FIM MotoGP World Championship
Losail International Circuit, Qatar
March 18, 2018
Race Results (all on Michelin tires):
1. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 22 laps, Total Race time 42:34.654
2. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), -0.027 second
3. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), -0.797
4. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), -2.881 seconds
5. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), -3.821
6. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), -3.888
7. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), -4.621
8. Johann Zarco, France (Yamaha), -7.112
9. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Suzuki), -12.957
10. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), -14.594
11. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), -15.181
12. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Honda), -16.274
13. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Ducati), -19.788
14. Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysia (Yamaha), -20.299
15. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), -23.287
16. Tom Luthi, Switzerland (Honda), -24.189
17. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), -24.554
18. Bradley Smith, UK (KTM), -31.704
19. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), -34.712
20. Scott Redding, UK (Aprilia), -37.641
21. Xavier Simeon, Belgium (Ducati), -46.706
22. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), -7 laps, DNF, retired
23. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), -10 laps, DNF, crash
24. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Ducati), -10 laps, DNF, crash
World Championship Point Standings (after 1 of 19 races):
1. Dovizioso, 25 points
2. Marquez, 20
3. Rossi, 16
4. Crutchlow, 13
5. Petrucci, 11
6. Vinales, 10
7. Pedrosa, 9
8. Zarco, 8
9. Iannone, 7
10. Miller, 6
11. Rabat, 5
12. Morbidellli, 4
13. Bautista, 3
14. Syahrin, 2
15. Abraham, 1
More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:
Zarco shows winning potential in Qatar – Syahrin makes history with first two MotoGP points
Johann Zarco commenced the season with a breathtaking performance at the Losail International Circuit. The Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider was shining brighter than the floodlights in the first 17 of 22 laps with a superior lead during the first MotoGP round of the year. Struggling with his tyres, the French star had to give the top away towards the end to eventually finish in 8th position.
On the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 garage, Hafizh Syahrin was 17th after the first lap of his first ever premier class race and bravely fought with partly much more experienced riders to cross the line in 14th. Therewith, the talented rookie brought home the first ever MotoGP points for his native country Malaysia.
Johann Zarco
Position: 8th – Championship: 8th – Points: 8
“I had a nice weekend! The race has been good. To start from pole position was a great feeling and a good opportunity to take to fight with the top guys. I had a good start and I took over the top, because I wanted to lead the race and then I was quite comfortable there, not able to be faster than the others, but nobody overtook me. I tried to control the rear grip well, to have always some possibilities to go out from the corner, which was working well. Then, seven laps to the end, I tried to push a bit more to maybe make a gap, but already during the race I had some limit feeling from the front, that I didn’t experience during the practice. When the other guys overtook me five laps to the end, I really understood, that I wasn’t able to use the front tyre on the right side anymore in the correct way, which is why I couldn’t fight. It was really difficult, a few times, I almost crashed and to finish eighth in the end, was better than nothing, because in this condition, it’s good to finish the race at all.”
Hafizh Syahrin
Position: 14th – Championship: 14th – Points: 2
“I felt really good in the race. I want to say a huge thank you to my team, because they did a great job. I finished my first MotoGP race inside the points, which is even beyond my target, but when you put your focus and your motivation there, it is possible. Around seven laps to go, I changed the power of the bike and four laps later, I switched back again. It’s also a huge part of my learning curve to understand the electronics. I was a bit nervous in the race, I didn’t want to make any mistake and end up in the gravel. I finished the race and brought two points for the team, which makes me truly happy. I hope, I can improve more in the next race and I continue training hard in order to be more ready and give the challenge to the rest of the riders.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS:
Morbidelli makes impressive MotoGP debut in Qatar
Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Franco Morbidelli made an impressive MotoGP debut by finishing twelfth in today’s Qatar Grand Prix.
In the 22-lap race at the Losail International Circuit Morbidelli put in a classy and controlled performance to finish just 16 seconds behind race winner Andrea Dovizioso.
Morbidelli started fourteenth and was immediately comfortable racing in traffic and challenging for a top ten position. At the finish the Italian rider, in his first race aboard the Honda RC213V, was just 1.7s out of a top ten finish.
Both Morbidelli and Tom Lüthi exceeded expectations in their debut outings in MotoGP for Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS.
While Lüthi was satisfied to finish sixteenth with a solid race in the windy and dusty conditions he was disappointed not be in the points after running wide under braking.
After a three-week break MotoGP assembles in Argentina for the second race of the season on April 8.
Franco Morbidelli: 12th
“This was a better result than I expected and a very good first race for me, I’m happy especially with the commitment I had from the team. I had good speed but the most important thing was to finish the race and learn and I was able to do this. Early in the race I was with Jorge Lorenzo and Maverick Viñales and this was nice feeling. Now I have to continue to understand more about MotoGP and improve.”
