Máximo Quiles takes his sixth victory of the year in Moto3 at the Dutch Grand Prix. After a slow start to the weekend, Quiles found his pace and was unstoppable on Sunday. Making up the rest of the podium was David Almansa in second, 0.5 seconds behind, and Marco Morelli in third.
A very warm weekend led to many challenges across the field. However, a storm on Saturday night left riders questioning the conditions for the race.
Joel Kelso Fastest on Friday
Joel Kelso heads a Honda 1-2-3 in Friday practice, setting the fastest lap of the day, 1:40.918. Guido Pini was close behind in second with Kelso’s teammate Eddie O’Shea third. However, Quiles was only the 11th fastest, a slower start to the weekend for the championship leader.
Friday morning started, and straight away, riders were being aggressive with their track position. The track is one of the most flowing on the calendar, sometimes allowing riders to get a little bit too close.
Other than this incident, the morning session was slow and steady for the riders. Álvaro Carpe ended up topping the morning session, with everyone finding the flow of the track.
The afternoon session began with a very warm track (47°C/116.6°F). The heat can make it more difficult for riders to control their bikes, increasing the risk of crashes. Quiles was one rider affected by the conditions, having two big moments.
Even with the end of the session getting a little bit messy with riders all over the track trying to find position, Kelso’s time could not be beaten. Overall, while Friday was quiet, it always helps to review lap times to see who may be quick later in the weekend.
Practice top 10:
P1: #66 Joel Kelso 1:40.918
P2: #94 Guido Pini +0.216
P3: #8 Eddie O’Shea +0.249
P4: #97 Marco Morelli +0.395
P5: #11 Adrián Cruces +0.399
P6: #27 Rico Salmela +0.401
P7: #83 Álvaro Carpe +0.471
P8: #22 David Almansa +0.477
P9: #88 Marcos Uriarte +0.561
P10: #51 Brian Uriarte +0.588
Quiles takes pole by 0.025 seconds
Quiles outperforms the rest of the field, setting the fastest lap right at the end of the session to take pole for the Dutch Grand Prix. The fastest man on Friday, Kelso, ended second just 0.025 seconds behind the pole, with Brian Uriarte just behind in third.
As always, Q1 starts the qualifying process. The top four from this session go to compete in Q2. With riders pushing their machines to the limit, many mistakes were made, including this one from Cormac Buchanan.
The rest of the session was quite clean with no real action other than the fast laps. The four riders who progressed through to Q2 were Casey O’Gorman, Scott Ogden, Veda Pratama, and Matteo Bertelle.
As Q2 commenced, it was time for the top 18 to see who could push their bike the hardest.
As expected, Kelso was fast straight away, setting the fastest lap in the first run. B. Uriarte also set a really good pace, fighting for the top spot. However, no one could beat the championship leader, Quiles, with a very fast lap.
Qualifying top 10:
P1: #28 Máximo Quiles 1:40.130
P2: #66 Joel Kelso +0.025
P3: #51 Brian Uriarte +0.300
P4: #97 Marco Morelli +0.324
P5: #11 Adrián Cruces +0.326
P6: #22 David Almansa +0.485
P7: #9 Veda Pratama +0.560
P8: #83 Álvaro Carpe +0.590
P9: #94 Guido Pini +0.609
P10: #31 Adrián Fernández +0.630
Quiles wins a well judged race
Quiles masters the race at Assen, taking the win over Almansa after their battle across the race. Morelli took third, a strong showing from the rookie.
Due to an overnight thunderstorm, the long lap penalty loop was out of action due to the wet conditions. Anyone given a long lap during the race would instead face a time penalty at the end.
As the race got underway, it was a good start for Quiles on the front row. However, later in the first lap, Almansa got past him to lead the first lap.
Going onto lap two, there was a nasty crash for Carpe, who got run over by Adrián Cruces. Thankfully, he was ok and jumped straight back on his bike. He did eventually retire in the pits.
The battles across the first half of the race were very tough, with many riders getting involved and capitalising on each other’s mistakes.
However, one battle caused Veda Pratama to crash on lap eight, a shame for the Indonesian rider, who was in a good position at the time.
Penalties were handed out to Kelso for cutting the final chicane and to Pini for exceeding track limits. They both received a three-second penalty rather than a long lap.
Quiles got back into the lead by lap nine with Hakim Danish, last week’s race winner, also catching the leading pair. However, Danish could not keep up with the pace of Quiles and Almansa, who pulled away from the rest of the pack.
With five laps to go, Quiles received a track limits warning, meaning he had to be careful towards the end of the race. As they pulled away, the battle behind kept going with third to ninth all battling.
With the laps remaining, the race win was between Quiles and Almansa. However, Almansa couldn’t close the gap enough to pressure Quiles, who took the win. The winner of the battle behind was Morelli, who got the final place on the podium.
Post Race Quotes:
“Assen is so historic, so it’s even more special. I used to watch the race as a kid and said I wanted to win here.” – Máximo Quiles
“My feeling with the bike was perfect. I set up well on the last lap, but I lost the rear.” – David Almansa
“We had a few difficult races, but this is a gift.” – Marco Morelli
Race top 10:
P1: #28 Máximo Quiles
P2: #22 David Almansa +0.513
P3: #97 Marco Morelli +2.433
P4: #73 Valentín Perrone +2.551
P5: #54 Jesús Ríos +2.921
P6: #51 Brian Uriarte +4.438
P7: #13 Hakim Danish +4.475
P8: #66 Joel Kelso +5.895
P9: #31 Adrián Fernández +7.240
P10: #67 Casey O’Gorman +8.010
The riders now get a weekend off and will be back at Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix, 10th-12th July.