After two delayed starts due to slight drizzle and water at certain corners the Qatar GP was finally underway with 20 laps, 2 laps shorter than the original race distance. New Yamaha rider Maverick Viñales showed incredible character in the drama filled Qatar GP, potentially winning the race after leading every pre season testing and FP sessions. Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso held a tough fight for the top spot eventually ending up at P2. The Sunday man Valentino Rossi was there yet again, proving to have an entirely different pace on race day starting from P10 on the grid.
Under the floodlights, as the lights turned green at Qatar, Suzuki newbie Andrea Iannone got the hole shot into the first corner leading the very first race of the season. The blistering start by Iannone was soon overshadowed by Johann Zarco, who came all the way to the front on his Monster Tech3 Yamaha. To everyone's wonder Zarco lead the race with an incredible pace of a second at the front, just before crashing out due to his front end washing away. This lead Ducati man Andrea Dovizioso at the front for the first time, followed by Andrea Iannone, Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales.Just after being in the podium contention, Andrea Iannone kissed the gravel as his bike slided away. This made Dovi, Marc, Viñales and Rossi up for a dog fight at the front, which ended up with Marc taking P4. Soon after, "The Doctor" took P2 from Maverick Viñales in an attempt to catch Dovizioso. With his smooth riding style and soft-soft tyre combination, Dovi was untouchable at one point of time having more than a second lead. Viñales didn't like to be at the third position, and was seen setting up the fastest lap of the race eventually ending up behind the rear wheel of Dovizioso. This pace left Rossi alone at P3, while Marquez was still very much away from Vale at P4.
During the final stages of the race, Maverick overtook Dovizioso a number of times, but the horse power of Dovi's Ducati helped him on the main straight. With 1 and a half laps remaining, Maverick finally passed Dovi and started to pull away. And from that point of time, there was no stopping for Viñales. Viñales crossed the line at P1, joining Rossi, Casey Stoner et al in the elite club of "Riders with GP wins for 2 different manufacturers". Andrea Dovizioso finished the race at P2, just in front of Valentino Rossi who completed the podium.
Marc Marquez finished at a lonely P4, about 3.5 seconds behind Valentino Rossi. Dani Pedrosa came in at P5 in front of Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro. Aprilia finally got a better rider, and this was Aprilia's best and first top 6 result after their entry to the Premier class. The top 10 was completed by Scott Redding, Jack Miller, Jonas Folger and Alex Rins respectively. Jorge Lorenzo came home way back at P11 as he went out wide right on the very first lap, getting back further. Loris Baz, Hector Barbera, Karel Abraham and Tito Rabat finished the race with points.
The two KTM riders finished the race, though there wasn't a point scored. Johann Zarco, Andrea Iannone, Cal Crutchlow and Alvaro Bautista crashed out of the race, while Danilo Petrucci retired from the race. Now the grid moves to Termas De Rio Hondo circuit, Argentina in two weeks time. Catch up the Qualifying and Race report here. Stay tuned to BikesIndia for further updates on the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.
By: Aravind Rb