Italian legend Valentino Rossi sent the home fans crazy at the 13th round of 18 in the MotoGP world championships at Misano at the weekend as the Movistar Yamaha rider dominated the day to grasp his first victory on home soil since 2009.

Rossi saw off his Spanish team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and world champion Marc Marquez – who slid off while attempting to close in on the 35-year-old – to secure his first triumph in the premier class since Assen last year.

It was a vintage performance by the nine-time world champion and an emotional success for the Grand Prix legend, who was deservedly back on the top step at Misano after a faultless display on the YZR-M1.

Pole man Lorenzo had no answer in second place, and even Marquez may have been unable to affect the outcome had the 21-year-old Spaniard not crashed out on lap 10, with Rossi looking in charge at that point.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa had enough in hand to take the last place on the podium ahead of Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso, while Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone – who started from the front row in second place – finished fifth ahead of Pol Espargaro on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine.

Lorenzo made the start he wanted from pole as he surged into the tight first right-hander in the lead ahead of team-mate Rossi.

Marquez, starting from row two of the grid for the first time since Barcelona last year, crucially slotted into third place behind the two Yamaha riders after getting the jump on Pramac Ducati’s Andrea Iannone.

Behind Iannone, Dovizioso and Espargaro, on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3, filled out the first six on lap one.

An explosive opening to the race saw Lorenzo attempt to make a break at the front on the M1 and the two-time premier class world champion managed to eek out around a tenth of a second by the second lap, but Rossi was jolted into action when Marquez shot underneath him at Tramonto.

Rossi hit back on the exit and powered past the RC213V on the back straight to re-take second. The old master and young pretender continued in attack mode on lap three with Marquez battling past again at T4, but Rossi sent the partisan Italian crowd wild as he responded in kind yet again with a clinical pass at Quercia.

It was the perfect scenario for Lorenzo, who seemed to have capitalised at the front until Rossi was suddenly right on his team-mate’s rear wheel on lap four, taking the lead for the first time into Quercia.

Rossi ran wide, allowing Lorenzo back into the lead, but the nine-time world champion showed his braked prowess once more into Tramonto.

Marquez, desperate not to give Rossi a foothold in the race, also pounced on Lorenzo at T14 to take up the chase behind Rossi once more.

Iannone was holding fourth on the Pramac machine, but Pedrosa and Dovizioso, on the factory Desmosedici, were pressurising the Italian.

Pedrosa took over fourth on lap eight, with Dovizioso following suit at T4 after Iannone was edged slightly wide by the Honda rider.

Stefan Bradl’s race came to a disappointing end as the German slid off, compounding a poor season for the LCR Honda.

Lorenzo – winner of this race for the past three years – surprisingly began to drop off the pace as Rossi held sway at the front with Marquez trying all he could to bridge the gap.

The race took a dramatic twist on lap 10 when Marquez lost the front at T4 on the brakes, leaving Rossi clear at the front. Marquez managed to remount and rejoin the race but his hopes of a 12th win this season were gone after the 21-year-old was made to pay for his first race mistake this season.

Rossi was now around two-and-a-half seconds ahead of Lorenzo with a coveted home victory on the cards, while Pedrosa had been promoted to a rostrum spot in third ahead of Dovizioso.

Iannone remained in contention for fourth place as he kept Dovizioso in his sights, with Espargaro and team-mate Bradley Smith next, while Cal Crutchlow was disputing eighth with Gresini Honda’s Alvaro Bautista.

Rossi was steadfast in first as he managed the gap over Lorenzo, maintaining an advantage of around 2.3 seconds, while Marquez was now lying in 20th place on lap 17.

With eight laps remaining, Crutchlow – who had been tussling with Bautista – appeared to have overcooked it at Quercia, allowing Aleix Espargaro on the Forward Yamaha and Yonny Hernandez through, although the British rider quickly passed Hernandez to take 10th.

Rossi extended his lead to three seconds and Lorenzo appeared to have settled for second place, although Dovizioso was refusing to give up on third, even though Pedrosa seemed to have enough in hand to guarantee the final place on the rostrum.

To the sheer delight of the massive Misano crowd, Rossi delivered the goods, pulling a celebratory wheelie on the Movistar Yamaha as he flashed over the line to take a famous win by 1.5 seconds from Lorenzo, with Pedrosa claiming third.

Dovizioso, Iannone and Pol Espargaro were the top six, with Smith, Bautista, Crutchlow and Hernandez completing the top 10.

Scot Redding crossed the line in 13th place with Marquez bagging a point in the end in 15th, coming home ahead of Leon Camier on the Drive M7 Aspar and Northern Ireland’s Michael Laverty (PBM).

Aleix Espargaro came off on the final lap as his race ended in disappointment.

Photos courtesy Yamaha.

Results from Misano, round 13 of 18:

1. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 44m 14.586s
   2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 44m 16.164s
   3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 44m 18.862s
   4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici) 44m 20.096s
   5. Andrea Iannone ITA Pramac Racing (Desmosedici) 44m 26.357s
   6. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 44m 33.585s
   7. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 44m 37.686s
   8. Alvaro Bautista ESP Go&Fun Honda Gresini (RC213V) 44m 51.044s
   9. Cal Crutchlow GBR Ducati Team (Desmosedici) 44m 53.066s
   10. Yonny Hernandez COL Pramac Racing (Desmosedici) 45m 0.464s
   11. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (RCV1000R) 45m 9.351s
   12. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Drive M7 Aspar (RCV1000R) 45m 11.361s
   13. Scott Redding GBR Go&Fun Honda Gresini (RCV1000R)* 45m 17.320s
   14. Alex De Angelis RSM NGM Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 45m 28.132s
   15. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 45m 30.534s
   16. Leon Camier GBR Drive M7 Aspar (RCV1000R) 45m 35.346s
   17. Michael Laverty GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM-ART) 45m 41.008s
   18. Broc Parkes AUS Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM-ART)* +1 lap
   19. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Avintia) +1 lap
   Aleix Espargaro ESP NGM Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) DNF
   Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda MotoGP (RC213V) DNF
   Danilo Petrucci ITA IodaRacing Project (ART) DNF
   Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (Avintia)* DNF

MotoGP Championship standings: