Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez made an early pass and pulled away for an easy win at the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas on Sunday, grabbing his first victory of the season on a track he has dominated for three years.
The 22-year-old Spaniard started on the pole but ceded first position to Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso of Italy out the first turn. Marquez was back in front by the fourth lap and steadily pulled away from the field to win by more than 2 seconds at the Circuit of the Americas.
The two-time defending world champion has won three years in a row in Austin. He needed the win to boost his bid for a third consecutive title after finishing fifth in the season opener in Qatar.
Dovizioso finished second. Movistar Yamaha's Valentino Rossi of Italy was third. Rossi, who has seven world titles, won in Qatar and leads the championship standings ahead of Dovizioso and Marquez
Marquez earned his 20th career Grand Prix victory in just his third season in motorcycle racing's premiere classification.
This one had none of the drama of Saturday's qualifying whenMarquez parked his bike after a warning light came on, ran back to the garage and grabbed a backup motorcyle. Even then, Marquez turned in a tense, blistering turn of the track to grab pole position on his final lap.
On Sunday, the sun came out for the first time all weekend just before the start of the race, but officials still had to delay the start for 35 minutes because of a large water spill on the track just before the warm-up lap. That sent crews scrambling to dry the spill and the riders back to their garages.
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Once they were racing, Dovizioso grabbed the lead out of the first turn, which comes at the top of a 110-foot climb and pushes the riders into a sharp left back down the hill. Dovizioso hasn't won since 2009 and didn't hold the lead for long.
Marquez stayed close behind and showed off the power of his Honda when he hauled in the leader on the track's longest straightaway, passing him just as the riders headed into Turn 12. It was the same spot where Formula One's Lewis Hamilton twice made passes to win the U.S. Grand Prix in 2012 and 2014.
Once he had the lead, Marquez eased into the next 17 laps and quickly put distance on the rest of the field, leaving Dovizioso and Rossi to fight for second. Dovizioso earned his 26th career podium finish.
Marquez captured his sixth straight MotoGP victory in the U.S. and his competitors will likely be glad to get him off American soil. The series moves to Argentina next week before a six-race run in Europe. Two of those will be in Marquez' home country.
