2010 MotoGP Championship – Round One – Qatar
Valentino Rossi got his title defence off to a perfect start by taking the first win of the season in Qatar after polesitter, Casey Stoner, crashed out of the lead just five laps into the race.
Front row qualifiers Stoner, Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo all got good starts, but it was Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda who led the field into the first turn, after a lightning start from the third row of the grid.
Pedrosa and Rossi swapped the lead for two laps, before Stoner pushed his way to the front and started to pull away from the chasing group. The Ducati Marlboro rider posted the fastest lap of the race on his fourth lap, as he tried to open a gap on his pursuers. The Australian was still pushing hard when he made an uncharacteristic mistake, lost the front and crashed out of the lead on the very next lap.
With Stoner gone and a clear track in front of him, Rossi upped the pace and tried to pull away from the field. Nicky Hayden on the second Ducati Marlboro Desmosedici and Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso rode hard to stay in contact with the reigning World Champion and, on lap 16, Dovizioso managed to squeeze his way past the Fiat Yamaha to briefly take the race lead.
Rossi retook the lead on the following lap and held it to the line, ending Stoner’s run of three successive victories in Qatar.
“I got a fantastic start, but I wasn’t quite fast enough and was suffering on the straight,” said Rossi. “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.”
Dovizioso was very strong and we had a good battle. I did three or four laps at maximum and managed 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 1-2 at race one. I ran out of fuel on the slow down lap, but it was very funny to come to Parc Ferme ridinga scooter” added the reigning World Champion and race winner.
A hard charging Jorge Lorenzo, passed both Hayden and Dovizioso on the penultimate lap to make it a Fiat Yamaha 1-2 on the podium. After getting the better of Dovizioso on the final lap Hayden looked all set to secure the final podium place, but the Italian rider managed to slingshot past the American on the run to the line, denying the Ducati rider by the narrowest of margins.
Ben Spies finished an impressive fifth on his debut as a full-time MotoGP rider with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. LCR Honda rider, Randy de Puniet, finished in sixth place ahead of Dani Pedrosa, who had faded back through the field after an impressive start to the race.
Colin Edwards took eighth place on the line with Loris Capirossi, in his 300th Grand Prix, just one second further back in ninth. Hiroshi Aoyama rounded out the top ten on his MotoGP debut, finishing ahead of Marco Simoncelli, Hector Barbera and Marco Melandri.
| MotoGP Round 1 – Qatar | MotoGP Championship |
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| — Yamaha Report The 2010 MotoGP season got off to a flying start under the floodlights tonight 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 21-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. Rossi – Position: 1st Time: 42’50.099 Lorenzo – Position: 2nd Time: +1.022 Team Manager Team Manager — Ducati Report Nicky Hayden got his 2010 season off to a flying start today with a thrilling battle for the podium under the Losail floodlights, flying the flag for the Ducati Marlboro Team after a crash for his team-mate Casey Stoner. The Australian didn’t get the ideal start to the race from pole position as he was passed by three riders – including Hayden, who made a lightening start from ninth – but he quickly fought back to recover the lead by the third lap. However, a mistake just three laps later put paid to an otherwise perfect weekend, with Stoner having dominated every session. Hayden kept pace with Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso, keeping the leader in sight whilst entering a fierce battle for second place. Jorge Lorenzo forced his way through in the later stages, with the American eventually missing out on third place by just 0.011 seconds to the Italian. NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team #69) 4th CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team #27) DNF VITTORIANO GUARESCHI (Ducati Marlboro Team Manager) — HRC Report World Champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) held off a trio of determined riders to win the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit outside of the Qatari capital of Doha. Rossi’s teammate Jorge Lorenzo was second, with Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso speeding to the final podium position with a fine third place finish to start his season. The race began with Rossi leading, but under pressure from Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, who made a lightning fast start from seventh on the grid. Pedrosa took the lead on the second lap before being passed by Ducati rider Casey Stoner. Stoner, starting from the pole, then sped away and held over a two second lead when he crashed in turn four on lap six. That put Rossi at the point of the spear, but under pressure from Nicky Hayden (Ducati) and Dovizioso. Not far back were Pedrosa and Rossi’s teammate Jorge Lorenzo. Rossi controlled the pace well past half distance when Dovizioso used Honda power to draft past the world champion on the front straightaway. Rossi soon regained the lead, while Dovizioso and Hayden fought over second. Dovi took the spot on the 19th of 22 laps and was on his way to second when Lorenzo passed him on lap 21. Dovizioso was under the threat of missing out on the podium when Hayden passed Dovi on the last lap. But the second year Repsol Honda powered out of the final corner to take third by .011 secs. Pedrosa would encounter handling problems and fall back to seventh place, one spot behind LCR Honda’s Randy de Puniet. De Puniet, who’d qualified fourth, the top Honda rider, rode a mostly solitary race to sixth, his best result since finishing on the podium in last year’s rain-hit British Grand Prix. After overcoming a difficult start, Interwetten Honda MotoGP’s Hiroshi Aoyama was involved in a spirited three-way fight with veterans Colin Edwards (Yamaha) and Loris Capirossi, the Italian who was racing in his 300th grand prix. Aoyama was happy to reach his goal of a top ten finish and looked forward to his home grand prix in two weeks at Motegi. Finishing one position behind Aoyama came San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli, another GP debutant. Simoncelli was happy to finish well into the points after a difficult testing season. