Italian riding legend Valentino Rossi ended a winless run of nearly three years when he triumphed at the Dutch MotoGP at Assen on Saturday.
The 34-year-old – who had not won since the Malaysian MotoGP in October 2010 – came home clear on his Yamaha ahead of Honda’s Marco Marquez while Briton Cal Crutchlow, who had been on pole, was third on a Yamaha.
Rossi’s team-mate defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo was also a winner as his decision to ride despite undergoing an operation on a broken collarbone the day before paid off as he finished fifth.
The 26-year-old lost only minimal ground in the world title race as series leader Dani Pedrosa, who had never won this race, finished just a place ahead of him on his Honda.