Tom Lüthi: 16th
“I’m happy although with mixed feelings because even though I’m out of the points 16th is good result in my first race and closer than I thought I would be after the winter tests. In the race I had some issues in the braking area and ran wide a couple of times and lost a lot of time. But overall I was able to use a lot of things we learned in testing. Now we need to analyse everything and work to improve for the next race in Argentina.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“This was fantastic race by Franco who finished in the points and just 16 seconds from the winner in his first MotoGP race. He exceeded my expectations today and was able to keep a good pace when grip levels went down late in the race. I was also impressed by Tom who had a very consistent pace, although he lost some time when he ran wide in turn one early in the race and he finished just one position out of the points. I think we can leave Qatar in a positive mood after very good performances by both our rookie riders.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:
ESPARGARÓ STOPS WITHIN A SHOUT OF THE TOP TEN
SCOTT REDDING TWENTIETH IN HIS DÉBUT RACE ASTRIDE THE RS-GP
A fuelling problem stopped Aleix Espargaró on the final lap, just as a good placement in the top ten was within reach.
In the second half of the race, Aleix had found a good pace, moving up several position, thanks in part to a couple of crashes by riders ahead of him. At the start of the final lap, he had caught up to Miller (tenth) and Iannone (ninth) with a good chance of overtaking them, considering the significant difference in pace. However, precisely during the last lap, a fuelling problem silenced the V4 in the number 41 Aprilia. In any case, Aleix managed to cross the finish line (in 19th place), but he had already lost his chances for the good result.
In his first race astride the Aprilia RS-GP, Scott Redding had to reckon with grip problems and was unable to move up from the rear guard, finishing twentieth.
ALEIX ESPARGARO’
“Despite the result, I am satisfied with the way I managed the race. I gave 100%, using a very conservative map straight away and managing in any case to maintain a good pace. I hoped to be able to use the more aggressive map in the race finale, where we know that we are faster, but that wasn’t possible. During the final lap I was about to attack Miller and Iannone, but some fuelling problems cost me a lot of positions. A ninth place finish in these conditions would have been an important result. We need to work together to solve this problem, without which I am convinced that we would have been able to battle in the group of the best 5-6 down to the end.”
SCOTT REDDING
“I can’t be pleased with the way the race went today. From the start I had poor grip on the rear and then at the end of the race things started working, so much that I did my fast lap on the last lap. Right now I am struggling to understand why. We need to analyse the data and it is most likely a problem that we did not have during the tests. Now we need to start working straight away to improve in view of the upcoming races. We know that our potential is greater than what we demonstrated today, but evidently we are missing something.”
ROMANO ALBESIANO – APRILIA RACING MANAGER
“This was a rather troubled weekend because of grip that came and went – extremely particularly tyre use conditions. These were very different conditions from last year as well as from those in the last pre-season tests. Even if we are still lacking something, we found a good solution with Aleix in the race, but we had a fuelling problem just as we were about to bring home a good top ten finish.”
FAUSTO GRESINI – TEAM MANAGER
“It’s a pity about a problem like that right in the last lap that frustrated all the hard work done by the riders, Aprilia and the entire team. We still need to get to know this new bike well, but I think it has huge potential. This complicated the entire weekend but, given the way Aleix’s race finished after a brilliant comeback ride, I’d say that we were also a bit unlucky. It was a difficult weekend, but the bike has improved a lot and I am sure that we are not far behind the leaders. We know that we still need to make an effort, but we have a whole championship season ahead of us.”
More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:
Great recovery of Rabat in Qatar, Simeon finishes his first race in MotoGP
MotoGP GP of Qatar – Losail International Circuit
Reale Avintia Racing team rider Tito Rabat, started the season with a solid eleventh position in the first race of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship tonight in Qatar. The start wasn’t so good, with the former Moto2 World Champion losing several places and crossing the finish line 21st after the first lap. But Rabat kept focused. With a consistent race pace, he was able to pass his rivals to finish only half a second away from the Top 10.
His teammate Xavier Simeon was 21st in his debut in the premier class. He fulfilled his first goal of finishing the race, which is a valuable experience for the next rounds. He improved his pace lap by lap and set his personal fastest lap towards the end.
The teams will now fly to Argentina for the second round of the season, which will take place in just three weeks.
Tito Rabat | P11
“I’m very happy with our start of the season. We had a complete weekend and we have had a bit of everything, good times, others not so good, but we kept calm and I worked very closely with my team. At the start, I had some problems that we have to check, because I lost many places. But afterwards I started to set my pace and was overtaking people quite easily. When I finished the race, I was only 15 seconds behind the winner, which was a nice surprise and a new record for me in MotoGP. I’m very, very happy with the Ducati, this bike suits my riding style and the team has been perfect as well”.
