Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez’s Dutch Grand Prix was hampered by a late move from Fabio Di Giannantonio, which was reminiscent of his team owner, Valentino Rossi.
In the closing stages of the Dutch Grand Prix, the Ducati riders were battling for P4 when Di Giannantonio made a late lunge into the final chicane. Both ran wide after making contact, with Marquez taking to the gravel.
Diggia was handed a long-lap penalty, but still managed to come home P4. Marquez crossed the line in sixth but was later demoted behind Enea Bastianini to P7 for track infringements.
Ai Ogura wins his first MotoGP race at Assen! 🏆 What was your biggest takeaway from the Dutch Grand Prix?
Neil Hodgson says Fabio Di Giannantonio’s move on Marc Marquez was ‘carbon copy’ of Valentino Rossi
The pair do not see eye to eye in MotoGP. Marquez collided with Di Giannantonio in COTA, sparking tension between the rivals.
Many may see it as a continuation of Marquez’s infamous rivalry with Rossi, with Diggia racing for the Italian’s team. In fact, Neil Hodgson drew comparisons between the VR46 rider’s ambitious move to his team owner’s back in 2015.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Fabio Di Giannantonio from net worth to AS Roma
In a season marred by Rossi’s ‘kick’ on Marquez at Sepang, the pair also came to blows at Assen, with the former running the latter wide at the same chicane. Hodgson felt Di Giannantonio’s attempt was a ‘carbon copy’ of his team boss.
“It so was,” he said on TNT Sports 2 (28/6, 2:41 pm). “It was going back in time, what year was that, 2015? Look at the move! I mean, it’s a late move from Diggia.
“Marc sort of tries to tough it out, and it was, it was a carbon copy of it, and it was good to see.
“We know Diggia and Marc don’t get on. It was an aggressive move. It was borderline. If you looked at what we learned from the first race of the year, I thought it probably was more of a penalty for Diggia.
“It’s contact, he doesn’t get the bike stopped. If you look at Diggia, he runs off the track, but all’s fair in love and war.”
Who had the better racecraft, Valentino Rossi or Marc Marquez? Let us know why in the comments
Rossi often sparked controversy battling Marquez, like at Assen and Sepang in 2015
Marc Marquez agrees with race direction’s verdict on Assen penalties
Marquez put up little protest about the penalty and the decision made by race direction. He pointed out that Di Giannantonio was punished for cutting the chicane, not for making contact with him.
Ultimately, the Ducati rider agreed with the verdict, telling TNT Sports 2: “I mean, race direction understands that it was a racing incident, because he got penalised because he cut the chicane, not for the contact.
“So, race direction say it was a racing incident, so I just agree with them.”
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