MotoGP: Losail International Circuit

Tyler Hopper
AllAboutBikes Staff-Writer

The FIM MotoGP World Championship opening race, originally scheduled for Sunday night, took place at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar on Monday.  An unanticipated down pour at the track, which is located in the Arabian Desert, made for unsafe track conditions, leading to the postponement of the race.

The first race of the season began with Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, in pole position; along side Stoner sat Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, both Fiat Yamaha Team riders.  This starting line gives a glimpse of what the podium will look like at the end of the race.

With the first race of the season under way, Rossi started out strong, but Stoner clinched the lead through the first turn.  Rounding turns two and three, Stoner began to increase his lead, setting himself up for victory early on in the race.  Loris Capirossi, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP rider, took second place early on.  On turn four, in the first lap, Lorenzo tried to make his way past Rossi but ran out of room.  Not giving up, Lorenzo made his move in the next turn, taking third place; the battle for third ensued between Lorenzo and Rossi, until Rossi overpowered Lorenzo at the end of the first lap. 

Continuing to build his lead, Stoner remained unthreatened through the second and third laps of the race.  Hayate Racing Team rider Marco Melandri hit the gravel early in the race, at the same time, Lorenzo started to experience pressure from Repsol Honda Team rider Andrea Dovizioso.  Dovizioso’s pressure on Lorenzo was accompanied by Lorenzo’s pressure on Rossi.  This three-way application of pressure escalated during the straight when Dovizioso managed to get past Lorenzo and Rossi made his way past Capirossi.

With 18 laps to go, the leaders, Stoner, Rossi, Dovizioso, Capirossi, and Lorenzo, got into a groove.  At the same time Randy De Puniet put pressure on Mika Kallio and both riders tried to work their way up from 14th and 13th places.  

Knocking out three laps with no position changes up front, Lorenzo reclaimed 3rd from Dovizioso at the start/finish line, and Rossi pushed his bike and tires to the limit, trying to catch Stoner, who was able to keep pace holding a good lead.  Lorenzo, struggling to stay ahead of Dovizioso, managed to hold onto third place for the time being.  In turn one, James Toseland, Monster Yamaha Tech 3, went deep and into the gravel.  On the same lap, Capirossi struggled to keep Edwards at bay through the section of right handers, he took the turn a little wide and lost his front end, Capirossi followed his bike through the gravel, but remained unharmed.

Rossi began to increase his lap times significantly, but he still struggled to make up the 1.9 seconds between him and Stoner.  Nicky Hayden, who started in 16th after taking a 130mph high side during qualifying Saturday, sat in 13th.  With nearly half of the race left to complete, Pedrosa and De Angelis made contact.  De Angelis went wide, hitting the left side of Pedrosa; Kallio, riding in his MotoGP debut race, overtook Pedrosa for 8th place.

Stoner increases the gap to three seconds between him and Rossi with 6 laps to go.  Pedrosa has his sights set on Kallio, striving for 8th; at the same time, De Puniet sets his sights on Pedrosa.Rossi managed to cut Stoner’s lead in half to 1.5 seconds. 

Stoner, not letting the lead get away from him, crosses the line with two to go at well over 200 mph, widening the gap to 5.295 seconds.   Sitting in 14th, Hayden gets on the back of Gibernau, desperate to move into 13th position and he did it, closing in on 12th place Pedrosa.  On the final lap, Stoner goes into the last turn, pulling into a wheelie the whole way down the straight, finishing well ahead of Rossi.  On the last straight, with Stoner and Rossi already finished, Edwards took Dovizioso to finish in forth place.  Hayden, giving it everything he’s got can’t quite get past Pedrosa, and the two finished in 11 and 12th.

Stoner rode consistently, unwavering as he held the victory in his sights the entire race.  It was a race that, while the battle for the lead remained uninteresting, breathed excitement in the battles that ensued down field from the leaders.  This race gives insight to the rest of the MotoGP season and we all know what to look for at the next race at the Polini Grand Prix of Japan at the Motegi circuit on April 24 to 26.