TERMAS DE RIO HONDO, Argentina, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Defending world champion Marc Marquez won his first race of the 2019 season on Sunday by dominating the Argentina MotoGP.
The 26-year-old Spaniard led from start to end at the Termas de Rio Hondo track to finish in 41 minutes 43.688 seconds on his Honda, almost 10 seconds ahead of Yamaha's Valentino Rossi.
Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso was third, more than half a second further back.
Marquez said he had extra motivation to win following a crash with Rossi in the corresponding race last year.
"I wanted to have a smooth race; to demonstrate the speed of last year while also riding with precision, having learned from my mistakes," Marquez said.
"I'm the first to admit that last year I made errors. I was penalized for that and I completely agreed. I've learned a lot from the experience and I wanted to show that I can be just as fast with more precision."
Marquez, who is pursuing a sixth MotoGP world title, now leads the 2019 standings after two rounds.
The next race will be in Austin, Texas, on April 14.
