The 2016 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix was the first of eighteen
motorcycle races
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...
of the
2016 MotoGP season
The 2016 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 68th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Season summary
Jorge Lorenzo was the defending world champion, having secured his third MotoGP title and fifth overall ...
and the thirteenth running of the
event
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of eve ...
. It was held before a crowd of 11,737 spectators at the
Losail International Circuit
The Losail International Circuit or Lusail International Circuit (Arabic: حلبة لوسيل الدولية) is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar.
Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers ...
near the Qatari capital city of
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
on 20 March 2016.
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
rider
Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three MotoGP World Championships (, and ) and two 250cc World Championships ( and ).
After winning the 2006 a ...
won the 22-lap race after starting from
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
.
Andrea Dovizioso
Andrea Dovizioso (born 23 March 1986) is an Italian former professional motorcycle racer. He raced with WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team for the 2022 season but announced his intended-retirement after the Misano round in September.
Dovizioso was t ...
came second for
Ducati
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...
, and
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
's
Marc Márquez
Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle road racing, road racer, who has raced for Honda Racing Corporation, Honda's Repsol Honda, factory team since his MotoGP ...
was third. In the junior classes,
Kalex
Kalex Engineering is a German specialty engineering company that designs, manufactures and sells high-performance parts for motorcycles. Kalex Engineering was founded in 2008 in the Bavarian city of Bobingen, Germany by Klaus Hirsekorn and Alex ...
's
Thomas Lüthi
Thomas Lüthi (born 6 September 1986) is a Swiss sporting director at Prüstel GP, and former Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He spent 19 years in Grand Prix world championships, becoming one of only six riders to reach 300 race starts, spending m ...
won the
Moto2
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of ...
race and
Niccolò Antonelli
Niccolò Antonelli (born 23 February 1996) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle racer, who most recently competed in the 2022 Moto2 World Championship, riding for Sky Racing Team VR46, Mooney VR46 Racing Team. Antonel ...
on a Honda took the victory in the
Moto3
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of ...
round.
Lorenzo won the pole position by posting the fastest lap in qualifying and held the lead into the first corner. However, he was only able to hold on to first place until the end of the first lap.
Andrea Iannone
Andrea Iannone (born 9 August 1989) is an Italian professional motorcycle racer who competed in the MotoGP World Championship from 2013 to 2019. Iannone is a race winner in MotoGP, Moto2 and 125 cc World Championships.
After winning 4 races ...
used the superior straight line speed advantage of his Ducati to move into the lead on the main
straight
Straight may refer to:
Slang
* Straight, slang for heterosexual
** Straight-acting, an LGBT person who does not exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype
* Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture
Sport and games
* Str ...
. He led for the next five laps until teammate Dovizioso passed him for the lead at the start of lap six. Iannone retook the lead by forcing Dovizioso off the
racing line
In motorsport, the racing line is the optimal path around a race course. In most cases, the line makes use of the entire width of the track to lengthen the radius of a turn: entering at the outside edge, touching the "apex"—a point on the inside ...
at turn one, but Dovizioso regained the position four turns later. Lorenzo fell to third but returned to second when Iannone crashed
lowside at turn thirteen on lap six. Lorenzo then regained the lead from Dovizioso at turn four on lap nine. Over the remaining thirteen laps, he opened up a healthy advantage at the front of the pack to claim his 41st MotoGP victory, and his 62nd in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
In the junior classes,
Jonas Folger
Jonas Folger (born 13 August 1993) is a German professional motorcycle racer who most recently competed in the 2021 Superbike World Championship. He is best known for his stint in MotoGP with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 getting a podium in Germany be ...
started from pole position in Moto2. He held the lead for the first two laps before he crashed and handed the position to Morbidelli. He was then passed by Lüthi. Morbidelli retook first place from Lüthi on the tenth lap and the two battled for the rest of the race. It ended in Lüthi's favour when Morbidelli was penalised twenty seconds for
jumping the start. Moto3 had
Romano Fenati
Romano Fenati (born 15 January 1996) is an Italian motorcycle racer who has competed at Grand Prix level. He raced for the early part of the season in Moto2, before being sacked by principal Luca Boscoscuro. In September 2022, Fenati signed wi ...
of
KTM
KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
begin from pole position and kept first place until teammate
Brad Binder
Brad Binder (born 11 August 1995) is a South African Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He is most-known for winning the 2016 Moto3 World Championship. In November 2019 he was confirmed as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider in MotoGP class for the 2 ...
duelled him for the lead and
Nicolò Bulega
Nicolò Jarod Bulega (born 16 October 1999) is an Italian motorcycle racer, set to compete in the 2022 Supersport World Championship with Aruba.it Racing Ducati Team. He has also been a competitor in the CEV Moto3 Championship in 2014 and 2015, ...
joined soon after. The race was decided by a last lap overtaking manoeuvre by Antonelli. He
slipstream
A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or mustard) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving fluid, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is churning. The term slip ...
ed Binder on the main straight and pulled out of it to win by a
photo finish
A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...
with a gap of seven-thousands of a second.
The result of the first race of the season meant Lorenzo led the
Riders' Championship with twenty-five points. Dovizioso was second on twenty points and Márquez placed third with sixteen points.
Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...
on the other Yamaha and
Dani Pedrosa
Daniel Pedrosa Ramal (born 29 September 1985) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the season. He grew up in Castellar del Vallès, a village near Sabadell. He is a ...
on the second factory Honda completed the top five. In the Teams' Championship, Yamaha MotoGP lead with 38 points, followed by Honda with twenty-seven points and Ducati with twenty points.
Tech 3
Tech3 is a motorcycle racing team competing in the MotoGP class World Championship under the name Tech3 GasGas Factory Racing. They also compete in the Moto3 World Championship under the name Red Bull KTM Tech3 and the MotoE World Cup under the ...
and
Suzuki
is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...
were fourth and fifth.
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
became the early leaders of the
Constructors' Championship with twenty-five points;
Ducati
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...
and
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
followed in second and third positions with twenty and sixteen points respectively with seventeen rounds left in the season.
MotoGP
Background
![Qatar MotoGP 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Qatar_MotoGP_2010.jpg)
The world governing body of
motorcycle racing
Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Ot ...
, the
Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM; en, International Motorcycling Federation) is the global governing/sanctioning body of motorcycle racing. It represents 116 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regiona ...
(FIM) and the sport's commercial rights holder
Dorna Sports
Dorna Sports, S.L. is the commercial rights' holder for the motorcycling sport of Grand Prix racing.
Established in 1988 as an international sports management and marketing company, it is headquartered in Madrid, with branch offices and/or subs ...
confirmed the 2016 Qatar Grand Prix as part of
MotoGP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
's
2016 schedule in February 2016.
It was the thirteenth time the
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
was held and it was the season's sole night round.
Qatar was the first of eighteen rounds scheduled by FIM. It took place at the sixteen-turn
Losail International Circuit
The Losail International Circuit or Lusail International Circuit (Arabic: حلبة لوسيل الدولية) is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar.
Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers ...
near
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
on 20 March 2016.
[ The track was described as "a serious test of both rider and machine" due to its mixture of fast and slow corners. It is surrounded by the desert where dust and sand often cover the track. This affects tyre grip and how slippery the circuit becomes when riders go off the ]racing line
In motorsport, the racing line is the optimal path around a race course. In most cases, the line makes use of the entire width of the track to lengthen the radius of a turn: entering at the outside edge, touching the "apex"—a point on the inside ...
. This race also saw Michelin
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...
take over from Bridgestone
is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...
as MotoGP's official tyre supplier, returning for the first time since the 2008 Valencian Grand Prix. All bikes featured unified electronic packages in an attempt to reduce costs, close the deficit between the factory and satellite teams and bring a new focus on rider control.
Heading into the new season, some teams opted to keep the same line-up as the previous season; however, some teams changed riders. One of the main changes involved the début appearance of 2014 Moto2 World Champion Esteve Rabat
Esteve "Tito" Rabat Bergada (born 25 May 1989) is a Spanish motorcycle racer. He is best known for winning the 2014 Moto2 World Championship.
Rabat then made the move to MotoGP in 2016 and spent five full-time seasons there, before moving to th ...
on one of the two Marc VDS Racing bikes. Rabat took the place of Scott Redding
Scott Christopher Redding (born 4 January 1993) is a British motorcycle racer. For 2022 he is contracted to ride in Superbike World Championship with BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team after the 2020 and 2021 seasons with Ducati factory WSBK team ridi ...
who switched to Pramac Racing
Pramac Racing is a motorcycle racing team competing in the MotoGP and MotoE World Championships. The team was created in 2002 by Italian company Pramac. In 2005 Pramac Racing joined forces with Spanish d'Antin MotoGP to form "Pramac d'Antin" and ...
. 2014 Moto3 runner-up Jack Miller Jack Miller may refer to:
Military
* Jack Miller (USMC officer) (1920–1942), American marine soldier
* Jack Duppa-Miller (1903–1994), British recipient of the George Cross in World War II, originally called Jack Miller
* USS ''Jack Miller'', ...
took his place at Marc VDS Racing as they expanded and ran a second motorbike for 2016. Yonny Hernández Yonny Hernández may refer to:
* Yonny Hernández (baseball), (born 1998), Venezuelan professional baseball infielder
* Yonny Hernández (motorcyclist)
Yonny Hernández Vega (born 25 July 1988) is a Colombian motorcycle racer. He is the older br ...
did not have his contract with Pramac Racing renewed. He moved to Aspar Team
Aspar Team (formerly Ángel Nieto Team) is a Grand Prix motorcycle racing team from Spain, competing in the Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE World Championships.
History
The team was created by former world champion Jorge Martínez in 1992, when he was s ...
to replace 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden
Nicholas Patrick Hayden (July 30, 1981 May 22, 2017), nicknamed "The Kentucky Kid", was an American professional motorcycle racer who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006. Hayden began racing motorcycles at a young age. He began his roa ...
, who left MotoGP for the Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
. AB Motoracing
AB Motoracing, the trading name of ''Abraham Motor Racing s.r.o.'', was a motorcycle racing team from Czech Republic that competed in the MotoGP, Moto2, 250cc and 125cc World Championships.
History
The team started racing in running Aprilia m ...
and Karel Abraham
Karel Abraham (born 2 January 1990) is a retired motorcycle racer from the Czech Republic. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from to , riding in the 125cc, 250cc, Moto2 and MotoGP classes, with the exception of 2016, when he raced in t ...
left MotoGP after five seasons and switched to the Superbike World Championship as did Alex de Angelis
Alex de Angelis (born 26 February 1984) is a Sammarinese retired motorcycle road racer.