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Melandri finished 13th in what he felt was one of the most disappointing races of his career. A problem with the connection between the throttle and the rear tyre made for a long night for the veteran rider. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 3rd. “I’m really happy about this podium – it’s a great satisfaction. It was so important to begin the season with a good result and I hope this is just the start. Today’s podium is the result of the hard work done by Honda, the technicians, the team and myself during the winter. I have to thank Honda, Repsol and all the sponsors for having believed in me also when the results were not coming. In fact, today I really believed I could get second position and it was a pity that I couldn’t keep it until the very end. My start was not so good but the first five laps were crucial for me to recover positions and glue myself behind Valentino. My Honda was very fast on the straight and I could use this advantage to compensate for our weaker points on the track. I can say that I lost my race in Turn 10. We struggled in T3 for the whole weekend but tonight I understood that we lost so much in the long left hand turn – Turn 10. When Valentino overtook me I tried to re-pass him, but he overtook me again and then I didn’t have the possibility to get back by. I did a masterpiece in the last corner of the last lap where I overtook Nicky on the inside and then I used all the power of the RC212V to get to the line first. Tonight I raced with my heart, and this result is a good motivation for myself and everyone in the Repsol Honda Team.” Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: 6th. “All the weekend I was up there and I am very satisfied about this result. My start was not that bad, but with a bit of traffic I have got a little bit pushed out in the first corner. After that I lapped a smart race as my pace on race trim was really good like the top guys. At five laps to go we were five seconds behind the leader, which is incredible for us as a satellite team. The hard work we have made in the winter and the long run we have been made adjusting the race map have helped us to get this positive result in the first round of the season.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 7th. “I made a good start and was able to stay at or near the front of the race for the first few laps. It really wasn’t easy though and we had a few handling issues with the machine that meant unfortunately it was impossible for me to maintain that pace. I fought as hard as I could to hold off the other riders but in the end there was no way I could keep them behind. On the one hand it’s encouraging that we could achieve this early pace because the winter testing has not been easy, but on the other it proves we still have a lot of work to do to get the machine the way I need so that I can be at the front at the end rather than the start of the race. This isn’t the ideal start to the season and I’d hoped to be able to fight for a podium here, but it’s a long season and we’ll stay focused and work as hard as possible to improve things. Congratulations to Andrea on the podium. We’ll come back fighting at Motegi – it’s a circuit I like and I hope to get a much better result there.” Hiroshi Aoyama, Interwetten Honda MotoGP: 10th. Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini: Marco Melandri, San Carlo Honda Gresini, 13th. — Suzuki Report Loris Capirossi recorded a hard-fought ninth position on his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R in the season opening round of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship. Capirossi celebrated his 300th Grand Prix start by lining up for the race with his bike sporting the number 300, instead of his usual 65, as well as a gold-plated helmet. Capirossi got a solid start to the 22-lap race, but was boxed in early on and relegated to eighth by the end of the first lap. He was then involved in a long battle with Colin Edwards, before finally crossing the line just behind the Texan. Alvaro Bautista had an entertaining, but ultimately fruitless debut race as he crashed on the very last corner when fighting for 11th place. Bautista got a poor start as he was hit by another rider, relegating him to last place. He took a few laps to get into a good rhythm, before recording several personal best laps during the mid-way point of the race. Bautista then set about making his way up to the riders in-front of him and as he chased down Marco Simoncelli on the last lap, he pushed too hard in the final bend and crashed. The battle at the front of the race saw World Champion Valentino Rossi walk away victorious after pole-setter Casey Stoner crashed. Behind Rossi, an exciting three-way clash entertained the crowd, with Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso just squeezing out Nicky Hayden to the final podium positions. The Rizla team will now travel to the home of Suzuki for the next round of the season, as the MotoGP circus heads to Motegi in Japan for the second race in the championship, to be held on Sunday 25th April. Loris Capirossi: I am a bit upset about the result because we thought we would go better than that. We have worked hard all weekend, but we struggled with the conditions today, because it was so different to yesterday with a lot more humidity tonight. I struggled in the third section of the track and was not very fast there, but in other sections I was quite strong. My rhythm was not too good and in the end I was just trying to defend my position. We dont need results like this; we need to be nearer the front, especially for all the effort that everybody is putting in. It was not easy, but we need to keep working well and feeling well. I feel sorry for Alvaro because he has had a tough weekend, but we will continue to work hard together and makes things happen. Alvaro Bautista: This has been a disaster of a race for me! Seriously though, I had a bad start and Barbera