Dani Pedrosa finished the Dutch TT in 15th place, crossing the line just 16.043 seconds behind race winner Marc Marquez – the closest top fifteen of all-time in a full length premier-class grand prix. This breaks the record set at the opening race of 2018 in Qatar.

The following list shows the ten closest top fifteen finishes of all-time in the premier-class of grand prix racing, three of which are from the opening eight races of 2018 and four from 2017, showing just how competitive MotoGP is currently.  (Only races that have completed full race distance are considered for inclusion in the following table):

  Year Circuit Race winner Time covering first 15 riders across the line (sec)
1 2018 ASSEN Marc Marquez 16.043
2 2018 LOSAIL Andrea Dovizioso 23.287
3 2017 ARAGON Marc Marquez 26.082
4 2017 PHILLIP ISLAND Marc Marquez 26.168
5 2018 MUGELLO Jorge Lorenzo 26.644
6 2017 RED BULL RING Andrea Dovizioso 28.096
7 2006 BRNO Loris Capirossi 29.296
8 2001 PHILLIP ISLAND Valentino Rossi 29.738
9 2005 BRNO Valentino Rossi 29.768
10 2017 MUGELLO Andrea Dovizioso 30.779