Marc Marquez rode to a controlled race victory in Germany. Image: MotoGP.com.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez delivered a measured and mature ride to secure victory in the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, his second win from pole position in his rookie season.

The 20-year-old maintained his focus on a turbulent weekend for the title contenders with Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa both non-starters due to earlier crashes.

Marquez was swamped in a tardy start from P1, with Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi, the winner of the previous grand prix in the Netherlands, sweeping into the lead.

Rossi was followed closely by LCR Honda MotoGP home favourite Stefan Bradl and the in-form Aspar CRT mount of Aleix Espargaro, with Marquez squeezed to fourth in a frenetic opening lap.

Rossi then relinquished the lead to Bradl, who completed the first lap in the lead to the resounding applaud of the crowd.

Monster Tech3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow was in the mix despite riding with a series of painful injuries following a series of crashes earlier in the weekend, and the GO&FUN Gresini Honda of Alvaro Bautista was also running competitively within the top five.

Marquez soon regained his composure and began his forwards march, passing Espargaro early and setting his sights on Rossi. By lap four he had passed the multiple world champion, and on lap five he caught and passed Bradl for the lead.

The Repsol Honda rider then set about controlling the pace, managing the gap to his pursuers capably with the help of his pit board.

Before long Rossi was through on Bradl, but the Italian soon found himself in the clutches of Crutchlow who mirrored his fellow YZR-M1 rider for a series of laps before making an aggressive yet clean pass at mid-race distance.

With a sniff of victory ahead of him Crutchlow made a concerted charge for the lead, making time in the sectors that suited his strength before dropping off slightly against Marquez’ pace in the sections of track that favoured the Honda.

The pair passed lapped riders Lukas Pesek and Aussie Bryan Staring without trouble with just three tours of the Sachsenring remaining.

Crutchlow dug deep but ultimately fell short of his target, with Marquez scoring his second win of the season and in the process, taking the lead of the world championship.

Rossi completed the podium but was a distant 9.62 seconds off the leaders’ battle. Bradl held on for fourth, a solid result in front of home fans, while Bautista was consistent in fifth.

Bradley Smith, Andrea Dovizioso, Espargaro, Nicky Hayden and Michele Pirro rounded out the top 10, while Staring was a non-finisher, crashing on the third-last lap after a difficult weekend.

The result at the Sachsenring promotes Marquez to the lead of the world championship by two points, with Pedrosa second and Jorge Lorenzo third. Crutchlow banked more good points to maintain his position ahead of Rossi within the top five.

In the Moto2 ranks the Aspar Suter entry of Spaniard Jordi Torres broke through for a maiden grand prix win, holding out the advances of NGM Mobile’s Simone Corsi and Tuenti HP 40’s Pol Espargaro.

Espargaro had led for a number of laps but was displaced to third when Torres forced a pass and brought Corsi with him.

Julian Simon was fourth ahead of Alex de Angelis and Thom Luthi. Moto2 points leader Scott Redding was a surprising seventh after a poor qualifying result saw him swamped in the early laps as the leaders made their case for clean air.

Behind Redding was Australia’s Ant West, delivering a hard-fought eighth place after fighting back through the field from a mid-pack grid position.

Despite his uncharacteristic struggle, Redding scored consistent points at the Sachsenring and still holds a 23-point lead in the class over Espargaro.

The man in contention for third place in the championship, Esteve Rabat, was a distant 14th, allowing the leaders to streak away in the title tousle that many had predicted.

Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins secured victory in the Moto3 class, putting the pass on Luis Salom on the penultimate corner of the race after a entertaining three-rider battle that also involved Maverick Vinales.

Rins led from pole position as the leaders settled into a rhythm and broke clear of the trailing pack. Vinales and Rins exchanged places on a number of occasions before a daring double pass put Salom into the lead.

Rins bundled Salom back to second in a dive for the race win, though the Red Bull KTM Ajo Motorsport man still maintains a solid lead in the greater battle for the championship.

It was a standout race for both Australian riders, with Jack Miller battling for a podium place early on before his Honda began to struggle, outnumbered by the superior KTM chassis.

He finished seventh, with countryman Arthur Sissis moving through to 10th on his Red Bull Ajo KTM after starting 15th.

The MotoGP World Championship battle will continue at Laguna Seca this weekend, with only the premier class on track in the United States as Moto2 and Moto3 take an extended break until the Indianapolis weekend in mid-August.

2013 MotoGP World Championship
Round Eight – Sachsenring, Germany
MotoGP Race Top 10:
1. Marc Marquez
2. Cal Crutchlow
3. Valentino Rossi
4. Stefan Bradl
5. Alvaro Bautista
6. Bradley Smith
7. Andrea Dovizioso
8. Aleix Espargaro
9. Nicky Hayden
10. Michele Pirro

Moto2 Race Top 10:
1. Jordi Torres
2. Simone Corsi
3. Pol Espargaro
4. Julian Simon
5. Alex de Angelis
6. Thom Luthi
7. Scott Redding
8. Anthony West
9. Xavier Simeon
10. Dominique Aegerter

Moto3 Race Top 10:
1. Alex Rins
2. Luis Salom
3. Maverick Vinales
4. Miguel Oliveira
5. Alex Marquez
6. Efren Vazquez
7. Jack Miller
8. Jonas Folger
9. Brad Binder
10. Arthur Sissis

Click here for detailed results