Terol takes back championship lead with return to podium
The Dutch TT at Assen was always going to be a fast one, based on the blistering pace established in practice and qualifying by the 125cc riders. Almost every lap was undertaken in the 1’42s, meaning that any mistake would prove costly for the aspirants to victory. Marc Márquez was faultless from pole, and faced off against Nico Terol for the win. A backmarker got in the latter’s way, and the Spaniard took his third win in a row to head yet another all-Spanish rostrum.
Bancaja Aspar’s Nico Terol had a clear strategy for the Dutch TT, and carried it out to perfection by sticking on Márquez’ tail and waiting for a chance to steal the victory on the final laps. The Spaniard was on course to do just that, clocking a new circuit record of 1’42.428 and keeping up with the winner of the last two races all the way. Unfortunately for Terol, the gameplan went out of the window six laps from the end, as a backmarker separated the two leading riders and gifted Márquez the victory. With a fifth podium of the year, Terol is one of the form riders of the year in 125cc.
2nd Nico Terol: “I am very happy with the race, because we were really up for a podium after the Silverstone near-miss. I fought my heart out here, but Marc had an incredible pace all weekend. My plan was to stick behind him as soon as possible and let him take me with him, and I managed to carry that out. He managed to pull away from me at certain points, but it was possible for me to keep on his back wheel and try to pass him at the end. Where I lost him was coming up to a backmarker, who split us up and nearly forced me into crashing. I am happy with the work that we have done this weekend, and it was just a pity to run into that backmarker. Regaining the lead of the championship doesn’t mean too much at the moment, as I really just want to concentrate on things race-by-race so early on. I don’t want to lose ground on Márquez and Espargaró, because they are very strong right now.”
Source: Team Aspar
