Jorge Lorenzo claimed his seventh race victory of the season at the Czech Grand Prix to extend his overall championship lead to 77 points.
The Spaniard overtook pole-sitter and compatriot Dani Pedrosa on the first lap and never relinquished his lead.
Pedrosa finished 5.494 seconds behind Lorenzo. Casey Stoner was third, with world champion Valentino Rossi fifth.
Italian Andrea Dovizioso was lucky to escape serious injury when his Honda crashed out on lap four.
"I am really angry because the way the race has panned out I think we would have been really challenging for second or third place," fumed British GP winner Dovizioso, who resumed the 21-lap race but, after tailing off in last, decided to retire.
After being overtaken by Lorenzo, who started third on the grid, Pedrosa managed to keep in touch with the runaway championship leader until lap 10.
However, by the next lap, Lorenzo had built up a one-second advantage, and his lead was never threatened thereafter as he coasted to a victory that puts an extra five points between himself and Pedrosa, his nearest rival, in the riders' standings.
The winner celebrated his triumph in bizarre fashion, dismounting from his bike and walking to a nearby golf course to take a putt, which he needed two attempts to hole.
"It was a very difficult day as I had crashed in qualifying so my confidence was not so high. The wind made it difficult for the riders but for me its a fantastic win," beamed the 23-year-old.
Lorenzo misses celebration putt
"I couldn't put the ball in the hole but at least I could win the race!" joked Lorenzo, whose victory sees him equal Australian legend Michael Doohan and Italian great Giacomo Agostino's record of finishing first or second in the first 10 races of the season.
American rookie Ben Spies, second in qualifying, was passed by Australia's former world champion Stoner on the 10th lap.
Tech 3 Yamaha rider Spies clung on to fourth spot ahead of Rossi, who, after starting fifth on the grid and falling back to eighth, fought his way back to finish fifth ahead of the Ducati of Nicky Hayden.
Italian Rossi, competing in his third grand prix after returning from a four-race absence due to a broken leg, was far from his explosive best on his Yamaha.
The six-time MotoGP world champion, a 2008 and 2009 winner in the Czech Republic, crashed in qualifying on Saturday, but escaped unhurt.
In the 125cc race, Britain's Bradley Smith wound up sixth after starting on pole. Spain's Nicolas Terol, on an Aprilia, was first.
Another Spaniard, Toni Elias, riding a Moriwaki, took the honours in the Moto2 class to increase his lead over Italian Andrea Iannone to 55 points in the overall standings.
Czech Grand Prix result: 1 Jorge Lorenzo (Spn) Yamaha 43:22.638 2 Dani Pedrosa (Spn) Honda 43:28.132 3 Casey Stoner (Aus) Ducati 43:34.064 4 Ben Spies (US) Yamaha 43:36.361 5 Valentino Rossi (Ita) Yamaha 43:40.568 6 Nicky Hayden (US) Ducati 43:49.453 7 Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha 43:56.034 8 Marco Melandri (Ita) Honda 44:02.044 9 Hector Barbera (Spn) Ducati 44:02.277 10 Randy de Puniet (Fra) Honda 44:03.531 11 Marco Simoncelli (Ita) Honda 44:04.670 12 Aleix Espargaro (Spn) Ducati 44:09.729 13 Alex de Angelis (SM) Honda 44:14.006 DNF Alvaro Bautista (Spn) Suzuki 21 laps DNF Mika Kallio (Fin) Ducati 7 laps DNF Andrea Dovizioso (Ita) Honda
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