American Ben Spies crowned Yamaha’s 50th anniversary with a maiden victory in the Dutch MotoGP in Assen yesterday, while championship leader Casey Stoner took second place.
Spies’ Spanish teammate Jorge Lorenzo, the reigning champion, finished in sixth place after a first-lap collision with Honda rider Marco Simoncelli, who recovered to finish ninth.
Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso took third place, ahead of Ducati’s seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi, who has finished on the podium just once in the season to date, and American Nicky Hayden (Ducati).
Photo: Reuters
Stoner’s second-place finish allowed him to stretch his lead over Lorenzo from 18 points to 28 points in the overall standings, with Dovioso now just nine points behind him in third place.
Spies, who is in his second MotoGP campaign, climbed two places to seventh.
A chaotic start to the race saw pole-sitter Simoncelli and Lorenzo collide on the third corner after the Italian lost grip of his bike and wiped the defending champion off the track.
Frenchman Randy de Puniet was the next rider to exit the race and Spies, who started on the front row, capitalized on the carnage behind him to pull four seconds clear of Stoner.
Stoner gradually began to eat into the 26-year-old American’s advantage, however, while Dovizioso and Rossi moved into position on the Australian’s tail.
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