MotoGP Grand Prix of Netherlands 2018 Results: Marc Marquez Wins Classic Race

Honda's Marc Marquez made a huge statement in the race for the 2018 MotoGP title on Sunday, as he won a Grand Prix for the ages in the Netherlands.

In a race that saw numerous changes of the lead between some huge names, eventually it was the Honda man who clinched the victory with a late surge. Alex Rins produced a brilliant performance to finish second for Suzuki, whereas Yamaha's Maverick Vinales was third.

The result means that after leading the world championship by 27 points ahead of the showdown at Assen, Marquez's advantage to Valentino Rossi stands at 41 points.

Despite winning the previous two races, Jorge Lorenzo found himself down in 10th off the grid at the start of this one. He appeared intent on making up on lost time.

As noted by Fox Sports' Mark Gottlieb, the Spaniard scythed through the field in spectacular fashion and was suddenly in a recently familiar position:

While Lorenzo was able to take the lead, the chasing pack were in such close proximity, with Marquez, who started on pole, all over him like a rash. After the two exchanged positions a couple of times, the world champion found himself with Rossi on his toes.

As we can see here, as the Italian moved into second spot, you could toss a blanket over the top 10:

But none of the early moves were sticking given how tight the race was, the result was some thrilling pieces of overtaking and even some contact between Rossi and Lorenzo. Thankfully for the pair, it wasn't enough to knock either off their bikes.

At the halfway point, there was still little to choose between the top six on track, but Lorenzo was still in front, ahead of compatriots Marquez and Rins.

The men in second and third actually came extremely close to taking each other out as Rins made a move on the Honda man, as this clip illustrates:

The MotoGP Memes account was loving the frenetic action in the Netherlands:

The twists kept on coming. Andrea Dovizioso had made his way through the pack and produced some brilliant overtakes to move up into first place. As Rins fell back, a steady Marquez, a slowing Lorenzo and an improving Vinales were all in contention.

The latter of that quartet then had a turn at the front before Marquez restored some sense of order to proceedings, taking the lead of the race with six laps remaining and for the first time since the first lap.

Motorsport.com's Pablo Elizalde summed up what continued to be a race to remember:

After a temporary stint at the front for Rossi, Marquez was able to snatch back the lead with three laps remaining, with Vinales and Rins now providing the stiffest competition as they entered the final stages.

But finally a leader was able to get away from the chasing pack, as Marquez found the kind of form that's seen him pull clear in the race for the world championship this season, taking the chequered flag with some room to spare.

Further back, Rins was able to clinch Suzuki's best finish ever in MotoGP, pipping Vinales for second spot. Meanwhile, Rossi slipped back to fifth as the laps ticked down, meaning he has plenty of ground to make up on Marquez between now and the end of the season.