Alex Marquez romped to a maiden MotoGP sprint race victory at a damp Silverstone as he fended off the advances of pole-man Marco Bezzecchi in the closing stages.
The Gresini rider dropped back from third on the grid in the early portion of the ten-lap encounter after being jumped by a fast-starting Jorge Martin, though he soon managed to get into his rhythm and moved back into the rostrum spots.
He then managed to move clear of Bezzecchi before swiftly dispatching leader at the end of the same tour, Marquez immediately dropping the pace further as he looked to break away from the pursuing VR46 Ducati behind.
The Spaniard managed to craft a lead of just over a second by the time Bezzecchi began to stem the flow, the latter starting to close back in as the lap counter dropped ever more.
The two-time premier class race victor narrowed the gap to less than half-a-second mid-way round the last lap as he tried to snatch away victory, though ultimately Marquez had enough in hand and took the chequered flag to secure supremacy by just 0.366s.
Maverick Vinales displayed encouraging pace for Aprilia in the middling conditions to come home third a few seconds adrift of the leading tussle, while Johann Zarco fought through to fourth thanks to a late race charge that saw him relegate Aleix Espargaro to fifth at the death.
Martin slipped to sixth in the final reckoning ahead of Miller, who struggled to maintain his early speed, while Augusto Fernandez did well to hang onto a couple points for eighth on his GasGas machine.
Brad Binder secured the final point in ninth on his KTM, with Miguel Oliveira coming through to complete the top ten for RNF Aprilia.
Series leader Francesco Bagnaia struggled to find grip on his wet rubber in the ever-drying conditions unlike those ahead, the factory Ducati pilot sliding all the way to 14th by the time he crossed the line just behind team-mate Enea Bastianini.
It was an equally tough day for the Japanese manufacturers as they occupied six of the bottom eight positions – Franco Morbidelli leading home the sextet in 15th well ahead of Yamaha team-mate Fabio Quartararo in a lowly 21st.
Joan Mir meanwhile ended up as the best-placed Honda in 17th overall just ahead of factory team-mate Marc Marquez, all four Honda’s ending up behind the returning Pol Espargaro’s GasGas in 16th.
Keyword: Marquez bats off Bezzecchi’s advances to score Silverstone sprint win, Quartararo 21st