Xavier Simeon | P21
“When you start from the last place of the grid, it is difficult to set a goal for the race. During the winter test I never did a complete race simulation and this has been my first race in every sense. Overall I’m satisfied, I’ve been improving every lap and I clocked my fastest time on the 19th lap, which is very positive for me. The level in MotoGP is very high this year, last year I would have scored points with the lap times I did today. At least, I’ve gained experience and I finished my first race, with pretty decent lap times. We will continue working to do better in Argentina”.
More, from a press release issued by Team ECSTAR Suzuki:
TOP 10 PLACING FOR IANNONE IN QATAR, MISFORTUNE FOR RINS
Andrea Iannone: 9th – +12.957
Alex Rins: DNF.
The first race of the 2018 MotoGP calendar took place in hot and windy conditions under Qatar’s famous night lights. Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins took to the start with confidence after a positive morning Warm-Up in which they took 5th and 10th respectively. Although Alex Rins suffered a small crash during this session, there were luckily no consequences.
Choosing the medium front and soft rear combination, the riders took the grid and attacked early on as the lights went out. Andrea Iannone managed a great start from his 11th place grid position and he was able to slot in ahead of many competitors. He kept in touch with this lead group for the first half of the race despite struggling with front end feel, and he picked up a few places as the laps ticked by. Andrea hovered consistently between 8th and 10th for the duration of the race and despite a late charge from some of his rivals he held on to 9th place over the finish line.
Alex Rins managed to set two fastest laps (a 1:55.675 on Lap 3, and a 1:55.331 on Lap 6) during his time in the leading pack, and was running a very high pace, responding to over-taking manoeuvres quickly, matching the pace at the front, and keeping himself in contention for at least a Top 5 finish. However, with 10 laps to go, Alex drifted wide in the second corner and found the dirty part of the track, he lost the front and unfortunately crashed out of the race. Despite this, the young Spaniard felt he learned a lot and enjoyed the feelings.
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager
“Today’s results were not what we wanted, this is a big pity. In the middle of the race Alex’s pace was good, he was with the top group and chasing. But in the end he crashed, and that was a pity. Andrea’s pace was not quite what we expected and he was struggling a bit, but he tried to manage the situation and he finished the race quite well. We have shown our potential for Argentina, where we’ll try again. And although this race has been disappointing, we are not too worried and we are looking forward to the next race.”
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“Of course we’re not happy about today in general, but there are some good things which we can take away from this weekend. It’s a pity how the race ended for Alex, but I feel we have definitely made a step forward with him. So I think we’ll have many other chances to try again to be in the front group and we’ll try again in Argentina. In Andrea’s case, he had a good start but then he was struggling with the front end. So we have to work to try to improve his feeling on the bike as he couldn’t push so hard. In the end he finished 9th. I see positive things coming, so we look forward to the next one.”
Andrea Iannone
“Well, if we compare this race to last year we did improve, which is the main positive of today. I’m not really satisfied with the result but I’m not unhappy either. I felt confidence with the GSX-RR and feel it has a potential. My start was good and I kept the pace with leading group. Unfortunately after some laps I started to lose confidence with the front, the same problem as yesterday. I think this is mainly due to the track conditions being so different from the test, so I believe it’s a small issue we can fix easily. As I couldn’t find this confidence I didn’t want to push too hard and risk a crash, it was important to finish the race. We are working well, I’m feeling confident for the next races and I can’t wait for Argentina.”
Alex Rins
“I had a little bit of bad luck, but I still think we had an incredible weekend. The race was quite good, I didn’t have the best start, but when I was behind Dovizioso I was feeling great. It was quite difficult for me to fight on the straight and when I was fighting with Petrucci I was trying to keep the advantage and hold the position, and I crashed. Despite all this, I have learned a lot of useful things for the future, such as being more competitive from the start. We now know that we have the potential, and in Argentina it will be better.”
More, from a press release issued by Alma Pramac Racing:
#QatarGP Race. Superb Petrux (5th) fights for the podium until the end. Precious Top 10 for Jack
The first round of the 2018 MotoGP season ended up extremely well for Alma Pramac Racing who got a double Top 10 finish thanks to the amazing race of Danilo Petrucci and the solid performance of Jack Miller.
Petrux starts from the front row and immediately gets into the leading group. On lap 6, he tries to attack Marc Marquez for third place and four laps later he tries to overtake Valentino Rossi for fourth place. Halfway through the race he is fighting with Cal Crutchlow, Dani Pedrosa and Alex Rins who crashes in front of Petrux forcing him to loose contact with the leading group. The rider from Terni remains focused and two laps from the end passes Zarco for the fifth position, then defending himself from the attack of Vinales. Petrux finished his race in P5, 3.8 seconds behind Andrea Dovizioso, who beats Marc Marquez at the last corner.
Jack starts from P10 and in the first laps fights with Andrea Iannone and Dani Pedrosa. The Australian rider’s pace is extremely incisive and allows him to maintain for a long time the ninth position, but three laps from the end he can’t avoid Andrea Iannone’s attack. Jack finishes his first race with Alma Pramac Racing with a solid Top 10.
