Source: MotoGP.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has celebrated his 100th grand prix start with a dominant victory in front of diehard Spanish fans at Jerez.

Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso and Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi both had their turn at head of the field on the first lap but Marquez wasted little time in resuming his regular position at the front.

From there it was a masterclass from the home sensation, who pulled away from the preceding pack comfortably. Marquez crossed the line with a 1.431-second advantage after a cautious final lap.

A resurgent Rossi would hold on for second, outpacing teammate Jorge Lorenzo in the initial stages and then staving off a charge from the second Repsol Honda of Dani Pedrosa.

Pedrosa had the pace to pass Lorenzo late in the piece but couldn’t match the defence of Rossi down the stretch, eventually settling for third.

It was a lonely race for Lorenzo, who had few answers for the top three and was visibly disappointed to cross the line 8.541 seconds off the leader.

A healthy battle for the final place in the top five was waged between six riders for much of the 27-lap race.

Dovizioso got the nod by just over a tenth of a second from Alvaro Bautista, who took good points in his first grand prix finish of the season.

Aleix Espargaro had fought for fifth but was bundled back to seventh ahead of the Monster Tech3 teammates Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro.

Completing the top 10 was LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl, again tumbling down the order in the decisive stages.

The ever-reliable Broc Parkes had his own power struggle versus his Open class opponents but held tough when a number of riders crashed out of contention.

The Paul Bird Motorsport rider took 17th at the chequered flag, six positions forward from his qualifying place.

In the Moto2 class it was Finn Mika Kallio who controlled proceedings from pole position, taking a seemingly comfortable lights to flag win for Marc VDS Racing.

Swiss rider Dominique Aegerter battled to a strong second aboard the Technomag carXpert Suter, heading off German rider Jonas Folger who snared the final podium spot for AGR Team Kalex.

Kallio’s teammate Esteve Rabat was a surprise absence from the podium, struggling to match the pace of the leaders as the track temperatures rose and consolidating for fourth. Despite this, he still enjoys a 17-point lead on top of the standings.

The Pons HP40 pairing of Maverick Vinales and Luis Salom diced closely in an inter-team battle, eventually coming home fifth and sixth respectively.

Belgian Xavier Simeon crossed the line a lonely seventh, while positions eight through 10, occupied by Johann Zarco, Sandro Cortese and Thom Luthi, were separated by only a second.

Another barnstorming run for Anthony West saw the Aussie make up 13 places to finish a strong 11th place for the QMMF Racing Team.

West has shone in the season’s opening stanza and now sits equal ninth on outright points alongside Sandro Cortese.

The entry Moto3 class produced a typically thrilling grand prix, eventually taken out by round three winner, SKY Racing Team VR46’s Romano Fenati.

While Australia’s Jack Miller would start from pole, he wouldn’t enjoy the dominant run he had in rounds past.

Miller was part of the multi-rider pack at the head of the field, with track positions traded lap by lap.

While impressive under brakes, Miller’s Red Bull KTM lacked the firepower required in the closing stages, and though he launched a late challenge for the podium, several close calls with competitors saw the leading trio move clear.

Fenati won by just 0.144 seconds from SaxoPrint-RTG’s Efren Vaquez, with Alex Rins third for Estrella Galicia.

Miller held out the Calvo Team KTM of Isaac Vinales by just 0.020 seconds for fourth, with Jakub Kornfeil, Alex Marquez, Franceso Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini and Niklas Ajo claming places six to 10.

Finishing off the podium for the first time this season, Miller still holds the class points lead, heading Fenati by five points.

The run of bad luck would unfortunately continue for Arthur Sissis, with the Australian rider suffering more mechanical problems on-board his Mahindra machine and retiring early in the piece.

2014 MotoGP World Championship
Round four – Jerez, Spain

MotoGP race results:
1. Marc MARQUEZ
2. Valentino ROSSI +1.431
3. Dani PEDROSA +1.529
4. Jorge LORENZO +8.541
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO +27.494
6. Alvaro BAUTISTA +27.606
7. Aleix ESPARGARO +27.917
8. Bradley SMITH +27.947
9. Pol ESPARGARO +29.419
10. Stefan BRADL +32.872
17. Broc PARKES (AUS)+1m23.420

MotoGP championship standings (after round four of 18):
1. Marc MARQUEZ 100
2. Dani PEDROSA 72
3. Valentino ROSSI 61
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO 45
5. Jorge LORENZO 35
6. Stefan BRADL 30
7. Aleix ESPARGARO 30
8. Bradley SMITH 28
9. Andrea IANNONE 25
10. Pol ESPARGARO 25
21. Broc PARKES (AUS) 1

Moto2 race results:
1. Mika KALLIO
2. Dominique AEGERTER +2.434
3. Jonas FOLGER +3.668
4. Esteve RABAT +5.431
5. Maverick VIÑALES +9.786
6. Luis SALOM +11.356
7. Xavier SIMEON +18.112
8. Johann ZARCO +21.508
9. Sandro CORTESE +21.608
10. Thomas LUTHI +22.811
11. Anthony WEST (AUS) +43.284

Moto2 championship standings (after round four of 18):
1. Esteve RABAT 83
2. Mika KALLIO 67
3. Maverick VIÑALES 49
4. Dominique AEGERTER 49
5. Simone CORSI 33
6. Thomas LUTHI 32
7. Xavier SIMEON 29
8. Luis SALOM 28
9. Sandro CORTESE 25
10. Anthony WEST (AUS) 25

Moto3 race results:
1. Romano FENATI
2. Efren VAZQUEZ +0.144
3. Alex RINS +0.147
4. Jack MILLER +1.224
5. Isaac VIÑALES +1.244
6. Jakub KORNFEIL +1.857
7. Alex MARQUEZ +3.808
8. Francesco BAGNAIA +6.631
9. Enea BASTIANINI +11.944
10. Niklas AJO +12.204
DNF. Arthur Sissis (AUS)

Moto3 championship standings (after round four of 18):
1. Jack MILLER 79
2. Romano FENATI 74
3. Efren VAZQUEZ 62
4. Alex RINS 51
5. Alex MARQUEZ 49
6. Jakub KORNFEIL 31
7. Isaac VIÑALES 28
8. Alexis MASBOU 28
9. Francesco BAGNAIA 23
10. Danny KENT 23

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