Marc Marquez became the first ever MotoGP rookie to win at Laguna Seca at Sunday, the Spaniard sweeping to victory in the United States Grand Prix ahead of Stefan Bradl to extend his championship points lead. With the victory the Repsol Honda rider also becomes the youngest back-to-back winner in motorcycle racing’s top class since 1983.

Pole-sitter Bradl made a good start off the line, with Valentino Rossi rocketing up into second as the field barrelled into Turn 1. A slow-starting Marquez dropped to third, and immediately came under pressure from Jorge Lorenzo. The Yamaha rider, who was riding with a collarbone injury, shadowed his compatriot throughout the first lap, but eventually ran wide into the first corner on lap two, letting Alvaro Bautista into fourth.

The early stages saw Bradl, who is yet to have his contract renewed with his LCR team, begin to extend the gap back to Rossi, the German perhaps wary of an eventual Marquez assault. His concerns were vindicated as the championship points leader made an extraordinary move on Rossi around the outside of the corkscrew. Reminiscent of the seven-time world champion’s own overtake on Casey Stoner in 2008, the Repsol Honda rookie ran over the dirt on the exit, but somehow managed to keep control to take second.

Having swiftly closed to within a second of Bradl, Marquez then eased his charge for a few laps as he sized up the German. A fast-lapping Rossi sparked the Spaniard into life with 14 laps remaining, and he ultimately made the decisive pass for the lead at Turn 11, his bike constantly squirming under heavy late-braking.

From there, the reigning Moto 2 champion cruised to victory, winning by a margin of 2.2 seconds. Bradl’s second place marked the German’s best ever result, a just reward for a calm and composed race. Rossi rounded out the podium positions to claim his third rostrum visit in as many races, with the Italian soaking up intense pressure from a chasing Alvaro Bautista in the final laps.

Both Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo continued to suffer with left collarbone injuries as they finished in fifth and sixth. Pedrosa conducted a measured race, passing Lorenzo into Turn 1 after another mistake by the Yamaha rider saw him run wide. Having had two rounds of surgery in as many weeks, fatigue was perhaps setting in for the reigning world champion following his early-race battles. The Spaniards finished ahead of Tech 3 rider Cal Crutchlow, who ran an uneventful race after a difficult qualifying session on Saturday.

Eighth place man Nicky Hayden was shadowed to the line by teammate Andrea Dovizioso. Having been locked in an intense battle for most of the race, the Ducati duo came to blows down the start-finish straight with seven laps to go, Dovizioso giving no quarter as Hayden made his move. Hector Barbara rounded out the top ten, becoming the first rider other than Aleix Espargaro to lead the CRT runners in 2013.

With the first half of the season now completed, Marquez sits on 163 points, extending his lead to 16 over teammate Pedrosa, with Lorenzo now a further 26 behind.