Moto2: Nakagami takes first win as rain arrives

Taka Nakagami completed his resurgence as he dominated the Dutch Moto2 Grand Prix in Assen, which ended early as the rain arrived to protect the riders safety.

As the downpour arrived the Idemitsu rider waved his hand as he found the worst of the weather first as he won his first grand prix race in style.

The Japanese rider attacked as soon as he hit the front after battling with Franco Morbidelli for first and was peerless as he pulled away running a perfect race, untouchable at the front, cautious in the rain spots before maintaining his gap back to second with care.

Nakagami also secures back-to-back podiums for the first time since 2013, when he finished second for four consecutive races.

Johann Zarco may not have been able to match Nakagami's pace the first running of the Dutch Grand Prix on a Sunday but his momentum for the championship continues as he recovered from a slow start to pull back up to second in the race and was beginning to catch his rival.

That is enough to see the reigning champion now share the overall title lead with Alex Rins, both on 126 points after the Assen result.

Third went to Morbidelli, who looked like a challenger in the early stages before fading after Nakagami pulled away. It is the EG 0,0 Marc VDS riders first podium of the year and equals his best result to date. It also marks the teams first podium this season.

Sam Lowes had to fight hard for fourth, enjoying a big battle with Lorenzo Baldassarri for much of the race with the Gresini rider winning the position despite a few scares for Gresini.

Alex Rins fought back for vital points in sixth after a poor qualifying but was too involved in mid-pack battles to progress to the front for Paginas Amarillas HP 40.

The Spaniard held off Simone Corsi once finally past the Speed Up man, leaving him seventh but clear of Alex Marquez who finished in eighth on the second Marc VDS entry.

It was close on track between Marquez and early, but brief, leader Dominique Aegerter who took ninth, with Jonas Folger completing the top ten for the Dynavolt team.

Xavier Simeon was a second further down the track in eleventh for QMMF who was involved in his own battle with Sandro Cortese on the second Dynavolt entry.

The rest of the points on offer went to Marcel Schrotter in13th for AGR Team, Danny Kent who was still recorded in 14th before his fall and his Leopard team-mate Miguel Oliveira who was also the top rookie in 15th.

Axel Pons was the first rider to exit the race, with Luca Marini next to fall at turn five with nine laps remaining. Tom Luthi's front end washed away as the rain flags waved with five laps left as the early leader fell after dropping places and struggling for grip lap after lap.

Danny Kent and Julian Simon also tangled as the red flags waved to end the race.