5th – Danilo Petrucci
“I am a bit conflicted. On the one hand I am happy with the Top 5 which was my goal even though I honestly had the potential to be able to finish on the podium. Pedrosa overtook me at the wrong time when the top 3 riders accelerated. The choice of soft tyre at the front perhaps was not the right one but I am still satisfied: we are much closer than last year”.
10th – Jack Miller
“It was a good race but in the end I couldn’t push as I wanted because I started to have lack of feeling with the front tyre especially in the right turns. I am still happy to have taken this Top 10 and with what we have done this weekend. I feel that we are doing a great job with the team and this gives me a lot of confidence for the next race in Argentina”.
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Marquez starts his 2018 campaign with a brilliant podium in Qatar, Pedrosa fights hard but has to settle for 7th
As night fell in Qatar, Marc Marquez climbed to the second step of the podium at the Losail International Circuit after fighting for victory all the way until the last corner.
Andrea Dovizioso just edged Marc out at the chequered flag by a mere 0.027” but the reigning World Champion will fly back to Europe tomorrow knowing that he’s shown great pace and scored a brilliant result at a track that is notoriously tough for him and the Repsol Honda Team.
A group of seven riders, split by just over one second, fought for a podium position for almost the entire race. Dani Pedrosa was among that group, although a poor feeling with the rear tyre forced him to settle for seventh.
Marc Marquez
2ND
“What a race! I’m really happy with our second place finish because this is one of the tracks on the calendar where we struggle most. After the pre-season test we knew what we could expect. With the hard front tyre I was struggling a bit in the left corners but with the medium I wouldn’t have finished the race. I tried to pass Dovi in the last corner but he beat me. Honestly, I was expecting that, but I had to try the move anyway, to see if there was any way we could make it happen. In the end, Dovi had something more than me and he deserves this win. Even if he was a bit behind at the start, I was waiting for him–I was waiting for the red! I knew his tactic was to push at the end and when he passed Zarco I said to myself, ‘let’s go!’ I followed him and almost went wide, but it was a great race and a great show. The thing I’m most happy about is that, this time, we were able to stay with him on the straight and this is very good.”
Dani Pedrosa
7TH
“In general, the bike worked well enough and I’m happy because we were able to improve our feeling over the weekend. The hard front tyre was actually a very good choice as I could brake hard into the corners and keep a decent pace. We focused a lot on the feeling from the front over the weekend and finally decided to go with what we’d worked toward. I had a good start and I’m happy with how I managed the first corners. Unfortunately, the feeling from the rear wasn’t as strong. The tyre was spinning a lot, which caused me to loose ground in turn 3 and some other corners in sector four. It’s a real shame because the first race is important and if I think that if didn’t have this issue I could’ve fought for the podium. In the end, that gives me confidence for the upcoming races.”
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda Castrol:
BRILLIANT FOURTH FROM CRUTCHLOW ON OPENING NIGHT
It was an excellent start to the 2018 MotoGP World Championship for the LCR Honda CASTROL Team as Cal Crutchlow brought his bike home in fourth place at the Grand Prix of Qatar finishing as the top Independent Team rider.
The Brit started the floodlit race from the second row of the grid in fourth place, but dropped a couple of positions at the start. However, he gradually clawed his way back to the front runners, never losing touch with the leaders until just a couple of laps from the end when he was trying pass long-time leader Johann Zarco. When Crutchlow finally got past the Frenchman, the gap to the podium stood at one second, and with the tow broken, he just didn’t have enough laps to make it up.
Nonetheless it was a brilliant performance to start the season for Crutchlow and the LCR Honda CASTROL squad, and hopes are high for the next round in Argentina, where he has stood on the podium before.
Cal Crutchlow – 4th
“I’m happy. Obviously, the aim was the podium today, but then again the aim was also to finish in the points which we haven’t done here for the past two years. It’s a long championship and I want to thank my LCR Honda CASTROL Team who have done a great job over the winter. As have Honda as a manufacturer, they’ve done a fantastic job with the engine and it meant that we were a bit more competitive – especially on the straight.”
“All credit to the guys on the podium, they did a great race, and it was good fun. That ‘elastic band’ just snapped when I got behind Zarco. The front three got away and when I got past him, I was at the same pace as them. I couldn’t gain on them, but I wasn’t losing either, and that’s when I just decided to bring it home and collect the 13 points.”
“We now look forward to Argentina, where we’ve had good results in the past.”
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
ROSSI’S PERSISTENCE DELIVERS PODIUM RESULT IN DOHA
MotoGP fans got all the action they asked for, and then some, at tonight’s Grand Prix of Qatar. Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi fought hard at the front of the field and duplicated his third place of last year at the Losail International Circuit. Maverick Viñales had to start from further back on the grid than he liked, but made up for it showcasing a blistering race pace that carried him all the way to sixth place.
