MotoGP – DOHA GP – Race

As the lights iluminate the Losali International Circuit, riders were ready to dispute the 2nd round of the Moto GP championship. A contested race that saw a fierce battle between Ducati and Yamaha, a numerous leading group and a unexpected comeback.
The lights were off with both Pramac riders holding their respective positions, as Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco closed the first lap on 1st and 2nd. some notable events happend on the pack, as Aleix Espargaro was 3rd starting from 7th with also Miguel Oliveira was on the top 5 after starting from 12th. Yamaha suffered yet another hard start as both of his riders were stuck on the middle of the grid.

As the first laps passed by, the Pramac bikes were keeping a strong pace at the track, with Miller and Bagnaia starting to gain some positions on track, other bikes that were also looking for higher places were the Suzukis, as Alex Rins and Joan Mir were gaining on Aleix Espargaro´s Aprilia. At the track there was no clear separation of groups, so almost everyone had a chance of overtake or being overtaken from the rider behind.
Getting closer to the half of the race, Bagnaia eventually did overtook Aleix and Rins with the help of Ducati´s top speed, Meanwhile Miller was on the chase of Rins, Joan Mir showed his bike and took his place, with this eventually causing an touch between Miller and Mir, causing them to lose positions on track. The first crash of the race saw Alex Marquez going to the ground.
As the Ducatis ahead couldn´t separate from the rest of the grid, 2 charging Yamahas were climbing positions on the standings, as Quartararo and Viñales were chasing the Ducatis ahead, with both riders getting even closer from the podium steps after Bagnaia went wide on turn 1 and rejoined behind the top 5. Fabio Quartararo was shining on track, as on the 3rd sector he made a move to pass Johann Zarco and closing the gap with Jorge Martin, as the Pramac bikes started to struggle on the technical sectors of the tracks.
Eventually, even with the straight advantage, Jorge couldn´t keep up with Fabio and lost the lead with the Yamaha bike, showing strong lap times against the competition, the French rider was on its way to his first win of the season, meanwhile Johan Zarco took 2nd place from Jorge Martin at the last sector, Rinshad also a late comeback with a late 4th place move on Viñales who closed the top 5 on this race.
Race Results:
1. Fabio Quartararo /// 2. Johann Zarco /// 3. Jorge Martin
4. Alex Rins /// 5. Maverick Viñales /// 6. Francesco Bagnaia
7. Joan Mir /// 8. Brad Binder /// 9. Jack Miller
10. Aleix Espargaro /// 11. Enea Bastianini /// 12. Franco Morbidelli
13. Pol Espargaro /// 14. Stefan Bradl /// 15. Miguel Oliveira
16. Valentino Rossi /// 17. Takaaki Nakagami ///18. Luca Marini
19. Danilo Petrucci /// 20. Lorenzo Savadori
DNF : Iker Lecuona, Alex Marquez

Great and exiting race that shows that both Yamaha and Ducatis as main candidates to beat on the Constructors champions, with Honda expecting to turn around, as Marc Marquez is expected to return to the track after almost a year of abscense. Johann Zarco will enter the 3rd round of the calendar as championship leader by just 4 points of both Yamahas of Quartararo and Viñales. Can he will able to keep the leader spot on the next race at Portugal? it will be answered on 2 weeks.