MotoGP Race Report: Assen








Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso had been in with a shout at the rostrum, but both took tumbles before the race took its full shape. There was also a late fall for Pramac Racing’s Mika Kallio when the Finn was challenging for sixth on the final lap.

MotoGP Race Results

Pos. Rider Nation Team Total time
1 V. ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 42’14.611
2 J. LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team + 5.368
3 C. STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team + 23.113
4 C. EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 29.114
5 C. VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 33.605
6 J. TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 39.347
7 R. DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP + 39.543
8 N. HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team + 39.823
9 L. CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 40.673
10 A. DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini + 46.010
11 M. MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team + 57.777
12 T. ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini + 59.774
13 S. GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando + 1’05.366
14 N. CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing + 1’09.897
15 Y. TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP + 1’09.930
16 G. TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP + 1’25.099
Not classified
  M. KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing 1 Lap
  A. DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 16 Lap
  D. PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 22 Lap







A three-way battle at the front of the 125cc contest saw the order of the podium positions decided on the very last lap, with Sergio Gadea earning his first win of 2009.

The Spaniard emerged victorious ahead of fellow countrymen Nico Terol and Julián Simón in a dry race that went down to the wire, saw Terol penalised twenty seconds and left Simón at the head of the overall classification.

The trio had battled against one another since just past the halfway mark in Assen, when third row starter Gadea joined up with the two leaders and mounted his own attempt at victory. With neither rider able to get away, a waiting game took place until the final lap, when Terol made a move that did not pay off and ran along the asphalt run-off strip. He caught up with Gadea on the home straight, but the Bancaja Aspar rider had enough of an advantage to take the win. The move was the subject of an enquiry by Race Direction, and the decision was made to relegate Terol to fifth place despite his having stepped onto the rostrum.

After taking the holeshot, British rider Bradley Smith lost ground on the leaders and became embroiled in a dogfight with title rival Andrea Iannone. Smith eventually bested the Ongetta Team I.S.P.A rider by five-hundredths of a second, in a move that gave him a belated podium behind teammates Gadea and Simón.

The next round of the FIM World Championship for the MotoGP class takes place in Laguna Seca, USA, next week, whilst the lower cylinder categories will skip the round and return at the German race later in July.