Career
125cc World Championship
Born in Rimini, de Angelis made his debut at world championship level in 1999 in the 125 cc class; his first full season was ...
and Ioda Racing. Loris Baz
Loris Baz (born 1 February 1993) is a French motorcycle racer. He is competing for satellite BMW team Bonovo in the 2022 Superbike World Championship, together with Eugene Laverty.
Baz has previously competed in World Superbikes for Ten Kate Rac ...
moved to Avintia Racing to replace Mike Di Meglio
Mike Di Meglio (born 17 January 1988) is a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and three-time world champion claiming the 2008 125cc title, who went to the FIM Endurance World Championship
The Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) he ...
. The final change was Stefan Bradl
Stefan Bradl (born 29 November 1989) is a German professional motorcycle racer. Bradl is best known for winning the Moto2 World Champion. Then he made the move to MotoGP in 2012 with LCR Honda. While in MotoGP, Bradl is best known for his per ...
who remained with Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...
after riding for them as a replacement rider in 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
when Marco Melandri
Marco Melandri (born 7 August 1982) is an Italian retired motorcycle road racer who is a five-time premier class race winner. He is the 2002 250 cc World Champion and runner-up in 125 cc, MotoGP and Superbike World Championship. He c ...
left MotoGP during the middle of the season. Title holder Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three MotoGP World Championships (, and ) and two 250cc World Championships ( and ).
After winning the 2006 a ...
stayed with Yamaha MotoGP after his title-winning campaign and was again joined by seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...
.
The press considered Lorenzo the favourite to retain his championship because of his pace in pre-season testing. They considered his teammate Rossi and Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
's Marc Márquez
Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle road racing, road racer, who has raced for Honda Racing Corporation, Honda's Repsol Honda, factory team since his MotoGP ...
, who won the title in 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
and 2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, to be his main rivals over the course of the season.[ Lorenzo said he felt strong and competitive. He spoke of his satisfaction of adapting well to the Michelin tyres and knew a good position in Qatar would demonstrate his quick race pace, "I would like to start this 2016 season in the best way possible, especially compared to the beginning of 2015. Let‘s go into this race fighting and enjoy it!" Márquez was down on pace in pre-season testing because Honda was struggling to adapt to the new electronics package for the RC213V's aggressive engine package. He aimed to win the championship and said he would use what he learned from his rivalry with Rossi the previous year, "This year will be an interesting season because everything looks closer and compared to the past there is more balance. We will try to fight for the championship and use the experience from last year from the beginning of the season to the end and fight again for the title until Valencia. The Qatar circuit doesn’t suit me and my Honda, but we can play around our technical difficulties with motivation."
]
Practice and qualifying
Four practice sessions were held before the Sunday race. The first session on Thursday evening lasted 45 minutes and the two following identically timed sessions took place on Friday evening. The fourth session on Saturday evening ran for half an hour. Lorenzo set the fastest lap of the first practice at one minute and 55.440 seconds early on, followed by teammate Rossi, Andrea Iannone
Andrea Iannone (born 9 August 1989) is an Italian professional motorcycle racer who competed in the MotoGP World Championship from 2013 to 2019. Iannone is a race winner in MotoGP, Moto2 and 125 cc World Championships.
After winning 4 races ...
, Héctor Barberá
Héctor Barberá Vall (born November 2, 1986) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competes in MotoAmerica aboard a BMW S1000RR.
Career
Born in Dos Aguas, Valencia Province, Barberá began his World Championship career at the age ...
, Maverick Viñales
Maverick Viñales Ruiz (; born 12 January 1995) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Viñales is the 2013 Moto3 World Champion, currently riding in MotoGP for the Aprilia Racing team, after five seasons as a MotoGP factory rider with the ...
, Pol Espargaró
Pol Espargaró Villà (born 10 June 1991) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer who for 2023 will ride in the MotoGP class for the newly named GasGas Factory Racing team, a development of Tech3. He previously spent two years with Repsol Hond ...
, Pedrosa, Márquez, Andrea Dovizioso
Andrea Dovizioso (born 23 March 1986) is an Italian former professional motorcycle racer. He raced with WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team for the 2022 season but announced his intended-retirement after the Misano round in September.
Dovizioso was t ...
and Redding. Bradley Smith was the only rider to crash in the session when he lost control of the front of his bike and fell at turn thirteen with two minutes left. Early in the second practice session, Iannone set the quickest time of one minute and 55.388 seconds. Márquez improved for second and Redding placed third in the session's closing minutes. Viñales, Dovizioso, Pedrosa, Rossi, Barberá, Lorenzo and Danilo Petrucci
Danilo Carlo Petrucci (born 24 October 1990) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer who has competed in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York. After losing his KTM ride in MotoGP at the end of the ...
filled positions four to ten. Cal Crutchlow
Cal Crutchlow (born 29 October 1985) is an English professional motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2020 season. He is contracted as a test rider for Yamaha Motor Racing, which he is expected to continue in 2022 and 2 ...
crashed at turn fifteen after losing control of his bike's front. Loris Baz
Loris Baz (born 1 February 1993) is a French motorcycle racer. He is competing for satellite BMW team Bonovo in the 2022 Superbike World Championship, together with Eugene Laverty.
