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 |