MotoGP: Marc Marquez to Return for Assen MotoGP, Iker Lecuona to replace Joan Mir

The next MotoGP race for Marc Marquez will be in the Netherlands for the Dutch GP. Six-time premier class champion noted in a statement that his goals are realistic and limited to collecting data for the team's engineers. As a track that appreciates a mix of stability and quickness, Marquez is looking forward to returning to Assen, where he last won in 2018. Overly stable motorcycles will have a hard time with the many lane changes at Assen, making them sluggish, while excessively agile and unstable motorcycles are going to confront their rider with new and potentially dangerous challenges. For this weekend's races, Marc Marquez will be riding with Iker Lecuona, who is filling in for the injured Joan Mir on the Repsol Honda Team.

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MotoGP: Iker Lecuona Replaces Joan Mir

While competing in the Italian Grand Prix earlier this month, Joan Mir suffered injuries that forced him to miss the next two races, the Mugello GP and the German GP at the Sachsenring last weekend. The latest setback in Mir's injury history follows his forced absence from the Argentine Grand Prix, which he had to skip following a crash in the MotoGP Sprint at Termas de Rio Hondo the day before the main event.

This weekend's Dutch TT will be Lecuona's second race in Assen this season; in April, he had a rough WorldSBK excursion there, finishing just 11th in the Superpole Race and crashing out of both long races.

Lecuona will be making his second MotoGP appearance of the season, after his substitution for Marc Marquez at the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. Lecuona qualified last of the 23 riders that weekend, and he ended up finishing 16th in the Grand Prix and 18th in the Sprint.

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MotoGP: TT Circuit Assen

In 1925, the Netherlands was the site of the first international motorcycle racing event. Despite being the oldest race on the MotoGPTM schedule, it didn't become an official fixture until 1949. Taking place at the TT Assen Circuit (also known as "The Cathedral of Speed"), this event is famed for the fervent supporters that go every year to cheer on their favourite riders and for the electric atmosphere it generates. Not too far from Amsterdam, in the bucolic Dutch countryside, is where you'll find the track, and the mood there on race weekend is sure to be electric.

This weekend is the eighth and last race before the summer break in the 2023 MotoGP World Championship, and it will take place in Assen. Iker Lecuona's primary goal this weekend will be to avoid any mishaps so that he can focus on the WorldSBK race in Donington, England, the following weekend. 

This historical circuit is 4.542 km in length and has 18 turns. When braking, riders need to be at the top of their game to avoid putting unnecessary stress on the tyres. In addition to the many great places to watch the race on the track, the event itself promises to be magnificent.