Baz has previously competed in World Superbikes for Ten Kate Rac ...
went down heavily at turn thirteen soon after. Iannone continued to run fast and set the fastest lap of the day in the third practice session at one minute and 54.639 seconds. Lorenzo, Márquez. Dovizioso, Viñales, Pedrosa, Rossi, Barberá, Redding and Pol Espargaró followed in the top ten. Smith crashed for a second time entering turn six and Miller lost control of his bike at turn nine later on.
Petrucci fractured three metacarpal bones
In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus form the intermediate part of the skeletal hand located between the phalanges of the fingers and the carpal bones of the wrist, which forms the connection to the forearm. The metacarpal bones ...
in his right hand in a pre-season testing accident at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near Ventnor, on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. The current circuit was first used in 1956.
History Road circuit
Motor racing on Phillip Island began in 1928 with t ...
. He opted not to wear a protective cast because he had little arm feeling after completing two laps of the Qatar track. Petrucci was in pain after the third practice and underwent an x-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
which revealed a dislocated bone segment in his third metacarpal
The third metacarpal bone (metacarpal bone of the middle finger) is a little smaller than the second.
The dorsal aspect of its base presents on its radial side a pyramidal eminence, the styloid process, which extends upward behind the capitate; ...
due to some fractures sealed by surgery re-opening under the stress of riding. He withdrew from the race, and his team did not employ a replacement rider. Before Saturday's action started, a moment of silence was held for Tunisian motorcyclist Taoufik Gattouchi who died from injuries he sustained in a multi-bike accident in the Losail 600 Cup support
Support may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Supporting character
Business and finance
* Support (technical analysis)
* Child support
* Customer support
* Income Support
Construction
* Support (structure), or lateral support, a ...
race. Lorenzo topped the final practice with a one minute and 55.301 seconds lap. Márquez, Dovizioso, Rossi, Iannone, Crutchlow, Pol Espargaró, Viñales, Redding and Smith completed the top ten ahead of qualifying. Miller crashed leaving turn fifteen early on but remounted and continued. Baz then fell off his bike at turn seven but was not injured. The third rider to fall was Redding when he crashed at turn sixteen but was unhurt and returned to the pit lane
In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit lan ...
. Bradl lost control of his bike's front and crashed at turn two. Trackside marshals
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
recovered him unhurt.[
At the end of fourth practice, Rossi created tension within Yamaha. He was on a fast lap, and his teammate Lorenzo was on the inside line which led to Rossi slowing.][ Television cameras showed him remonstrating with Lorenzo after the latter left the pit lane before they continued round the circuit. They stopped on the start/finish ]straight
Straight may refer to:
Slang
* Straight, slang for heterosexual
** Straight-acting, an LGBT person who does not exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype
* Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture
Sport and games
* Str ...
and the conservation continued at their practice starts. Rossi alleged Lorenzo did not notice him and likened the situation to the penalty point he received on his race licence after qualifying for the 2015 San Marino and Rimini's Coast Grand Prix when he was deemed to have impeded him. Lorenzo claimed he was trying his best not to impede Rossi and argued he could not go anywhere else but the gravel trap.
Saturday evening's qualifying session was divided into two parts. The two sessions lasted fifteen minutes each. The slowest riders in the first three practice sessions competed in the first part. The second part included the combined top ten quickest participants from the opening trio of practice sessions. The first session had the fastest two riders progress into the second which determined pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
to twelfth. Riders had to qualify within 107% of the pole position lap time to ensure their qualification for the race. All riders ran twice with most entering the pit lane with five minutes left in the crash-free second qualifying session and pushed immediately due to optimum track conditions. On his first run in clear air, Lorenzo claimed a record-breaking, 62nd career pole position and his 36th in MotoGP with a time of one minute and 54.543 seconds but could not improve due to a rider error. Márquez took second and could not claim pole because he miscalculated his best lap time which he began just after qualifying ended.[ Márquez executed a ]wheelie
In vehicle acrobatics, a wheelie, or wheelstand, is a vehicle maneuver in which the front wheel or wheels come off the ground due to sufficient torque being applied to the rear wheel or wheels, or rider motion relative to the vehicle. Whe ...
because his front tyre locked due to a possible brake malfunction and veered left into the gravel trap during a practice start. Viñales made it an all-Spanish front row on his final lap and took his second first row start since the 2015 Catalan Grand Prix[ Iannone was fourth after losing two-tenths of a second when Redding delayed him in the closing complex of corners on his final timed lap. Rossi took fifth having moved up the grid during qualifying.][
Dovizioso did five laps and aimed to start from the grid's first two rows. He achieved this with sixth place. Pedrosa took seventh having been unable to improve his position due to a problem with his second set of tyres and was ahead of Barberá's leading satellite bike. Pol Espargaró was ninth after waiting to find space on the track on his last run. Crutchlow progressed to the second session as its fastest driver and was tenth in front of Smith (who had little confidence with bike control in the corners) and Redding.][ Hernández was the fastest driver not to advance to the second qualifying session; his best lap time of one minute and 56.157 seconds was 1.6 seconds slower than Lorenzo due to tyre problems. 14th-placed ]Eugene Laverty
Eugene Laverty (born 3 June 1986) is a professional motorcycle road racing, road racer from Northern Ireland, the brother of Michael Laverty, Michael and John Laverty, John.
