By now, it’s become a well-established expectance that a MotoGP->ke5142 season wouldn’t be complete without a dramatic brush up between Yamaha’s->ke301 Valentino Rossi and Honda’s Marc Marquez. Turns out, we got our spoils at the 2015 Assen GP when the two most popular riders in the series got tangled up with the finish line in sight, ending with Rossi taking the checkered flag, 1.2 seconds ahead of the reigning champion.

Rossi took home the full 25 points from the race, but all everybody was talking about was the incident between him and Marquez. If you didn’t see it, here’s how it went down. The two riders were battling for victory when Marquez squeezed in to make an overtaking move into the into the final chicane. The move caused contact with Rossi’s Yamaha, causing the current points leader to run off the track, cutting the rest of the corner in the process. That move, intentional or not, effectively ended Marquez’s chase as Rossi sped off towards the finish line.

Both riders understandably had different opinions about the incident, but in the end, racing stewards sided with Rossi, proclaiming the contact between the two bikes as a “racing incident” and upholding the result with the Yamaha rider taking the top step of the podium.

Rossi’s victory meant he added more breathing room for himself in the world championship standings, moving ahead of teammate and third-place finisher Jorge Lorenzo by 10 points, 163 to 153. Meanwhile, Ducati’s->ke622 Andrea Iannone continued his recent strong form with another quality fourth place finish, buffering up his world championship points total to 107 points, 18 points clear of Marquez, who vaulted Iannone’s teammate, Andrea Dovizisioso, for fourth place in the standings, 89-87.

Meanwhile, Yamaha still leads the manufacturers’ championship with 191 points, followed by Honda->ke291 at 164 points. Ducati now sits third at 132 points.

Continue reading to read more about Valentino Rossi's epic duel with Marc Marquez at the 2015 Assen Grand Prix.

Why it matters

I’ll admit that I was rooting for Marc Marquez to make that final lap move on Valentino Rossi. It’s not because I’m pro Honda, although at this point, I might as well be if I still want to cling to my dreams of seeing a dramatic conclusion to this season.

Right now, every race win by any of the two Yamaha riders means more points to put between themselves and the rest of the field. If this holds form, the championship could be decided with a lot of races still on the schedule. Who wants that? I don’t, which is why I want Marquez to do well in the next few races, or at least score more points than Rossi and Lorenzo to reduce the gap in the points standings.

The Assen GP certainly lived up to all the hype and excitement, but a Yamaha rider still left with the most points the riders’ title. That’s not going to help my hope of seeing an exciting conclusion to the season.

But I’m not giving up just yet, even though I’ve waffled on this more times this season I don’t even sound credible in my head when I say it. I know, I know. It’s not a good look, but I really want this MotoGP season to go down to the wire.

That’s not too much to ask, right?