pushed me out on lap two and I lost everything. I used the next part of the race like a practice because I had no other riders to fight with. In the middle of the race I got a better rhythm and it was not so bad. I caught two riders, but in the last corner I crashed. I feel like I cannot say that I have done my first MotoGP race because I never finished. The positive thing is that my rhythm was not too bad and for the next race we can only improve. We must continue to work hard and to try to make things better. Paul Denning Team Manager: The Qatar Grand Prix has never been particularly kind to Suzuki and today was not really a lot different! Loris rode as hard as ever in his 300th Grand Prix, but did not have the confidence to push the bike especially hard in the fast corners. He felt that his pace was terrible, but in fact over race distance it averaged out at less than a second a lap from the winner. So I am sure we can make significant improvements over the next couple of races and see Loris a lot closer to the sharp end. For Alvaro it was certainly an interesting debut Grand Prix, but overall the whole team was very encouraged with his potential and his commitment. We are not at all worried by the result and neither should he be. I am pretty sure that if he had not been closing down a certain Mr Simoncelli by over a second a lap, with the chance of getting him on the final corner, then he would have finished! Alvaro won the 250cc Grand Prix at Motegi last year and it is a great track for Loris as well. So, we are looking for a much better weekend in Japan. — Bridgestone Report Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Extra Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard Valentino Rossi won the first race of the season in spectacular style after an intense race-long battle between the top four, all of whom used the harder option Bridgestone slicks. Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo finished second, having fought his way past both Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso, who finished third, and a very close fourth-placed Nicky Hayden. Every rider opted for the harder option front Bridgestone slick, and only Pramac Racing’s Mika Kallio opted for the softer option rear, the rest of the field favouring the extra durability of the hard compound. After taking an early lead, Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner fell on the sixth lap of the race, leaving a close fight for the lead between Rossi, Dovizioso and Ducati Team’s Hayden, who were split by just 0.2seconds in the latter stages of the race. A total of four riders led during the race: Rossi, Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa, Stoner and Dovizioso. Hayden was running in a podium spot for most of the 22 laps, but lost out to Dovizioso by just 0.011seconds. Hiroshi Yamada – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “What an exciting race! Congratulations to Valentino for showing his strength and consistency to take victory here in Qatar, and also to Jorge for his fight back from sixth to second. The racing between Andrea and Nicky was very close indeed, and it is great to see both riders at the front. Congratulations also to Ben for his fifth position and to Hiroshi for finishing tenth in his first MotoGP race. I think this grand prix shows we are in for a very exciting season!” Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department Valentino Rossi – Fiat Yamaha Team – Race Winner |
| Moto2 Expectations were high ahead of the first ever Moto2 race in Qatar tonight and the new four-stroke class certainly didn’t disappoint. After a race that saw pitched battles fought out from the front to the back, 19-year-old Japanese rider, Shoya Tomizawa, wrote his name in the record books by taking the first ever Moto2 win. Toni Elias made a great start from pole position to lead the 41-strong field into turn one. By turn two he was the only rider who qualified on the front row left in the race, as Alex De Angelis crashed out and took Stefan Bradl with him in turn one and Julian Simon retired his RSV machine after cooking the clutch at the start. Elias was ousted from the lead by a hard charging Jules Cluzel on lap two, which prompted a fairing bashing battle at the front as Elias, Cluzel, Alex Debon and Tomizawa all fought it out to take the honours in the first race of this new World Championship class. Tomizawa eventually fought his way to the front on lap six and was never headed for the remainder of the race, as the other Moto2 combatants held each other up fighting for the privilege of leading the chase for the Japanese rider. Elias eventually succumbed to the pain of his injuries, sustained in a testing crash just two weeks ago, settling for fourth place and leaving Debon and Cluzel to sort out the two remaining podium positions between them. At the line it was Debon who took second, with Cluzel a very close third. Roberto Rolfo brought his Italtrans Suter MMX machine home in fifth place, closely followed by Mattia Pasini, Thomas Luthi, Simone Corsi and Gabor Talmacsi, who’d battled together throughout the 20-lap race. Sergio Gadea rounded out the top ten aboard his Pons Kalex machine. |
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| 125cc The 125cc grid may be smaller this year, but tonight’s race in Qatar was as close and exciting as ever, as Nico Terol overcame four hard charging Derbi riders to take the race win aboard his Bancaja Aspar Aprilia. Efren Vazquez got a lightning start from the front row of the grid to take the race lead as Marc Marquez, Terol Tito Rabat and Pol Espargaro continually swapped positions behind him. Marquez took the lead briefly on lap 7 and again on lap 12, before Terol pushed through to the front and, following an out of the seat moment for Vazquez that baulked the pursuing pack, managed to pull out an advantage that he held to the chequered flag. Vazquez took second place on the line, with Marquez taking third and making it an all-Spanish podium for the first 125cc race of the new season. Sandro Cortese got the better of Randy Krummenacher to take fourth place, with the Swiss rider followed home by a fading Rabat, Bradley Smith and Tomoyoshi Koyama. Alexis Masbou completed the top ten aboard his Ongetta Aprilia. |
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