Aussie wrap: Our quartet of MotoGP riders give their verdict on their races at the Dutch TT

VIDEO: THE crazy Netherlands weather threw its might at the Assen circuit, but an Australian left the Dutch TT triumphant.

WHAT a stunning day for Australian motorcycle racing! The crazy Netherlands weather threw its might at the Assen circuit, but an Australian left the Dutch TT triumphant.

Not the one we expected, mind. He leaves Assen lucky to still be leading his championship’s points.

It was our veteran in MotoGP’s intermediate class who, despite his desire not to be known as a wet-weather specialist, revelled in the conditions to take his second career win, 11 years to the day after his first.

Let’s run through the races for all four of our Aussie riders and hear from a couple of them.

Parkes on his way to his best MotoGP finish.

MotoGP

Broc Parkes, 11th
Paul Bird Motorsport
It looked like it had all gone wrong for Parkes on only the warm-up lap. A clash of handlebars at the hairpin caused him to crash, leaving the Australian scurrying back to the pits to hop on his spare bike.

Only trouble was, it was on slicks. Even those who gambled on slicks had abandoned them, pulling in for wets as the field lined up on the grid.

Stuck with no other option, Parkes scrabbled around on dry tyres and the field disappeared into the distance on wets. By the end of the first lap he was a whopping 25 seconds behind them. 20 more the next time.

But then the track started to dry out. He was almost a minute behind the leaders but didn’t need to pit for dry tyres. In fact, he was now catching them. All of a sudden, things were looking very good.

As the leaders pitted, Parkes moved up as high as sixth before he was swallowed up by the mid-field.

Nevertheless he still managed a plucky 11th, his best finish in MotoGP and the best ever for his fledgling Paul Bird Motorsport team.

“What a crazy race, I crashed on the warm up lap when somebody clipped my handlebar at the hairpin so I got back to the pits for my spare bike with slick tyres and had to start from pit lane.

“At the start it was still raining and I was even going to pull in because I was really slow but then the track dried fast and I was pushing like crazy on the slick tyres in the wet corners as I could see I was catching everyone.

“I would really like to thank the team for all their hard work.”

Moto2

Anthony West, 1st
QMMF Racing Team
The Dutch weather gods must be Ant West fans. Within minutes of the Moto3 podium celebrations concluding, the skies unloaded over the Assen circuit, dumping rain and hail on the circuit just as the Moto2 race was about to begin.

Westy made the absolute most of his renowned wet-weather genius, carving his way through from 23rd on the grid, looking surefooted while others floundered.

He was an unbelievable seventh at the end of only the first lap, before picking off Tom Luthi, Maverick Vinales, then Julian Simon on subsequent laps.

West leading Simon early in the race.

By that point Simone Corsi and Sam Lowes were well down the road and seemingly out of touch, before first the British rookie then the Italian veteran succumbed to the slippery conditions.

From there West held his nerve on fading wet tyres as he and Vinales diced for the lead among the backmarkers, edging his leading margin to over a second as he prepared to defend one last charge from his rival.

Vinales came close but not quite near enough to attempt a pass at the chicane, leaving a jubilant West to cross the line for victory.

There looked to be a tear in West’s eye as ‘Advance Australia Fair’ rang out over the PA after arguably the finest race of his career.

In a final twist, he was then helpless as his rivals sprayed him with champagne on the podium, West declining the traditional celebratory bubbly in deference to his Qatari team.

Moto3

Arthur Sissis, 21st
Mahindra Racing
All was looking good for Sissis to have his best race of the season.

The 19-year-old posted easily his best qualifying result of the year in 18th and cracked the top 10 in the race morning warm-up, but that’s where the good news ended.

We’ll let Arthur tell the story in his own words.

“I went well in warmup, and a got a really good start. I was behind Miguel but from the first lap I couldn’t get the speed I had before.

“Into the corners the back was chattering and I had no grip.

“It doesn’t seem possible that my lap times were three seconds slower than qualifying. I just don’t understand why.”

Sissis (red/white No. 61) made a cracking start to the Moto3 race.

A furious Miller.

Jack Miller, DNF
Red Bull KTM Ajo Motorsport
It was with disbelief that we saw Miller sitting in the sandtrap, tangled among his bike, at the end of the first lap.

With his chatter problems sorted, the championship leader looked as though he was trying to crush the field when the lights went out to start the Moto3 race.

Jack bolted from the line and immediately began to open a gap. Alex Marquez was the only rider able to keep pace, and even he ended the first tour over 0.2s behind.

Then came the bump in the road in Turn 1, sending Miller sliding down the road towards his second non-finish of the season.

Fortunately title rival Romano Fenati had an even worse weekend, crashing twice and finishing a point-less 18th. On the downside, Marquez’s second win on the trot brings him level with the Italian, seven points behind Miller as they near the halfway point of the championship.

Originally published as Aussie wrap: Our quartet of MotoGP riders give their verdict on their races at the Dutch TT