat him in a Sprint this season (Silverstone) - at bay.

"I knew that Alex was super fast in turn 11-12, but if you don't make any big mistakes, it's super difficult to get overtaken there," said Marc.

"I’m very strong on the brake points. So that is where I focused. Be precise. Brake in a correct way and just manage the weak points.

"I know where the strong points of Alex and Pecco are, because we share all the data."

While the runner-up result cost Alex three more points in the title race - increasing the gap to Marc to 43 - he moved another four points clear of Francesco Bagnaia, who finished the Sprint in fifth.