For 2022, Laverty is contracted to ride for satellite BMW team Bonov ...
shifted to sixth gear but it failed to engage before the start/finish line cost him around three-tenths of a second. Aleix Espargaró
Aleix Espargaró Villà (born 30 July 1989) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was thSpanish 2004 FIM CEV 125cc International Champion and currently competes in the MotoGP class for Aprilia Racing team.
Career
Espargaró was bo ...
slid off the circuit and into turn one. He returned to the pit lane to get on his second bike with four minutes left in first qualifying but could not control its front and qualified 15th. Issues with Baz's bike led to his team modifying it. This did not improve it and he took 16th ahead of Álvaro Bautista
Álvaro Bautista Arce (born 21 November 1984) is a Spanish motorcycle road racer. He won the 2022 Superbike World Championship, with Ducati factory team.
After the 2019 World Superbike season with the factory Ducati team, for 2020 and 2021 h ...
who used worn tyres and later crashed. Miller recorded one qualifying lap and was 18th. Miller was ahead of teammate Rabat and Bradl.[
]
Warm-up
The riders took to the track on Sunday afternoon for a twenty-minute warm-up session. Márquez continued his strong form and set the fastest lap at one minute and 54.400 seconds, 0.227 seconds faster than fellow Spaniard Viñales in second. Lorenzo was a further 0.068 seconds behind in third place. Rossi, Dovizioso, Iannone, Crutchlow, Redding, Pol Espargaró and Smith made up the rest of the top ten fastest riders. Hernández was unhurt in a crash at turn sixteen with five minutes remaining. During warm-up, Iannone reached the highest-ever recorded speed in an official MotoGP session at the time, at , exceeding the previous record of that he achieved at the 2015 San Marino and Rimini's Coast Grand Prix.
Race
Weather conditions at the start were dry and warm. The air temperature was and the asphalt temperature was . The race began from its standing start
A standing start is a type of start in auto racing events, in which cars are stationary when the race begins (different to the rolling start, where cars are paced).
Procedure
In a standing start, cars are completely still but with their engines ...
before a crowd of 11,737 spectators at 21:00 Arabia Standard Time
UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours later than the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Following the ISO 8601 standard, a time with this offset would be wri ...
( UTC+03:00). Lorenzo executed a brisk start to maintain his pole position advantage going into the first corner. Márquez and Viñales made slow getaways and fell to fifth and seventh respectively. Ducati
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...
teammates Iannone and Dovizioso made fast starts to run in second and third leaving the first sequence of corners. Iannone drew close to Lorenzo through the turn twelve to fourteen turns complex as he was setting up an overtake on him on the start/finish straight. Iannone used his Ducati's superior straight line speed advantage of around on the straight to pass Lorenzo for the lead just as the field began the second lap. Dovizioso followed on the other Ducati soon after. The top five began pulling away from the rest of the field as they distanced Pedrosa and Viñales. Hernández was the race's first retiree with a broken engine sensor on lap two.[
Such was Ducati's speed difference over the other bikes they were able to get away from the rest of the field. This prevented Iaonnone from being overtaken on the start/finish straight, but Lorenzo was able to get close under braking for the first corner.] On the third lap, Márquez out-braked Rossi to force his way into fourth place at turn six without contact.[ After that, Márquez set the fastest lap of the race at that point of one minute and 55.710 seconds on lap four as he sought to close up to Lorenzo. Crutchlow moved into eighth and was pushing hard to gain on seventh-placed Viñales.] Further down the order, Smith fell to ninth after Barberá got ahead of him and Baz overtook Laverty for fifteenth on the lap. Márquez ran wide on the fifth lap and stopped Rossi from retaking fourth. On lap six, Dovizioso passed teammate Iannone around the outside for the lead at turn one. However, Iannone pushed him off the racing line and retook the position by switching back on the apex of the corner; Dovizioso eased off the throttle. Dovizioso finally overtook Iannone at the fifth corner. The top five closed up with Lorenzo making an attempt at getting by Iannone.[
But, as Iannone was starting to get back at teammate Dovizioso for the lead, he ran onto the dirty white line at turn thirteen and lost control of the front of his bike.] Iannone fell lowside at high speed and although he retired immediately he was unhurt. The crash promoted Lorenzo, Márquez and Rossi into second to fourth, with Pedrosa 1.3 seconds behind the trio which then grew to two seconds.[ Meanwhile, Crutchlow was closing on Pedrosa when his bike had a software system fault that confused where it was on the circuit and gave him power when it should have been reduced. This caused Crutchlow to crash on lap seven at turn four by going faster than normal because of no ]engine braking
Engine braking occurs when the retarding forces within an engine are used to slow down a motor vehicle, as opposed to using additional external braking mechanisms such as friction brakes or magnetic brakes.
The term is often confused with sever ...
