Rossi off to winning start in

thrilling Qatar opener

The World Champion started his title defence in 2010 with victory as Stoner crashed out, in a gripping race that saw Lorenzo join him on the podium. Dovizioso edged out Hayden for a dramatic third place.

The five-month wait for the start of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship came to an end on Sunday evening at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, and an eventful opening race at Losail did not let fans down as Valentino Rossi took victory, from Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso.

An exciting start saw Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) shoot up from seventh on the grid to lead the field into Turn One, and as the opening laps unfolded the Spaniard, Rossi, poleman Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) and his team-mate Nicky Hayden commenced a battle at the front.

A difficult weekend ended in grave disappointment for Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) as he crashed out early on, and as the action on the track continued to develop there was to be another Ducati to suffer a premature end to its race. This time it was the factory Desmosedici GP10 of Stoner, who lost the front of his bike going into Turn Four on the fifth lap when in the lead, dramatically ending his participation after he had been the huge favourite to take victory at the circuit for the fourth successive year.

That elevated Rossi to first place, with Dovizioso and Hayden behind him in hot pursuit. Rossi’s Fiat Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo also started to climb, moving up to fourth at the midway point of the race. Pramac Racing’s remaining rider Aleix Espargaró was forced to retire after becoming the third rider to fall.

With the excitement building, Dovizioso started to challenge Rossi and at one point took the lead from the World Champion, only to see it reclaimed. Hayden then swapped places with Dovizioso as the pair intensified their fight for second and third position respectively.

Lorenzo made his move and went through on Hayden before passing Dovizioso as well to move into second position as the riders entered the final lap, which delivered a grandstand finish in the battle for the final podium position.

As Rossi crossed the line with just over a full second of an advantage on the rest of the field, Lorenzo took second as he showed little sign of the hand injury that had placed a question mark over his fitness. Dovizoso claimed third in a sprint for the line as he held off Hayden by 0.011s.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 1st   Time: 42'50.099
"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!" 

  

Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 2nd   Time: +1.022
"Today I had to disconnect my brain and just ride with my heart, and I am so happy about this second place. My hand was a bit sore but the bigger problem was the rear sliding, and early on with a full fuel tank I found it quite hard. My plan was to take it quietly and not risk too much, but after a while the adrenalin built up and I couldn't do that, I had to ride at the maximum! Once I had less fuel it was easier and I started to get closer, but I was on the limit physically and with the bike, so it was quite risky! I made some good overtakes at the end and this is a fantastic result for our team, with Valentino winning as well. Now we go to Motegi, where I won last year, and I will be in better physical condition by then and ready to be even stronger."  

Davide Brivio - Team Manager
"It's been a very positive weekend for us not only because we won, but because we've worked through our issues very well and been able to confirm that our bike is good. This isn't a good track for us and we know we're suffering a bit in terms of top speed, this is something we need to work on, but to win here shows that we've got a good overall package. Now we will work to lessen the gap to our rivals. It's been a great night for Yamaha; three bikes in the top five and a brilliant start to the season. Now we got to Yamaha's home race in Japan and we're looking forward to maintaining our lead."  

Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager
"This is a very good start to the season and Jorge rode a very clever race. He kept his patience when the bike was heavy, realised it wasn't the right time to push and little-by-little he was able to improve his pace and close the gap. With a couple of laps to go he saw his advantage and was able to grab second position. To finish just one second behind Valentino after his interrupted pre-season is very impressive and a great result for our team." 

Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech3) was the highest finishing rookie with a superb fifth-placed finish having started in 11th place on the grid, as Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) and Pedrosa took sixth and seventh place respectively.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech3), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) – in his 300th Grand Prix start – and Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP) all secured top-ten finishes, with Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar) and Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) completing the 13 finishing riders.

Rookie Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) suffered heartbreak on his premier class debut, crashing out late in the race when in 13th place having held his own for much of the contest.

Results:

Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team BikeKm/h Time/Gap
1 25 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha TeamYamaha 165.842'50.099
2 20 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha TeamYamaha 165.7+1.022
3 16 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda TeamHonda 165.7+1.865
4 13 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro TeamDucati 165.7+1.876
5 11 11 Ben SPIES  USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3Yamaha 165.5+3.903
6 10 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRALCR Honda MotoGPHonda 165.2+9.322
7 9 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda TeamHonda 164.7+16.508
8 8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3Yamaha 164.5+19.867
9 7 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGPSuzuki 164.5+20.893
10 6 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGPHonda 164.4+21.100
11 5 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda GresiniHonda 163.8+31.638
12 4 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas AsparDucati 163.7+32.573
13 3 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda GresiniHonda 163.2+40.780
Not Classified
19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGPSuzuki163.71 Lap
41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing TeamDucati162.715 Laps
27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro TeamDucati164.417 Laps
36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing TeamDucati156.120 Laps