An incredible race from Iker Lecuona demonstrated brilliant potential after a weekend of constant improvements, his charge ultimately cut short.

Ahead of Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix, it was announced that Marc Marquez had been declared unfit as a result of the injuries sustained at the German GP last week, which had been aggravated further in Assen. This left Iker Lecuona as the lone Repsol Honda Team rider, the #27 keenly focused on the task ahead.

Having worked with the Repsol Honda Team and HRC engineers overnight, Lecuona entered the 26-lap race with ever-growing confidence. He stayed calmed in the first few corners before attacking and worked to stay with a sizable group battling for the points. Tricky conditions caught out a number of riders ahead but the stand-in Repsol Honda Team rider continued ahead with inch-perfect consistency on the Honda RC213V.

He soon found himself battling with Franco Morbidelli for the top ten. Unfortunately, heartbreak would follow soon after as a technical issue ended his race. Initially disappointed, Lecuona and the entire Repsol Honda Team leave the weekend impressed with the efforts of the 23-year-old.

MotoGP’s mid-season Summer Break now begins, a chance for riders and mechanics to rest and recover as HRC’s engineers continue important development work back in Japan. The World Championship will resume on August 04 with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Iker Lecuona

DNF

“From Jerez to here was a big improvement in how I felt with the bike. Overall we have had a great weekend, constantly getting faster and improving each time we left the garage. The race we were having today was really good, I was careful at the start and avoided any problems. After this I was able to settle into my own pace and I was able to put my best on track, my confidence was growing with each lap and I was feeling really good. Finally, I was fighting for the top ten and it felt great to be there. I want to thank the entire Repsol Honda Team for their work this weekend.”

Marc Marquez

DNS

“We arrived here in a difficult condition and it only worsened as the weekend went on. Last night I suffered a lot trying to sleep, when I woke up the pain was very high and I went straight to the medical center. Checks revealed the break in the rib had shifted so we had to miss the race. Now is the time to rest and recover and come back after the summer break fit and ready to keep working.”

MotoGP 2023
Race Round 8   Assen

Dutch Grand Prix Results

Dry
Humidity
32%
Track Temp
47°C
Air Temp
30°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Bagnaia Francesco 1 ITA 25 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 40'37.640
2 Bezzecchi Marco 72 ITA 20 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 1.223
3 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA 16 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 1.925
4 Binder Brad 33 RSA 13 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1.528
5 Martin Jorge 89 SPA 11 Pramac Racing Ducati 1.934
6 Marquez Alex 73 SPA 10 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 12.437
7 Marini Luca 10 ITA 9 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 14.174
8 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN 8 LCR Honda Honda 14.616
9 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 7 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 29.335
10 Fernandez Augusto 37 SPA 6 Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM 33.736
11 Savadori Lorenzo 32 ITA 5 Aprilia Racing Test Team Aprilia 35.084
12 Fernandez Raul 25 SPA 4 RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia 39.622
13 Bradl Stefan 6 GER 3 LCR Honda Honda 42.504
14 Folger Jonas 94 GER 2 Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM 45.609
15 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA DNF Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati DNF
16 Lecuona Iker 27 SPA DNF Repsol Honda Team Honda DNF
17 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR DNF RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia DNF
18 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA DNF Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati DNF
19 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA DNF Aprilia Racing Aprilia DNF
20 Zarco Johann 5 FRA DNF Pramac Racing Ducati DNF
21 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA DNF Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha DNF
22 Miller Jack 43 AUS DNF Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM DNF
Location Information

Assen is the only venue to have held a round of the Motorcycle World Championship every year since its creation in 1949. The circuit was purpose built for the Dutch TT in 1955, with previous events having been held on public roads. The track is narrow, with rapid changes in… read more.

Length 4.542 kilometres / 2.822 miles
Width 14 metres
Left corners 6
Right corners 12
Longest straight 0.487 kilometres / 0.303 miles
Constructed 1955
Modified 2012

TT Circuit Assen, De Haar, Assen, The Netherlands - View in Google Maps

www.ttcircuit.com

Records

Pole Position 1m 30.540s (180.5km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024)
Race Lap 1m 31.866s (177.9km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024)
Race Time 40m 07.214s (176.6km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024)
2024 Race Winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2024 Sprint Winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)