Vinales remains on top of the world championship standings, where he has been since the start of the season. But the veteran Italian has slipped worryingly off the pace and is now fifth in the standings, 28 points behind Vinales. Rossi has seven wins in MotoGP at the Assen track which has staged a world championship round every year since 1949. “I hope to be competitive in Assen because I would like to make it a good race,” said Rossi. With Rossi in fifth, it is the closest top-five spread, after seven races, since the current points system was introduced in 1993.--AFP

Source: New Strait Times June 22, 2017 23:37 UTC