Moto3 international races in Assen, Holland – Taz has a half victory

Taz’s Moto3 championship standing suggests his final position may repeat last year’s second place triumph in the Motul British Motostar Championship 125GP. Taz sits 59 points behind Deroue, though he’s still optimistic “It will be really tough now to win the Championship but you just never know in racing what can happen, so I’ve certainly not given up!” – that’s the fighting spirit Taz.

So how did Taz get on in Assen?

Round ten of the Moto3 HEL Performance British Motostar championship was another contrasting weekend for Taz, a winning high followed by a crash out low. Dutch weather is similar to British with rainy days dictating much of their calendar, and this weekend was no exception. Saturday’s first race starting positions were set with first qualifying results as the track was wet for the second, this kept Taz in spot number two behind the white line. Number 95, Deroue, Taz’s biggest rival this year, began ahead of him in first.

Deroue was on home soil for the first time this season, as a Dutch-born rider – would familiarity give him a slight edge? He battled Taz through to the end as they stretched themselves on dry ground. Like Tom and Jerry or Tweety and Sylvester – though more friendly – these two Moto3 rivals will remain so until the season ends. And until the race ended, there was less than a second between Scott and Taz crossing the finish line. 0.08 seconds ahead, Taz crossed first – congrats Taz! Home country advantage wasn’t so advantageous in this round for Scott.

Race number two began in a similar dry situation, the rivals at the front, no rain falling. Taz held his front position, by lap two, 1.2 seconds separated Deroue from Taz. Until the next lap when the red flag was thrown. The race wasn’t just physically, but officially, ‘wet.’ This called for shortening the race to six laps.

With part of the track wet and the other dry, conditions weren’t consistent around the race. This hindered Taz’s performance as he sped through the dry areas, whilst slowing for the damp. The result meant Taz not gaining one as he crashed out at lap six. Deroue finished first at home.

Upbeat but slightly disappointed Taz reflected “I really wanted to secure a double race win this weekend and I was really pleased with the way I rode in race one and did feel pretty comfortable in race two but I got caught out with the slippery track.” He didn’t just feel disapointment for himself “I would like to thank my team for all the hard work they always put in and just sorry to them.”

How about the remaining Moto3 Championship races?

Wet weather hasn’t set favourable conditions for Taz this season. With his earlier Moto3 racing showing him at his best, the few recent races he hasn’t shone quite as bright as usual, letting Deroue slip through to the top of the league.

The final two rides of the season see the bikers return to Silverstone and Brands Hatch. Ed Rendell’s in third, 100 points behind Taz, will the league standings continue to the end? Will third and fourth positions change with less points between them? Will Taz’s optimism mirror his results? Check back here for the race round-ups.

As always, credit goes to Johnny Wills for photographing the Moto3 racing.