. On the eighth lap, Pol Espargaro passed Smith, demoting him to ninth. Lorenzo exited the final turn close behind Dovizioso at the end of the lap but was not near enough to overtake him at the first corner. At turn four on lap nine, Lorenzo overtook Dovizioso around the outside for first place.[ That lap, Baz lacked front grip entering corners and traction leaving them. He attempted to change lines to extract the most from his bike, but entering turn two, he lost control of its front and crashed.][
]
Márquez closed up to Dovizioso with Rossi behind while Lorenzo held a 0.164 second lead at the start of lap ten. This allowed him to stay unchallenged into turn one and he extended his advantage over the next two laps.[ Barberá was overtaken by Pol Espargaró for seventh place and Laverty passed Miller for twelfth on lap twelve.] Bradl lost all tyre grip in turn fifteen and crashed sideways on the thirteenth lap.[ Márquez reduced Dovizioso's hold on second entering turn ten and fifteen. Dovizioso distanced him on the main straight, however, because the Honda lacked the straight line speed to stay with the Ducati.][ As fuel burned off, lap times improved and Lorenzo bettered ]Casey Stoner
Casey Joel Stoner (born 16 October 1985) is an Australian retired professional motorcycle racer, and a two-time MotoGP World Champion, in and . During his MotoGP career, Stoner raced for the factory teams of Ducati and Honda, winning a titl ...
's 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
lap record of the Losail International Circuit with a time of one minute and 55.109 seconds to further his lead on lap 16. Smith passed Barberá in the track's third sector on the following lap. Just as Rossi set his best lap time after being instructed via pitboard to change his engine brake settings on lap 17, he ran deep at turn six a lap later, losing him half a second to the top three. Márquez attacked Dovizioso for the next six laps and overtook him for second on the inside line at turn ten on lap nineteen.
Márquez gained an advantage over Dovizioso by narrowly retaining second on the main straight despite the latter drawing level entering turn one. Lorenzo was 1.159 seconds ahead of Márquez at the start of lap 20. He extended his advantage to 1.841 seconds by responding to Márquez's pace with the race's fastest second and third sectors to set a new track record of one minute and 54.927 seconds. Dovizioso remained close behind Márquez, but Rossi had now joined the second place battle. Dovizioso passed Márquez to retake second on the main straight. Márquez tried to regain second at turn six but was not close enough to affect a pass. He had one last attempt around the outside of Dovizioso at the final turn. Márquez retook second but ran slightly wide allowing Dovizioso to keep second on the main straight.[ Lorenzo finished the race first to claim his 41st MotoGP victory and his 62nd in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.] Dovizioso, Márquez and Rossi were separated by three-tenths of a second in second and fourth places. Pedrosa, Viñales, Pol Espargaró, Smith, Barberá, Redding, Aleix Espargaró, Laverty, Bautista, Miller and Rabat were the final classified finishers.
Post-race
The top-three riders appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and spoke to the media in the subsequent press conference.[ Lorenzo described his victory as "one of the best of my whole career". He stated his belief a decision made by Yamaha to run the rear soft compound tyre helped him, "The harder compound should become better and better, but I think what happened was the opposite. The softer tyre should get worse and worse, but it was faster and faster so this little difference was the difference between me and Dovizioso and Marquez."][ Dovizioso spoke of his happiness at finishing second and thanked his team for providing him with a fast bike.] He also said his bike's engine allowed him to fend off Márquez in the final laps of the Grand Prix, "It’s always hard to fight with Marquez at the end of the race but my engine really helped me. We did some good testing in the winter and this result continues that work."[ Third-placed Márquez said he was pleased with his result on a track where Honda traditionally struggled. He highlighted his problem on getting close to Dovizioso and not being able to overtake him for much of the race, "The race was faster than we expected and we had a great weekend, because we got 100% out of our performance at a circuit that we find hard."][
In '']parc fermé
''Parc fermé'', literally meaning "closed park" in French, is a secure area at a motor racing circuit wherein the cars are driven back to the pits post- and sometimes pre-race.
Area
For example, according to the FIA Formula One regulations, th ...
'' and on the podium, the crowd booed Lorenzo and Márquez. A series of incidents between Rossi and Márquez in 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
was the catalyst of their displeasure. This prompted Lorenzo to do the zip gesture to the crowd while riding his bike and on the podium. Several riders called on Rossi to ensure his supporters were respectful to others, but he declined to take responsibility for their actions, "I don’t think that in Qatar there were so many Italian fans. However, I did not create this situation, and I don’t see how I could fix it."[ While he disliked booing, Márquez added it was something to be expected in the upcoming races, "We must adapt and for me it doesn’t matter the colours of the fans, I think as long as everybody enjoyed the race, that’s what is most important for me."][ Rossi's supporters have frequently booed Lorenzo since he entered MotoGP in ]2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
. He admitted his confusion over why he received abuse from his teammate's fans, "I don’t think we did anything wrong in the last months f 2015
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
We just concentrated on going very fast. I won the championship, and Marc did the best job he could in 2015. We’re just trying to be the best on track and we’re risking our lives in the process."[
Iannone explained that he reviewed the data after his lap six crash and said he was puzzled about how it caused him to retire, "Usually the white line has grip, but this time it's very, very slippery. This is the racing life, but for sure I am a little bit disappointed about this experience. For me, it's really difficult to accept this. I am sure it was possible to fight with Jorge, and with me, the race for sure the race is completely different." Rossi did not feel he could have bettered his fourth place result because of his bike's speed. He said he could not have pushed harder earlier in the Grand Prix, "I was strong but not enough to try one attack, to have one sector, one braking, one part where I was a little bit faster than the guys in front of me. I was always there, but always 10 meters ]way
Way may refer to:
Paths
* a road, route, path or pathway, including long-distance paths.