Losail (Qatar), 18th March 2018
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi landed his first podium finish of the 2018 MotoGP season with a strong third place at the Losail International Circuit. Maverick Viñales also battled for all he was worth and rode a superb catch-up race from 15th to 6th place, earning himself some crucial championship points.
Rossi had a lightning fast start from eighth place and stormed to fourth on a perfect opening lap. With a podium place in his grasp, he closed in on Dani Pedrosa and cruised past him at the end of the second lap on the start-finish straight, before making a text-book move, breaking hard into the first corner.
The leading pair, Johann Zarco and Marc Marquez, ran a hot rhythm, but not strong enough to shake off the Doctor. He was a man on a mission, determined not to let them escape and dropping consistent 1‘55s laps. With 17 laps to go, the Italian made his move on Marquez, so he could challenge Zarco for the lead, but soon things got tense. At the start of the 11th lap the 39-year-old went wide into turn 1, allowing Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso through, but he didn‘t let it get to him.
The final five laps were exactly what the fans had hoped for. Rossi fought his way past Zarco for third. The 46-rider threw everything he had at breaking away from chasing riders, which he managed perfectly. However, he was unable to get close enough to battle with Dovizioso and Marquez in the final laps and finished the first race of the season with a well-deserved third place, 0.797s from first.
Viñales made a cautious start, dropping back from 12th on the grid to 15th place in the opening laps, but that certainly didn‘t mean he was out for the count. After three laps, he got into the rhythm and started his charge. He was running the same pace as the leading group and as a result he barged through the rider field.
With Alex Rins and Jorge Lorenzo crashing out with 10 laps to go, the number-25 rider breached into the top-10. He then picked off Jack Miller on the next lap and also overtook Andrea Iannone for eighth place one lap later.
Viñales had his sights set on the front group. They were fighting some 2.5s ahead of him, but his pace was still red hot, as he kept posting times in the 1‘55s. With three laps to go the Spaniard tapped onto the back of Pedrosa. A lap later he overtook his compatriot and also breezed past Zarco. He gave Danilo Petrucci a run for his money for fifth place, but he ultimately had to settle for sixth position, 3.888s from the front.
Today’s race results see Rossi take third place in the championship with a nine-point gap to the leader, while Viñales secures sixth place in the standings, 15 points from the front. Yamaha is in third place in the Constructor classification, nine points from first, and Movistar Yamaha MotoGP are in second place in the Team title challenge, with three points to the top of the rankings.
The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action in three weeks’ time at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit for the Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina, held from April 6th – 8th.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
What a fantastic race to open the season with! We were pretty confident after yesterday‘s FP4 and today‘s Warm Up that our riders would be able to run a competitive pace and our predictions came true. Valentino had a fantastic start, which was key to securing today‘s third place. He did a brilliant job staying at the front of the field, while the pace was as high as it was, and he was only 0.797s away from first place. Maverick had a difficult task ahead of him starting from the fourth row, but as soon as he got a clear track in front of him he was able to keep up a really good pace. He posted consistent 1‘55-low laps, that allowed him to catch up with the leading group. The form that both our riders showed today is very motivating for the team, especially after a challenging start to the Qatar GP. I want to thank the riders, team members and engineers for their hard work. We aim to continue working in this way in Argentina in three weeks‘ time.
VALENTINO ROSSI
It was a great fight and a great race. Sincerely, last year it was a bigger surprise to me – it was less expected then to arrive on the podium. With the bike from this year I feel good. This time I was more competitive and I knew I could do a good race, but you never know if it‘s enough for the podium because we were with ten strong riders. I tried to push from the beginning, because I started from the third row and on the first lap I was able to overtake some guys. The other key point were the final laps, when like last year the strongest on the track were Dovizioso and Marquez. I knew they had enough to change the rhythm, but I‘m very happy that I could go with them today and arrive at the finish line close to them, at the end. Unfortunately, it was not enough for the victory, but the podium is a great way to start.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
In today‘s race I felt really good with the bike, better than I did before. We followed the direction of how I wanted the bike and we improved so much, especially our rhythm. Now that we have done that, we know we have a good bike and we can focus on improving other things. Honestly, during the tests I didn‘t try many starts, I was focused on the bike, so today‘s start was bad. However, now we‘ve recovered the feeling with the bike – especially for the race – we can work on other areas. We found a good set-up, but we can still improve and match the electronics more to my riding style, and we can also work on the starts. When you finish a race like today‘s, you wish that the next GP would be held the next weekend. We‘re quite motivated. I felt that, if I had been more towards the front today, I could have had a chance to win the race. I’m happy the team did such a great job, especially on Saturday in the afternoon. We found something good for our riding style and that‘s perfect.
