By Joe Koraith
Doha


This must be how it feels like to be in a movie and not watching it. The drama through the weekend and then the drama during the race, all of it gave the patient crowd at the Losail International Circuit a Qatar Grand Prix that they will remember for a long, long time to come. 
Maverick Vinales rode a brilliant race to take his first-ever win for Yamaha. Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso who had the lead for quite some part of the race, and was involved in a nail-biting battle with Vinales came in second place. And grabbing a surprise third was Valentino Rossi. Yamaha got an unexpected two spots on the podium and they will be happy with their haul from the first MotoGP race of the season. 
Vinales took nearly 13 laps to get into the lead after he dropped to fifth place at the start of the race. But then converted the potential he had shown during the pre-season testing and practice sessions here in Qatar to grab a great victory. “It feels great! Honestly the track was so difficult. I was taking so much care at the start. The bike was great. I have to say thanks to the team. Even if the conditions were difficult we were there all the time. I’m so pleased to be with Yamaha,” said Vinales after producing a great first race for his new team Yamaha. For the pedants, the last rider to win a race on debut with his new team in MotoGP was Casey Stone in 2011 (with Repsol Honda). 
The Ducati of Dovizioso had the power down the straight and he was using that to his great advantage. And did have more than a half a dozen lead exchanges with Vinales during the last part of the race but couldn’t maintain the pace in the final two laps. “It was very difficult but we were quite smart to choose the soft tyre. We knew the race couldn’t be so fast. At the front I didn’t push because the tyre was too soft. At some points I tried to stay with Maverick until the end. I tried to overtake him on the last lap but he was too far. But I want to thank everyone. I’m happy. We’re there,” said the Italian yesterday.
Dovi’s compatriot Rossi was not someone who people, including the rider himself, would have predicted a podium place before the race. The MotoGP legend had started the race in 10th place but crashes ahead of him and a determined ride by the Doctor have him a valuable third place. “If I had to bet on me getting a podium in this race, I wouldn’t! We tried 3-4 settings this morning. I didn’t know what happened but I was feeling good on the bike. I hope we understand enough in this race to continue in this way,” said an elated Rossi after the race. 
But this was a race that almost didn’t happen. Just before the scheduled start of the race, there was a burst of rain. The organisers decided to delay the race by 30 minutes and reduced the number of laps from 22 to 21. The riders were then set out on sighting lap but during that lap many of them came back unhappy with the track condition. This followed a lengthy decision between the team managers and the organisers with MotoGP safety chief Loris Capirossi involved in the mix of it. Eventually, it was decided that there would be a 20-lap race. 
The race started and immediately there was drama. Within a few turns it was Tech3 Yamaha rider Johann Zarco who was in the lead. The class rookie had qualified in fourth place and stunned the field by taking the lead. And then he proceeded to increase his advantage. Chasing him was Honda rider Marc Marquez and Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone. 
But after having built up a lead of almost a second, the Frenchman crashed in the seventh lap. Doviziso had moved into second place by then and he now had the lead. The Ducati rider then put some distance between him and the rest of the chasing pack. Iannone and Marquez were involved in a feisty battle for second but then the Italian crashed out in the 11th lap, looking to pressurise the Spaniard. Vinales and Rossi were moving up the order and soon they were chasing Dovi for the lead. Rossi couldn’t maintain the pace and had to be contend with a third. Though he would be extremely happy with this result.
Defending world champion Marquez, having started in third place eventually finished fourth with his Honda team-mate in fifth. Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro finished a brilliant sixth having battled with Pedrosa through the last part of the race. 
It was a weekend that will be remembered for many reasons but it will be exciting race memories that will linger on. And as if to cap the weekend, the rain came down heavily during the podium ceremony. End scene of the movie…

Results
1. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Yamaha) 38:59.999
2. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Ducati) at 0.461 
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 1.928
4. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 6.745
5. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 7.128
6. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia) 7.661 
7. Scott Redding (Ducati Pramac) 9.782
8. Jack Miller (AUS/Honda Marc VDS) 14.486
9. Alex Rins (ESP/Suzuki) 14.788
10. Jonas Folger (GER/Yamaha Tech3) 15.069
11. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Ducati) 20.516
12. Loris Baz (FRA/Ducati Avintia) 21.255 
13. Hector Barbera (ESP/Ducati Avintia) 28.828
14. Karel Abraham (CZE/Ducati) 29.123
15. Tito Rabat (ESP/Honda Marc VDS) 29.470




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