The 2010 MotoGP season got off to a flying start
under the floodlights last night with a gripping Qatar
Grand Prix and a perfect opening result for the Fiat
Yamaha Team. The indomitable Valentino Rossi took
his 104th career victory, his first in the opening
round since 2005, whilst Jorge Lorenzo rode a clever
race to finish a strong second.
The World Champion got a brilliant
start from second on the grid and led after the first
lap but both Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner were faster
on the straight and he was soon relegated to third. On
lap five he battled back to pass the Spaniard but Stoner
was two seconds in front by then and the Italian looked
to be facing a hard task to catch him. On the next lap
however Stoner slid out of the race, leaving Rossi in
the lead pursued by Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso.
His work was far from over however as Dovizioso proved
impossible to shake off and mounted a challenge on the
straight on lap 16, momentarily getting his nose in
front before his more experienced compatriot passed him
back on the brakes into turn one.
A couple of quick laps
from Rossi gave him some breathing space and he was
eventually able to pull clear, leaving Dovizioso and
Hayden to dice with Lorenzo while he charged over the
line to finish 1.022 seconds clear. His win today makes
him only the third rider in history to have scored
points in 200 Grands Prix.
Lorenzo meanwhile had slipped several
places at the start, dropping back to sixth before he
started to find his rhythm on lap six. The 22-year-old
had to contend with some pain in his recovering hand as
well as a lap of grip in the rear but he played the
waiting game until his fuel load lessened and he was
able to push a bit harder. He then put up a gutsy
display to gradually reel in the leaders and come within
striking distance with two laps to go. A masterful
overtaking display on the penultimate lap despatched
first Hayden and then Dovizioso and he crossed the line
behind his team-mate to the delight of the Yamaha
garage.
The team now has a short break before
heading in high spirits to Yamaha's home race in Japan,
with the second round of the MotoGP World Championship
coming at Motegi in two week's time.
Valentino Rossi
"I got a fantastic start but I wasn't quite fast enough
and was suffering on the straight. I lost some time
passing Pedrosa and by then Stoner was quite far from
me, I thought then that it was going to be hard to catch
him! Then he made a mistake and crashed, which was bad
luck for him but crucial for us. After that I expected
it would be easier but in fact it was very hard to stay
in front of Dovizioso, who was very strong. We had a
good battle and then I did three or four laps at the
maximum and was able to stay in front, but it wasn't
easy! I haven't won at the first race since 2005 and
these 25 points at this stage are like gold dust, it's a
fantastic result for the team to make a one-two at race
one. It's especially good to win here because it doesn't
suit our bike, we worked very cleverly throughout the
practices and this is the reward, so thanks to all my
guys. We definitely have some work to do but this is a
good base to start from. I ran out of fuel on the slow
down lap, I think I used more than expected early on
because I was sliding quite a lot, but it was very funny
to come to Parc Ferme riding a scooter!"
