Dominant Rossi routs rivals at Jerez

Valentino Rossi stamped his authority on the Spanish MotoGP at Jerez with a commanding start to finish victory on the Movistar Yamaha.

The Doctor produced a vintage performance to claim his first victory of 2016 on the Movistar Yamaha, instantly hitting back when team-mate Jorge Lorenzo briefly pushed his nose in front on lap two at turn 9.

It was the final threat nine-time world champion Rossi encountered as he made a break at the front on the factory M1 with reigning champion Lorenzo and Marc Marquez on the Repsol Honda - also running the hard Michelin front and medium rear tyres - unable to respond.

In a largely uneventful race compared to the pervious rounds in Argentina and Austin, Rossi controlled the pace from the front with consistent laps in the mid-1'40s and managed his tyres expertly in the closing stages to take a hugely popular victory - his 87th in the premier class - by 2.3 seconds from Lorenzo, with championship leader Marquez a further five seconds in arrears.

Marquez had shadowed Lorenzo for much of the race but on lap 15, the Spaniard ran wide at turn six on the RC213V, losing any chance of challenging for the runner-up spot as he settled for 16 points in third.

His team-mate, Dani Pedrosa, was a lonely fourth throughout after initially running third on the opening lap following a strong start from row three.

Pedrosa finished over ten seconds behind Rossi, who now has 113 career GP wins, while Aleix Espargaro was more than two seconds clear of his Suzuki team-mate Maverick Vinales in fifth.

Andrea Iannone was the top Ducati rider in seventh after fellow Italian Andrea Dovizioso again experienced incredibly cruel luck, being forced to retire from the race on the factory GP16 when his rear wheel appeared to lock up on lap ten.

Dovizioso, who was twice taken out by Iannone and Pedrosa respectively in Argentina and Austin, had been holding seventh place when the problem struck.

Monster Tech 3 Yamaha's Pol Espargaro managed to find a way past Ireland's Eugene Laverty, who was in excellent form again on the Aspar Ducati as the 29-year-old finished ninth ahead of Hector Barbera (Avintia Ducati).

Further down the field, Cal Crutchlow took 11th place on the LCR Honda ahead of fellow Briton Bradley Smith (Monster Tech 3 Yamaha), Loris Baz (Avintia Ducati) and Aprilia's Stefan Bradl, whose team-mate Alvaro Bautista was a faller at turn 11 on lap seven.

Aspar Ducati's Yonny Hernandez claimed the final point in 15th ahead of Ducati test rider Michele Pirro on the Pramac machine, who is filling in for the injured Danilo Petrucci.

Jack Miller was 17th on the Marc VDS Honda ahead of team-mate Tito Rabat, while Scott Redding ended the race in a disappointing 19th on the Pramac Ducati.

Spanish MotoGP:1.Valentino Rossi2.Jorge Lorenzo3.Marc Marquez4.Dani Pedrosa5.Aleix Espargaro6.Maverick Vi?ales7.Andrea Iannone8.Pol Espargaro9.Eugene Laverty10.Hector Barbera11.Cal Crutchlow12.Bradley Smith13.Loris Baz14.Stefan Bradl15.Yonny Hernandez16.Michele Pirro17.Jack Miller18.Tito Rabat19.Scott Redding
Andrea Dovizioso
Alvaro Bautista