Valentino Rossi of Italy moved to the top of the world championship standings with his fourth victory of the season when he triumphed in the British MotoGP at Silverstone on Sunday.

On a rain-drenched track, Rossi, on a Yamaha, finished ahead of two Ducati-riding compatriots, Danilo Petrucci, who picked up the best result of his career, and Andrea Dovizioso.

A master of rainy conditions, Rossi rode a near-perfect race as his main rivals lost ground in the title race.

The day’s biggest loser was defending world champion Marc Marquez of Spain, who started off in pole position but came a cropper and was unable to complete the race after coming off his bike eight laps from home.

Starting from sixth place on the grid, Rossi drew on all the experience and grit which has taken him to nine world titles.

With the race delayed by rain, Rossi, who had already shown himself fastest in the warm-up, took just two laps to work his way into the lead and never looked back.

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He admitted that Marquez’s misfortune acted as an incentive to relax a little.

“When I saw Marc fall, I slowed down a bit,” he said. “I was just hoping that Petrucci didn’t risk everything to get back on terms.”

Rossi’s Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo of Spain managed to keep Rossi in his sights in the championship race by finishing fourth after the two had started the day level on points.