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AUSTIN, Texas - MotoGP World champion Marc Marquez cruised to victory in the Grand Prix of the Americas on Sunday (April 13).
Marquez repeated his maiden 2013 Texas MotoGP success, a race he also won from pole position.
Marquez, who won the season-opener in Qatar in March 2014 despite a broken leg in February 2014, finished 4.174sec ahead of Honda team mate Dani Pedrosa with Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso taking third place, 20 seconds behind.
'BORING RACE'
Marquez said: "I am so happy for this victory. The start was good and the 25 points was important for the team even if the race was a little boring."
In a dramatic start, Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo had a jump start from fifth on the grid. Lorenzo had to endure a compulsory ride-through penalty at the end of the first lap.
Lorenzo said: "I wasn't thinking and was distracted and I made a big mistake in the start. I just tried to push at the maximum afterwards to get the best result but the race was almost over for me."
At the front, Marquez charged away from the field and was never threatened, keeping Pedrosa in second.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati) carved his way through the field from ninth and settled into third in the early stages. Valentino Rossi, on the second Yamaha, was fourth at the halfway mark after passing Dovizioso, Stefan Bradl and Cal Crutchlow.
Rossi slipped back down the field as he struggled with grip on his front tyre. Such were his problems that even Aleix Espargaro and Bradley Smith comfortably past him.
Marquez's lead over Pedrosa had grown to five seconds with four laps to go while Dovizioso, who had started in 10th, was up to third.
'DESTROYED FRONT TYRE'
Rossi was eighth, 45 seconds off the pace, while Lorenzo fought his way back to 10th place.
The nine-time World champion earned eight points to give him a total of 28, dropping him to third on the overall standings. Rossi said: "We destroyed the front tyre completely on the right side. I had the same problem during the weekend."
Maverick Vinales won his first career Moto2 race with a commanding victory. Vinales stormed from sixth on the grid under rain-filled skies to take victory by 4.009sec from pole sitter Esteve Rabat.
Australia's Jack Miller won his second successive Moto3 race. The 19-year-old, who captured his maiden race victory in Qatar, had started on pole on his KTM.
Miller said: "I felt strong on the brakes. That's always been one of my strong points, maybe too strong as it can kill the exit speed."
Americas MotoGP results:
Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda 1min 43:33
Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 1min 43:37
Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati 1min 43:54
Stefan Bradl (Germany) Honda 1min 43:56
Bradley Smith (Britain) Yamaha 1min 43:56
Pol Espargaro (Spain) Yamaha 1min 43:59
Andrea Iannone (Italy) Ducati 1min 44:01
Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 1min 44:18
Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Yamaha 1min 44:21
Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 1min 44:22
Nicky Hayden (U.S.) Honda 1min 44:34.165
Hiroshi Aoyama (Japan) Honda 1min 44:37
Yonny Hernandez (Colombia) Ducati 1min 44:40
Karel Abraham (Czech Republic) Honda 1min 45:01
Hector Barbera (Spain) Avintia 1min 45:05
Standings:
Marc Marquez (Spain) Honda 50
Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 36
Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 28
ndrea Dovizioso (Italy) Ducati 27
Aleix Espargaro (Spain) Yamaha 20
Andrea Iannone (Italy) Ducati 15
Stefan Bradl (Germany) Honda 13
Nicky Hayden (U.S.) Honda 13
Bradley Smith (Britain) Yamaha 11
Pol Espargaro (Spain) Yamaha 10
Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Ducati 10
Scott Redding (Britain) Honda 9
Hiroshi Aoyama (Japan) Honda 9
Colin Edwards (U.S.) Yamaha 7
Yonny Hernandez (Colombia) Ducati 7
