Marquez shrugs off Friday practice pain to take sprint win

Marc Marquez racked up yet another 2025 MotoGP sprint race win as he led home his brother Alex at Assen on Saturday.

Pole position man Fabio Quartararo held onto the lead from the start, but was quickly demoted to fourth place and later crashed out of the race.

The French Yamaha rider was able to see off a strong challenge at the first corner from Marc, who had rocketed from fourth on the grid. The pair, whom many consider the finest two riders on the MotoGP grid, even touched on their way through the right-hander. 

Although Quartararo won the battle at Haarbocht, it quickly became clear that he wasn’t going to win the war against Ducati and the Marquez brothers.

Marc took the lead as the field entered the chicane at the end of the first lap, with Alex’s Gresini Ducati following the factory bike past the M1 one corner later.

Quartararo’s misery was not yet complete: Marco Bezzecchi slipped his Aprilia past at the chicane at the end of lap two.

Bezzecchi and Quartararo then proceeded to keep Marc and Alex in sight as a largely processional race unfolded at the front following the flurry of early moves.

But while British Grand Prix winner Bezzecchi was able to scoop a sprint medal for Aprilia, Quartararo went down at Mandeveen on lap 10.

Up at the front, there were times when Alex looked faster than Marc. He did not appear to give up hope of passing his brother at any point, and on one lap he very nearly showed him a front wheel at the ultra-fast Meeuwenmeer corner. 

But, as has been the case in every sprint this year bar Silverstone, Alex ultimately had no answer for Marc. This was despite the championship leader suffering two heavy falls on Friday and being in sub-optimal physical condition.

Francesco Bagnaia faded from his position on the front row following an average start. He was stationed behind Quartararo on lap six, but that’s when he lost his position to Fabio di Giannantonio on the VR46 Ducati.

Di Giannantonio then held station to come home fourth ahead of Bagnaia. Sixth was Maverick Vinales (Tech3 KTM), with Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini) seventh following a long lap penalty for track limits.

Franco Morbidelli (VR46) was eighth, with Pedro Acosta picking up the final point in ninth. The Spanish KTM rider crossed the line ahead of Aldeguer and Morbidelli, but was demoted by a late time penalty for track limits infractions of his own. 

MotoGP Dutch GP sprint race results