Four-peat At Jerez

[Nobody could run with Marc Marquez on the heated Jerez circuit as he built up a four-second lead by lap 12 and never looked back. Marquez becomes the first rider to win the opening four premier class races of the year since Mick Doohan in 1992.

Starting from fourth on the grid, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi put in a stunning effort to take the second step on the podium. The nine-time world champion had jumped to third by the first corner and then to second as he chased down Marquez. Two laps of tense drama followed with Marquez and the Doctor swapping leads and  pushing each other to the limits. Marquez clocked the fastest time of the 27-lap race on lap 5 which set him up as the the front-runner with Rossi in second. Marquez took the checkered 1.431 seconds ahead of Rossi in second place. As the last laps ran down, Dani Pedrosa closed in to challenge Rossi for second but  Rossi held on by

[ The Doctor holds off Dani Pedrosa for second podium postion.

a 0.098-second margin over Pedrosa. All riders on the podium opted for the medium compound rear slick, with Marquez and Pedrosa using the medium compound front, while Rossi selected the hard compound front slick for the race.

Rossi’s Movistar Yamaha MotoGP teammate Jorge Lorenzo had to settle for fourth at his 200th GP, crossing the line a distant 8.5 seconds behind Marquez on his 27th birthday. Andrea Dovizioso was the top man for the Ducati Team in fifth, while there was disappointment for his teammate Cal Crutchlow who retired early on his comeback and wild card test rider Michele Pirro who crashed out in the initial laps.

[ 19 Alvaro Bautista GO&FAST Gresini Honda

Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) avoided a DNF for the first time this year, picking up his first points of 2014 in sixth, finishing just 0.112 seconds behind Dovizioso. Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) was seventh and Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) eighth, the pair of them also reaching the finish line within 0.5 seconds of Dovizioso.

[ 04 Andrea Dovisioso, Ducati Team

The top ten at Jerez was rounded out by Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP).