Marc Marquez’s late‑race tussle with Fabio di Giannantonio at the Dutch Grand Prix left him scrambling from fourth to sixth on the Assen grid.
Collision Details
Defending the quarter‑spot in the final six laps, Marquez collided with di Giannantonio at the apex of the chicane. The impact pushed the Spaniard wide into gravel, while the VR46 rider cut the white line on the exit to the start‑finish straight.
The loss of momentum buried Marquez behind his teammate Alex, who sat in sixth, as di Giannantonio slipped clear, retaining fourth.
Steward Decision
Stated as a “racing incident”, the clash was not penalised for contact. Instead, a long‑lap penalty was imposed on Marquez for cutting the chicane, dropping him one place—yet he recovered enough to reclaim fourth.
Marquez’s Reactions
“It was a racing incident – that’s what Race Direction said,” the Ducati rider said. “I accept the decision, keep quiet and race.”
The observation brought memory of 2015 when Marquez pushed inside Valentino Rossi, prompting a similar debate on the sanction for contact.
Di Giannantonio’s Perspective
Touch‑point revelation: “Going out, I anticipated finishing sixth or seventh,” di Giannantonio remarked. “I had survived Holland without injury, so that was my main goal.”
He added that his corner‑transition struggles on the ABF drove the severity of the clash, admitting that high‑speed corners left a “harder change of direction” at the corner sequence.
Race Outcome
Marquez, the lone soft‑rear‑tyre user in a demanding track, spent the race “riding slow to push single laps,” as physical limits demanded. The collision and penalty cost him a place on the final lap, completing seventh behind Tech3’s Enea Bastianini.
Despite the setback, the session demonstrated the razor‑thin margins at Assen where every slip can alter the result.
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