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM:
RED BULL KTM ESTABLISH MARGIN TO IMPROVE AFTER TOUGH QATAR MOTOGP OPENER
RACE 1st Rd. MotoGP 2018 – Losail International Circuit (QAT)
Bradley Smith rides to 18th position in the first round of the 2018 MotoGP season despite a front grip problem while Red Bull KTM teammate Pol Espargaro was denied a best finish at Losail, Qatar with the KTM RC16 due to a minor electronic hitch. Red Bull KTM Ajo riders Miguel Oliveira & Brad Binder finished 5th and 6th in Moto2 with Gabriel Rodrigo fastest KTM rider in the Moto3 class on fifth place at the chequered flag.
Three days of wind, varying temperatures and more development workwith the KTM RC16 at the Losail International Circuit did not blow-in the results Red Bull KTM Factory Racing were expecting for the first round of nineteen in 2018 MotoGP. Pol Espargaro briefly put aside his technical issues from Saturday qualification to push up from a grid spot of 22nd and battle for 13th place with countryman Alvaro Bautista and within sight of the leading groups of the 22 lap affair. Sadly his designs on a slot near the top ten were dashed on lap 15 with a recurrence of the electronic ‘gremlin’ that curtailed his efforts in Saturday’s Q1.
Bradley Smith rallied to the edge of the points-scoring positions but front tyre fade just ten circulations into the race meant that the Brit had to slow his pace and made it to the finish line in 18th spot.
Bradley Smith: “I was really happy with the start of the race; I was aggressive and I made up some positions. I was in the mix and inside the points. For the first ten laps everything was working quite well and then I started to struggle with the front tyre and a lot of understeer and this was not something we had in any of the tests. The lap-times slowly dropped off. There were some corners where I was OK and others where I was just losing time. It was frustrating because I put myself in a good position to push along with the front guys. It was good to know more about where the KTM needs to improve by being with the other guys on track.”
Pol Espargaro: “During the race I felt quite OK. I was fighting for thirteenth position with (Alvaro) Bautista and less than twenty seconds from the top guys. Seeing how the whole weekend went and what we could do towards the end then it was not too bad. Again the problem we had on Saturday put us out of the points and out of the race. I think it is just bad luck. I’m completely sure we’ll get this fixed and start again in Argentina.”
Mike Leitner (Team Manager MotoGP): “It was positive that when Pol stopped he was just thirteen seconds away from the leader but of course it is a negative point that we couldn’t fix the issue we struggled with in qualifying yesterday. For sure it was a minor thing on the electronic side. Pol did five-six laps for the first time and this is something he couldn’t do in the winter test. When he will be back strong then we know we’ll be more competitive. Bradley was feeling good in the beginning of the race but when the front tyre dropped he lost the rhythm and this is something that not only happened to us tonight. We need to work hard and improve now. We knew this weekend would be tough for us.”
Moto2 & Moto3
The intermediate category of Grand Prix was owned by Pecco Bagnaia with the Red Bull KTM Ajo riders of Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira fighting most of the Moto2 race distance for 5th place. The entertaining and close duel was won by the Portuguese with the South African just behind on the KTM Moto2 bike. In Moto3 Darryn Binder crashed out 15 laps from the flag, Gabriel Rodrigo captured 5th position as best rider on the KTM RC250 GP machine.
Aki Ajo (Team Manager Moto2/Moto3): “It hasn’t been a bad start to the Moto2 season. We can’t be dissatisfied with the results in Moto2. With the end to last season that we had, we were all expecting some very good results early on this year for our riders. Finishing fifth and sixth is something we have to be happy about; it’s a good start to build on for the coming races. We have to improve our rear grip, as the riders are sliding a lot. We need to analyse what is happening, be positive and look forward.”
MotoGP moves west across the continents and to South America for the fifth consecutive Grand Prix de la Republica Argentina at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit after the Easter holidays and in three weeks time.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Game on: Dovi vs Marquez lights the fuse at Losail
Opening the season with a sensational last lap performance, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) beat Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) to the line at the Losail International Circuit by just 0.027s, lighting the fuse on 2018 from the very first race. And the ‘Doctor’ Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) completed the podium, putting in another Sunday stunner from Row 3 of the grid.
Frenchman Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) shot off pole position to take the lead into the first corner but there was nothing to split the top ten riders in the opening laps, and it looked as if any one of them could fight for the victory throughout the 22-lap thriller. With fastest laps flying in on each lap, Zarco was still able to keep hold of the lead.
With big battles taking place behind him, the French rider kept calm at the front whilst Rossi made his way through the field to get into podium fighting positions by the third lap, hunting down his fellow Yamaha in the lead. Marquez was never far away from the fight, sitting in the top five as soon as the lights went out. As ten laps had been completed riders were getting into a rhythm, but you could sense action was on the horizon.
