BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: MotoGP world champion and pole winner Marc Marquez last night edged out veteran Valentino Rossi in a classic battle under lights, winning the season’s first race in a thrilling finish at Losail International Circuit.
Honda’s Marquez, who could barely walk six weeks ago following a leg injury, outpaced the Yamaha giant who struggled for a final flourish despite grabbing the lead at least half a dozen times in the crash-marred race.
It was Marquez’s seventh win in just his 19th start in the MotoGP class. The 21-year-old clocked an impressive time of 42 minutes 40.561 seconds around the 5.38km Losail Circuit bathed in artificial light.
Rossi, 35, was just .259 seconds adrift of Marquez who picked up 25 points from the season opener.
Dani Pedrosa, also of Honda, jumped ahead of Spain’s Aleix Espargaro (Forward Yamaha) to claim the third spot on the season’s first podium.
Pedrosa (3.370 adrift of Marquez) made the most of a series of crashes that saw former world champion Jorge Lorenzo of Spain going out in the first lap followed by promising German talent Stafen Bradl who also slipped out of the race in lap 9.
Britain’s Bradley Smith, who started from third spot on his Yamaha, went out with 4 laps to go after a promising ride.
Italy’s Andrea Dovizioso of Ducati finished in fifth spot while team-mate Cal Crutchlow of Britain was sixth fastest at Losail Circuit.
Marquez said he wasn’t sure about a win at the start of the race.
“Honestly, I am very happy about the win because I didn’t expect to do it. Yesterday, I felt odd as there were question marks about me on the bike,” Marquez said yesterday.
“But anyway, I saw that I was okay and then in the end I tried to push. The battle with Valentino was so great. I enjoyed a lot. In the last lap I pushed a lot. This year we did it. I hope to have more battles in the future,” Marquez said.
Rossi said it was a classic battle that was high on entertainment.
“Yes, it was a great, great battle but I enjoyed less than him because I arrived behind him,” Rossi said with a smile.
“My race was very funny. I enjoyed a lot. I started from the fourth row.
“At the beginning I had to overtake many riders,” Rossi said.
“It was great when I arrived in the front. The bike was very good. I had the potential to fight for a win with Marc. I had some chance to win but he was too fast. Thanks to my team Yamaha I enjoyed a lot,” the affable Italian added. Pedrosa said he struggled with a slow start. The Spaniard started from sixth spot but a late flourish allowed him to finish in third place.
“I was slow at the start. In the first part of the race, there were many riders crashing. I was in the middle but in the end it was difficult conditions. But it was a good result because I always struggle here. We just have to move on from here,” 28-year-old Pedrosa said.
Rossi, who grabbed the lead after Bradl went out in lap 9, jumped ahead of Marquez a few times but the 21-year-old Cervera-born produced the much-needed thrust on his Honda to seal his first win in Qatar.
Honda’s Scott Redding, team-mate Nicky Hayden, Yamaha’s Colin Edwards and Ducati’s Andrea Iannone completed the top-10 in the season’s fist and only race under lights.
Earlier, Spain’s Esteve Rabat produced an excellent ride to edge Japan’s Takaaki Nakagami on the last corner to win the first Moto2 battle of the season. Rabat’s team-mate Mika Kallio finished third.
In a stunning result for the home fans, QMMF Racing Team riders Australia’s Anthony West finished 10th in the opening Moto2 battle while his Spanish team-mate Roman Ramos sealed the 20th spot in his debut race.
Also yesterday, Jack Miller scored a maiden Moto3 win in the first race of the year, finishing ahead of with Alex Marquez and Efren Vazquez.
The bike family now moves to the US for the season’s second round to be held on April 13 at the Circuit Of The Americas which is the first purpose-built Grand Prix facility near Austin, Texas.
MotoGP Results
MotoGP results at Grand Prix of Qatar (read under as rider, bike, top speed and overall time)
Marc Marquez, Honda, 166.4, 42’40.561
Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, 166.3, +0.259
Dani Pedrosa, Honda, 166.1,+3.370
Aleix Espargaro, Yamaha, 165.6,+11.623
Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati, 165.6,+12.159
Cal Crutchlow, Ducati,164.5,+28.526
Scott Redding, Honda, 164.3,+32.593
Nicky Hayden, Honda, 164.3, +32.628
Colin Edwards, Yamaha, 163.8, +39.547
Andrea Iannone, Ducati, 163.6, +43.360
Hiroshi Aoyama, Honda, 163.4, +46.595
Yonny Hernandez, Ducati, 163.4, +46.688
Karel Abraham, Honda, 163.1, +50.581
Danilo Petrucci, ART 162.4, +1’03.127
Broc Parkes, PBM, 161.7, +1’14.386
Michael Laverty, PBM, 160.5, +1’32.593
Mike Di Meglio, Avintia, 160.3, +1’36.085 Not Classified Alvaro Bautista, Honda, 2 Laps Bradley Smith, Yamaha, 4 Laps Pol Espargaro, Yamaha, 5 Laps Stefan Bradl, Honda, 14 Laps Hector Barbera, Avintia, 18 Laps Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, 0 Lap
The Peninsula
