MotoGP Grand Prix of Germany 2018: Marc Marquez Tops Valentino Rossi in Win

Marc Marquez earned his ninth consecutive win at the Sachsenring in Saxony on Sunday as he secured victory in the MotoGP Grand Prix of Germany.

The Honda rider has now won on the track every year since 2010, stretching back to his time at 125 cc.

He finished ahead of Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales in an exciting race to extend his lead in the World Championship to 46 points.

MotoGP reporter Simon Patterson relayed the final classification for the race:

Marquez started on pole, but found himself behind Jorge Lorenzo and Danilo Petrucci into Turn 1 as they got off to a quick start.

Meanwhile, Alex Rins, Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro were out of the race in the first lap:

Espargaro's older brother, Aleix, had become the third rider to pull out of the Grand Prix after a crash in the warm-up, joining Franco Morbidelli and Mika Kallio on the sidelines.

At the front, Petrucci struggled to keep up slipped behind Marquez on the fourth lap before Rossi dived under him at Turn 1 in the ninth.

In the following lap, Cal Crutchlow crashed at Turn 12 under pressure from Andrea Dovizioso.

Lorenzo's lead would not last much longer, as Marquez closed a half-second gap before taking him on the side on the 13th:

The former then fell behind Rossi, who took him at Turn 10 when the Spaniard ran wide and lost the front end.

The Doctor then set his sights on the lead and lay down a marker on the 18th lap:

Marquez responded in kind, however, and did not give the Italian an inch for the remainder of the race with a commanding ride over the final 11 laps.

Behind the pair, Lorenzo's struggles with tyre degradation saw him slip behind Petrucci, Vinales and Alvaro Bautista, who produced a superb ride, while Vinales snatched third with two laps to go.