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Assen: Dogged Rossi back on top

ASSEN, Netherlands - Yamaha's Valentino Rossi claimed his first victory since 2010 at the Dutch MotoGP on Saturday and World champion Jorge Lorenzo was fifth two days after breaking a collarbone.

Italian seven-times World champion Rossi took the lead on lap 6 at Assen and was never overtaken, sealing maximum points ahead of Spain's Marc Marquez and Cal Crutchlow, the first Briton to start from pole since 2002.

Lorenzo made a remarkable return to action given his crash from high-speed in wet conditions during practice on Thursday. He had surgery on Friday and started 12th on the grid.

80th PREMIER WIN

World championship leader Dani Pedrosa was fourth to extend his advantage over Lorenzo to nine points after seven of 18 rounds.

Pedrosa has 136 points to Lorenzo's 127, with Marquez third and a further 14 points back. Crutchlow is fourth on 87, Rossi fifth on 85.

Rossi, 34, celebrated his first victory since returning to Yamaha and his 80th win in the premier class. He moved up to third at the end of the first lap before overhauling the Hondas of Marquez and Pedrosa and holding on to win by 2.1sec for his first victory since the Malaysian GP nearly three years earlier.

"I'm happy but I can't believe it. It's a great feeling to be back in first position," he told www.motogp.com. “I felt good. I tried hard from the beginning, it was a long race and I fought with everybody. I fought with Marc (Marquez), with (Dani) Pedrosa and with Cal (Crutchlow) but I always had that little bit extra at certain points.

"It's been a long, long time since Sepang 2010 and during those years I've asked myself 'Can I get back to first?' So it's been a tough period but I've never given up and I've always worked hard because this is my passion."

Lorenzo was cleared to race less than four hours before the start having returned to Assen after surgery in Barcelona. The Yamaha rider rose from 12th on the grid to as high as fourth but fell back one place by the chequered flag.

The next race will be in Germany in two weeks.

Result from the 2013 Netherlands MotoGP
1 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 41min25.202
2 Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda 41min27.372
3 Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Yamaha 41min29.275
4 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 41min33.034
5 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 41min40.712
6 Stefan Bradl (Germany) Honda 41min52.721
7 Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Honda 41min56.800
8 Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Aprilia 41min57.607
9 Bradley Smith (Britain) Yamaha 41min58.953
10 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati 41min59.003
11 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati 41min59.573
12 Randy de Puniet (France) Aprilia 42min22.876
13 Andrea Iannone (Italy) Ducati 42min26.626
14 Michele Pirro (Italy) Ducati 42min26.763
15 Karel Abraham (Czech Republic) Aprilia 42min29.628

Standings after the 2013 Netherlands MotoGP
1 Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda - 136
2 Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha - 127
3 Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda - 113
4 Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Yamaha - 87
5 Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha - 85
6 Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati - 65
7 Stefan Bradl (Germany) Honda - 51
8 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati - 50
9 Alvaro Bautista (Spain) Honda - 47
10 Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Aprilia - 44
11 Bradley Smith (Britain) Yamaha - 41
12 Michele Pirro (Italy) Ducati - 30
13 Andrea Iannone (Italy) Ducati - 24
14 Randy de Puniet (France) Aprilia 15
15 Hector Barbera (Spain) FTR - 13
 
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