2025 Dutch MotoGP: Marc Marquez beats Marco Bezzecchi in dramatic race
Marc Marquez takes 68th grand prix win at Assen
Ducati’s Marc Marquez absorbed huge pressure from Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi to win the 2025 MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix to extend his championship lead to 68 points.
The eight-time world champion began the Assen weekend with two huge crashes during Friday’s practice sessions.
Qualifying off the front row for just the second time this year, he went on to win the sprint and added his third successive weekend double with victory in Sunday’s grand prix.
He beat Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi by just 0.635s after the Italian piled huge pressure on Marquez throughout most of the 26-lap grand prix.
Pecco Bagnaia completed the podium having led in the early stages, while polesitter Fabio Quartararo faded to 10th after an early off avoiding another incident.
Alex Marquez crashed on the sixth lap when battling with KTM’s Pedro Acosta and suffered a broken hand, which has put him 68 points behind Marc Marquez in second in the standings.
Pecco Bagnaia got the best launch off the line from second on the grid to lead ahead of team-mate Marc Marquez and Quartararo, who narrowly avoided a collision with VR46’s Franco Morbidelli.
Quartararo would quickly fall out of the podium places, while Bagnaia led Marc Marquez across the first four laps.
At the end of the fifth lap, Marquez came up the inside of Bagnaia into Turn 16 to assume a lead he would ultimately never lose.
Bezzecchi, who started fifth, passed Bagnaia at the same place on lap eight to begin the chase on race leader Marquez.
While no overtaking attempt ever came, Bezzecchi hounded Marquez and kept him at arm’s length until the closing stages.
On the final lap, Marquez broke away by over eight tenths from the chasing pack and took the chequered flag 0.635s in front of Bezzecchi.
Marquez now draws equal with Giacomo Agostini on 68 premier class wins, with only Valentino Rossi on 89 ahead.
Bagnaia dropped out of the podium places at one stage when Acosta came through on him on lao nine.
But the Italian rallied in the latter stages to overhaul the KTM and put some pressure on the leading duo, before eventually finishing 2.666s off the win in third.
He’s now 126 points off the championship lead after nine rounds of 22.
Acosta was fourth, a further 3.418s behind, while Tech3 stablemate Maverick Vinales rounded out the top five ahead of a warring VR46 duo of Fabio Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli.
Morbidelli was hit with a long lap penalty after cutting the final chicane when Di Giannantonio attempted an overtake late on.
Trackhouse Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez was eighth ahead of Tech3’s Enea Bastianini, who came from 20th after a grid penalty, and Quartararo.
Quartararo got beaten up in the early stages and then lost more ground when he was forced onto the grass at Turn 12 when Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer crashed in front of him.
Honda’s Joan Mir wasn’t so lucky and ran into the stricken Gresini Ducati. Both riders were ok.
Brad Binder was 11th on the final KTM, with LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco, Yamaha’s Alex Rins, Pramac’s Jack Miller and LCR Honda’s Somkiat Chantra rounding out the points.
Aleix Espargaro was the final finisher in 16th for Honda.
Ai Ogura crashed on the opening lap after a collision with Pramac’s Miguel Oliveira, while Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia) was another faller.
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