Silent assassin Dovizioso moved up to third position on lap 11 as he spent the start of the race working through the field, passing his countryman Rossi who slipped back to the riders fighting for fifth. A clear battled had now developed for the podium, with Dovizioso and Marquez closing in on Zarco and they were able to make their move on the 18th lap, with Zarco losing two positions into the opening corner – as Dovizisoso took the lead.
Dovizioso and Marquez then began to break away, pushing themselves to the final corner of the final lap – taking no prisoners. Reigning world champion Marquez made his move through turn 15 but he was unable to make it stick, and Dovizoso led into the final corner meaning he was able to slingshot his Desmosedici over the line, 0.027s ahead. Another last lap showdown, and another Dovizioso victory in style.
Behind the duo, Rossi fought off his rivals to secure a safe third position ahead of top independent rider Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), whilst Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) made some strong moves on the closing laps to complete the top five.
Comeback king Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) crossed the line in sixth after being down in 14th on the opening lap, just ahead of Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), who made his 200th start in the premier class. Early race leader Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) crossing the line in eighth after struggling more in the latter stages, with Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) completing the top ten.
Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) opened the season in 11th, ahead of top rookie Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) who crossed the line in the top 12, as Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team) salvaged three points from a tough weekend in 13th. Making his MotoGP™ debut, Malaysian Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) took a top 14 finish and his first points, ahead of Karel Abraham (Angel Nieto Team) who takes home the final point from Qatar in 15th.
It was a bad start to the season for Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), who crashed out of the top six fight on the 13th lap at turn two, whilst Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) had a start to 2018 to forget and the Spaniard crashed out on the same lap – finding his brakes unresponsive at turn 16.
The paddock will now pack up and head to Argentina from 6th – 8th April for the second round of what is set to be a phenomenal MotoGP™ season – and the fuse is already lit.
Bagnaia storms to debut win in final lap Moto2™ thriller
All-Italian battle to the flag as day becomes night in Qatar
Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46) took a sensational maiden victory in the Grand Prix of Qatar, beating his compatriot Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP40) to the line as the victory was decided on the final lap under the floodlights. The 2017 rookie of the year secured his team’s debut victory in the class and began his season in the best possible way, as Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) rounded out the podium despite some brake issues.
Getting a strong start off the line as the lights went out, Bagnaia took the lead into the first corner as pole position man Marquez had a slight moment with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in the run up to the opening corner. But it was the Italians making a break in the opening lap, with Bagnaia and Baldassarri leading the way ahead of Marquez, who quickly recovered from the wobble.
It looked like Bagnaia would be able to escape but the two bikes behind then began to close – before Marquez fell into problems as he was close to overtaking the Pons HP40 bike for second, running off track through turn one as his rear brake disc glowed red hot under the night sky. Although then out of the fight for the win, the 2014 lightweight class Champion held onto the final podium spot, holding off Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team), who took fourth.
The duel for the win began to really light up on the final laps, and the last lap set up a classic showdown. Baldassarri made his move into the penultimate corner and briefly took the lead, but Bagnaia stole it straight back – and was able to hold his advantage on the long run to the line.
Completing the top five behind the podium trio and Pasini, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) just beat teammate Brad Binder after a more difficult opening race for KTM, with Marcel Schrotter beating his teammate Xavi Vierge (Dynavolt Intact GP) by just 0.097 over the line as the Dynavolt Intact GP machines came home seventh and eighth. Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) won his battle for ninth, ahead of Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) who rounded out the top ten.
Next up was best rookie Joan Mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), who took eleventh for a solid debut as he comes back from an injury late in preseason.
Now the paddock moves west to the Americas, with Argentina first on the agenda.
Martin wins Spanish desert duel in opening Moto3™ race
Del Conca Gresini rider holds off Canet to begin the year as he ended the last
Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) waited a while to take his maiden win in the final race of 2017, but the Spaniard made it two in a row as he held off compatriot and expected title challenger Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) in a tense desert duel to take the first win of the year. Behind the lead duo who escaped in the lead, Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) took his first ever podium as he beat off a group battling for the rostrum.
Although Niccolo Antonelli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) started from pole position for the fifth time of his career and took the holeshot, it was Martin who got an early lead – pulling a gap of over half a second in the opening four laps. He wasn’t to be left alone for long, however, as the duo of Canet and Italian Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) soon caught the Spanish rider at the front.
But the three-way battle for the victory soon became a duel as Bastianini witnessed opening round heartbreak; crashing out of second position on the sixth lap and leaving Martin and Canet at the head of the field.
Martin seemed to take control of the race and secure the lead for the majority of the 18 laps, but Canet certainly hadn’t given up as he stayed on his tail until the closing laps. Coming down to the wire, Martin led over the line for the penultimate lap and began to open up a slight gap over his fellow Honda rider through the first sector. Ultimately Martin held his advantage, sealing the victory by just 0.023 ahead of Canet to take the first honours of 2018 after a drag to the line.