* a straight rail or track on a machine tool, (such as that on the bed of a lathe) on which part of the machine slides
* Ways, large slipway in shipbuildin ...
– trying like this, trying to stay behind, but unfortunately I don't have enough speed for attack. This was the problem." Crutchlow said he was angry because he felt his bike had good pace and explained it grew increasingly out of sync as the race progressed because of his engine braking glitch that had reoccurred from practice. He emphasised that Honda were blameless, "'I'm disappointed because I know I had a great pace, I had better pace than some guys that I thought I wouldn't have. For me it was an easy fifth place, and a crash that I didn't need, and that wasn't my fault."[
Because this was the first race of the season, Lorenzo took the lead of the Riders' Championship with twenty-five points. Dovizioso was second with twenty points and Márquez placed third with sixteen points. Rossi stood in fourth with thirteen points and Pedrosa rounded out the top five with eleven points.] In the Teams' Championship, Yamaha MotoGP held the lead with 38 points, followed by Repsol Honda with twenty-seven points and Ducati Corse with twenty points. Tech 3
Tech3 is a motorcycle racing team competing in the MotoGP class World Championship under the name Tech3 GasGas Factory Racing. They also compete in the Moto3 World Championship under the name Red Bull KTM Tech3 and the MotoE World Cup under the ...
(seventeen points) and Suzuki MotoGP
Suzuki MotoGP was the factory-backed team of Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Suzuki in the MotoGP World Championship, most recently using the name Team Suzuki Ecstar for sponsorship purposes. Suzuki withdrew from MotoGP competition at the conc ...
(fifteen points) were fourth and fifth. Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
became the early leaders of the Constructors' Championship with twenty-five points; Ducati
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...
and Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
followed in second and third positions with twenty and sixteen points respectively. Suzuki
is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...
and Aprilia
Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...
placed fourth and fifth with a respective ten and three points with seventeen rounds left in the season.
Moto2
After topping the second practice session for the Moto2 race, Jonas Folger
Jonas Folger (born 13 August 1993) is a German professional motorcycle racer who most recently competed in the 2021 Superbike World Championship. He is best known for his stint in MotoGP with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 getting a podium in Germany be ...
took the first pole position of 2016 with a class lap record time at the Losail International Circuit of one minute and 59.052 seconds eight minutes in. Sam Lowes
Samuel Deane Lowes (born 14 September 1990) is a British motorcycle racer competing in the Moto2 World Championship aboard a Kalex since 2019, and is part of the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team.
Lowes' 2022 season ended early, being unable to race i ...
was consistent during practice and carried over the form to clinch second. Álex Rins
Álex Rins Navarro (born 8 December 1995) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer for the LCR Honda Castrol in the MotoGP class. He was the 2011 CEV Buckler 125 Junior GP Champion, and made his Grand Prix motorcycle racing debut in the Moto3 ...
was third after emerging unhurt from a crash at turn two early in qualifying. Doctors forbade Lorenzo Baldassarri
Lorenzo Baldassarri (born 6 November 1996) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer, currently competing for GMT94 Yamaha in the 2023 Superbike World Championship. Baldassarri recently raced in the Supersport World Championship, finishing run ...
from racing because he dislocated both his shoulders in a qualifying accident at turn two. Folger was the pre-race favourite and made a good start to retain the lead into turn one. He held a one second advantage by the end of the first lap over Takaaki Nakagami
is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle racer, competing for LCR Honda Idemitsu in MotoGP. He won the Japanese Road Race Championship 125cc class in 2006 and J-GP2 class in 2011.
Career Early career
Born in Chiba, Nakagami joined the Japanese Ro ...
and Lowes. Johann Zarco
Johann Zarco (born 16 July 1990) is a French Grand Prix motorcycle racer, best known for winning the and Moto2 World Championships with his 2015 triumph being a record points total for the intermediate class. He rides for Pramac Racing.
Zarc ...
, Marcel Schrötter
Marcel Schrötter (born 2 January 1993) is a German motorcycle racer.
Born in Vilgertshofen, Schrötter started out in the German 125cc National Championship in 2007 and finished fifth in his debut campaign, before he took back-to-back titles in ...
, Lowes and Rins were handed ride-through penalties because they were judged to have jumped the start and served them on the next lap. Folger was pushing upfront but found he went beyond the limits of his bike and retired from a crash at the turn four gravel trap on lap three. This gave Franco Morbidelli
Franco Morbidelli (born 4 December 1994) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer in MotoGP, riding for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team. He became champion in the 2013 European Superstock 600 Championship, and the 2017 Moto2 World Championsh ...
the lead, but he lost it soon after to Thomas Lüthi
Thomas Lüthi (born 6 September 1986) is a Swiss sporting director at Prüstel GP, and former Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He spent 19 years in Grand Prix world championships, becoming one of only six riders to reach 300 race starts, spending m ...
