Marquez battles to sixth rostrum of season

A battered and bruised Marc Marquez held off a late charge by Cal Crutchlow to bag a hard-earned runner-up finish in the Dutch MotoGP at Assen.

Marquez injured his right little finger in a heavy fall during FP3, but the championship rookie conceded that race winner Valentino Rossi was 'simply faster than us today'.

The Repsol Honda star came under pressure from Crutchlow during the final laps, but took full advantage when the Tech 3 Yamaha rider almost ran on at the end of the start/finish straight at the beginning of the final lap to cement the runner-up spot.

"Overall the pace was faster than I had expected. At the start and throughout the race both Dani and Valentino were very strong," he said.

"In fact, Valentino was simply faster than us today. I could only pass Dani towards the end, because at first I had a lot of trouble.

"Once I passed Dani, I tried to catch Valentino, but my arm began to affect me and I couldn't brake in my normal way due to my injured finger.

"In the end we took 20 points after a good battle with Cal and think I defended pretty well against him."

Marquez, who was celebrating his sixth rostrum finish in seven races this season, is third overall in the championship standings, 23 points behind team-mate Dani Pedrosa.

"In general, we can say we've done a good job all weekend. I have a lot of respect for Jorge today, he showed real strength and he did a great job," Marquez said.

"I would also like to congratulate Valentino, as it's always good for motorcycle racing when he's up at the front!"