Third position and the final spot on the podium was a sensational battle, as five riders became nine and they began the battle under the sunny skies of Qatar in a bid to take the final trophy, swapping paint on each lap. Dalla Porta, Antonelli, Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Skull Rider), Fabio di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia), Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing), John Mcphee (CIP – Green Power) and Marco Bezzecchi (PruestlGP) were locked in the fight, but McPhee fell victim to some late bad luck as he crashed out on the final lap.
As the group thundered towards the line, Dalla Porta took it by thousandths – with pole man Antonelli in fourth, ahead of Argentinean Rodrigo in fifth. And it was a stunning display from Di Giannantonio as he pushed though from 16th position on the grid to take a top six finish.
Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) took a best ever result after an equally best-ever Saturday, just ahead of an equally stunning race for Ayumu Sasaki (Petronas Sprinta Racing). Jakub Kornfeil (PruestlGP) took ninth and Andrea Migno (Angel Nieto Team Moto3) rounded out the top ten, with Adam Norrodin (Petronas Sprinta Racing) taking P11 ahead of Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai), who was top rookie. Reigning Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion Kazuki Masaki (RBA BOE Skull Rider) took P13, with Bezzecchi rejoining the race following a final lap crash to take 14th. Spanish rider Marcos Ramirez (Bester Capital Dubai) was the final points scorer in the first Moto3™ race of the season.
Next stop Termas de Rio Honda, with the Argentina GP on the horizon.
More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda IDEMITSU:
NAKAGAMI JUST OUTSIDE THE POINTS ON DEBUT
Making his debut in the MotoGP World Championship on Sunday night in Qatar, Takaaki Nakagami finished just outside the points in 17th place after a brave ride under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit.
The LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider has made an excellent adaptation to the RC213V over winter testing, and his performance today suggests that a positive season lies ahead for the Japanese rookie. Involved in a battle with his former Moto2 rival and fellow Honda man Tom Luthi, Nakagami was just over a second behind the points-scoring positions, and will hope for further progress at the next round of the season in Argentina.
Takaaki Nakagami– 17th
“First of all, I want to say a big thanks to the LCR Honda IDEMITSU Team, because they helped me a lot over this weekend. Of course, I’m not 100% happy with the result – especially on Saturday in qualifying and in Sunday’s race. However, I completed my first race and after it, I think I’ve got to understand lots more things about MotoGP.”
“Now we hope to make one or two more steps in Argentina – it will be a new track for me on the MotoGP bike, but I truly believe that I will be much stronger in the next race after this first experience.”
More, from a press release issued by Angel Nieto Team:
FIGHTBACK FOR 12+1 BY BAUTISTA
MotoGP Ángel Nieto Team riders both finish in the points in Qatar
The first MotoGP race of the season provided a thrilling duel between Marc Márquez and Andrea Dovizioso, which lasted right until the final corner in the same fashion as last year’s races in Austria and Japan. The result of the Qatar GP was the same as those two races, as Dovizioso claimed victory ahead of his Spanish rival, with Valentino Rossi completing the podium.
The Ángel Nieto Team riders both made comebacks during the race at Losail, with Álvaro Bautista and Karel Abraham both placing in the points. Bautista climbed up to 12+1 and added three points to his tally, having started the contest from 21st on the grid. He was just five seconds off the riders in the Top 10. A few positions ahead behind was teammate Karel Abraham. The Czech rider also made his way up the order, gaining four places and claiming a point. He did, however, lament a pair of incidents during the race that led to him having to overcome setbacks. The next MotoGP race of the 2018 season takes place in Argentina, on April 6th-8th.
12+1 Álvaro Bautista: “We’ve got three points, which isn’t what we were looking for but we were starting from 21st and fought as hard as the bike allowed. I hope to keep gaining confidence and improving the setup of the bike. I wanted to give my all in this race, and we can see that I finished 19 seconds off the winner, after losing 6 or 7 seconds on the opening lap. It isn’t really much of a difference, although it is in MotoGP. I’m struggling to get heat into the tyres, and that’s why I lost time, but when I got them warm I found a good pace and overtook several riders. It’s been a difficult weekend, just like in preseason, as we worked hard and didn’t get the result we wanted.”
15th Karel Abraham: “On one hand I am very happy to have scored a point, but I’m also angry that we didn’t achieve some of the things we could have achieved in this race. The start was good, many riders went wide and I was able to go inside and gain a few places. Unfortunately then Syahrin had a wobble in front of me; I think he clipped another rider, and when I avoided him several riders overtook me. We didn’t quite have the same grip tonight and on the second lap, coming out of Turn 5, I opened the throttle and almost highsided -so another three or four riders went past. It was a shame because if it hadn’t have been for those moments I think I could have made up a lot of time in the early part of the race. After that I was trying hard to stay on the limit; I didn’t feel as good on the bike as yesterday, I had some shaking with the front and the rear so I had to be careful on the throttle. I’m not 100% happy with that and with a better start I think maybe a top ten was achievable, but in any case I think it was a good race.”