MotoGP: Unstoppable Márquez smashes 43-year record at Assen

Despite missing out on pole for the second week running, the 21-year-old reigning champion sailed past the chequered flag with a 6.7-second margin on his nearest rival, Italy's Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati).

A rain-soaked 26 laps at the Iveco circuit in Assen, The Netherlands, meant careful judgment of speed and bends were crucial, and Márquez, who took the championship title in his rookie year and looks set to repeat the performance in 2014, showed a faultless strategy from the start, pulling into the lead by lap seven after passing his compatriot Aleix Espargaró (NGM Forward Racing) who was first off the grid, then easing ahead of Dovizioso.

Márquez's team-mate and fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) took third just behind the Italian after successfully passing and then holding off Espargaró, who had to work hard for his commendable fourth place.

A miscalculated tyre strategy meant Italy's Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) fell back to fifth, whilst the two relative newcomers from Great Britain – Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Cal Crutchlow (Ducati) – came eighth and ninth, behind Italian Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) and Spain's Álvaro Bautista (Honda Gresini) but ahead of Germany's Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda).

Paul Bird Motorsport's Broc Parkes started from the pit lane due to a penalty imposed during the warm-up round, but hauled himself back up to 11^th place after a splendid show of determined riding, whilst Spain's Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech3) retired six laps before the end due to two crashes, first on slicks and then on wets.

In the meantime, the Márquez family shone once again with Marc's brother Alex (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda) scooped up his second consecutive victory in Moto3 in a race which he dominated by a wide margin from the start.