. Nakagami and Robin Mulhauser were also given ride-through penalties for jumping the start. The battle between Morbidelli and Lüthi continued with the former going to the inside of the latter when the opportunity arose. Simone Corsi
Simone Corsi (born 24 April 1987) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Born in Rome, Corsi has been racing in motorcycle world championships for nearly 20 years, amassing over 300 races, 4th all-time, behind only Valentino Rossi, ...
moved to third when Nakagami served his ride-through penalty.[
Morbidelli retook the lead from Lüthi on the tenth lap and tried to open up an advantage over him. Lüthi glimpsed space midway through the penultimate lap and began drawing closer to Morbidelli who narrowly held on for the rest of the race to win on the road. However, on the final lap, it was announced Morbidelli would be issued a twenty-second time penalty because he was deemed to have jumped the start. ]Sandro Cortese
Alessandro "Sandro" Cortese (born 6 January 1990) is a former German motorcycle racer, who last competed in 2020 World Superbike Championship for Team Pedercini. Cortese won his first world title in the Moto3 class, in ., and his second in the Su ...
was penalised for the same infraction.[ Hence, Lüthi claimed his first victory of the season by 9.610 seconds and took the lead of the Riders' Championship. He was ahead of ]Luis Salom
Luis Jaime Salom Horrach (7 August 1991 – 3 June 2016) was a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Salom died after a practice accident at Circuit de Catalunya, when making contact with his bike and the wall after a high-speed accident. Racing ...
in second. Corsi completed the podium in third. After the event, race director Mike Webb explained a camera that observes jump starts did not show the correct images because of a recording and playback fault. After watching television footage prior to the start of the race, he denied suggestions of light flickering by some riders. Webb said he would speak to the Grand Prix Commission about reviewing the regulation on how penalties are applied within the opening four laps of the race to riders who are deemed to have jumped the start.
Moto3
In qualifying for the Moto3 race, riders slipstreamed one another on the main straight. KTM
KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
's Romano Fenati
Romano Fenati (born 15 January 1996) is an Italian motorcycle racer who has competed at Grand Prix level. He raced for the early part of the season in Moto2, before being sacked by principal Luca Boscoscuro. In September 2022, Fenati signed wi ...
clinched his second class pole position with a time of two minutes and 6.131 seconds in the closing seconds of the session. He was 0.047 seconds faster than the pacesetter of the weekend Livio Loi
Livio Loi (born 27 April 1997 in Hasselt) is a Belgian professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He competed in the Moto3 World Championship in and the first half of the season for the Marc VDS Racing Team, before being replaced by Jorge Navarr ...
in second. Brad Binder
Brad Binder (born 11 August 1995) is a South African Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He is most-known for winning the 2016 Moto3 World Championship. In November 2019 he was confirmed as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider in MotoGP class for the 2 ...
was another 0.067 seconds behind in third place. However, he was demoted three places on the grid for exceeding the 110% limit of his quickest sector times in the third practice session. Fenati held his lead at the start of the race with Loi and Binder close behind. On the second lap, Loi attempted to pass Fenati for first position but fell out of the top five by going wide at turn one. The impact of the Qatari slipstream was so great it meant the first twenty riders were in close formation. Positions constantly changed as the first five eventually began opening up an advantage by the fifth lap. The main straight had positions change with the riders leading out of the final turn finding themselves losing one place. Nicoló Bulega used his aggressive riding style to close on the lead group and be in their slipstream by lap seven. On lap nine, Binder took advantage of heavy fighting for the lead to claim the position, but Fenati caught him on the main straight and the duel continued.
Bulega was able to take first place from Binder on the fifteenth lap. Binder responded by reclaiming the lead soon after. Fenati executed several manoeuvres to get back into second place as the gap was being lowered by Enea Bastianini
Enea Bastianini (born 30 December 1997), nicknamed "La Bestia" (The Beast), is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer, riding for Ducati Lenovo Team in the MotoGP class. He won the 2020 Moto2 World Championship.
Career
Early career
Born in Rim ...
further down the pack. A photo finish
A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...
decided the lead battle on the final lap. Binder was holding first place as Fenati out-braked himself and went wide at the first turn which dropped him from second to sixth.[ ]Niccolò Antonelli
Niccolò Antonelli (born 23 February 1996) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle racer, who most recently competed in the 2022 Moto2 World Championship, riding for Sky Racing Team VR46, Mooney VR46 Racing Team. Antonel ...
, nursing a collarbone injury he sustained during pre-season testing that was worsened in practice, was at the rear of the group. He waited for his opportunity to attack in the final corners of the track. Antonelli knew he could use the slipstream on the main straight and did so to get alongside Binder. Antonelli then moved out of the slipstream and successfully out-dragged Binder to clinch his third career Moto3 victory by seven-thousands of a second and became the early leader of the Riders' Championship.[ ]Francesco Bagnaia
Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia (born 14 January 1997) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer competing in MotoGP World Championship, MotoGP for the Ducati Corse, Ducati Lenovo Team. He is the current 2022 MotoGP season, MotoGP World Champion and ...
was the best-placed Mahindra rider in third and took the marque's first podium finish since 2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. Fenati recovered to fourth, Bastianini took fifth, Bulega was sixth after a last-lap attempt at getting into the top three came to nothing. Jorge Navarro
Jorge Navarro Sanchez (born 3 February 1996) is a Spanish motorcycle racer. He raced in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes during his Grand Prix motorcycle racing career. His best finishes were third in the 2016 Moto3 World Championship and fourth in th ...
placed seventh and Loi was eighth.[
]
Classification
MotoGP
Moto2
Moto3
Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round one has concluded.
;Riders' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
;Teams' Championship standings
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
Notes and references
Notes
References
{{Portal bar, Sports
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
Motorcycle Grand Prix
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...