MotoGP in Qatar


18.03.2018
The opening-round of the MotoGP-season 2018 in Qatar at the Losail International Circuit was a really exciting race. Andrea Dovizioso started from the fifth place in the second row. Jorge Lorenzo started from the ninth place in the third row. After Johann Zarco, who started from the pole position, led until five rounds before end, Andre Dovizioso could overtake him. Dovizioso managed it to defense his leadership in a thrilling finish against Marc Marquez. It was a super start of the new MotoGP-season.

Jorge Lorenzo managed it to get up to the tenth place in round 12 and crashed a round later because of problems with the front brake.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1st
“I’m really happy with this win because we have confirmed the improvements made over the winter and I was able to manage the race well, even though I made a really bad start. On the first lap I had to come off the gas, otherwise I would have crashed into Rins I think, but then I began to make up places, trying not to ruin the tyres.. Towards the end, after passing Zarco, I tried to pull out a gap on Marquez and Rossi but I didn’t have any more grip and was unable to increase my lead. At the last curve I had to be very careful because I knew that Marquez would try and pass me, and that’s how it went. He closed the door on me even more than in Austria and Japan, but I passed him on the inside of the kerb and then took advantage of the power of my Desmosedici to stay ahead. Once again it was a great satisfaction!”

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – DNF
“It wasn’t one of the best weekends for me. I had a lot of problems and my crash was the result of a problem with the front brakes. Already on lap 2 I realized that something wasn’t right and I tried to manage the situation, but the problem was getting worse. I thought it was an overheating problem, but when I was about to catch Iannone I wasn’t able to stop the bike and I tipped myself off to avoid worse damage. Now we have to understand what exactly happened to prevent the same problem from repeating itself in the future. It’s a pity because I was lapping with good times and I think I could have got closer to the leading group.”

Claudio Domenicali (CEO of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.)
“It was a fantastic race! MotoGP is getting better and better because there are a lot of really competitive riders, but here at Losail our bike was in great shape and was really fast. Andrea rode so well, despite a bit of a difficult start, and by now he’s demonstrating he has an extraordinary racing maturity and great confidence in his bike, which allowed him to manage the race perfectly. Marquez and Rossi were also great today, but DesmoDovi had just that little bit more. Pity about Jorge, who was recovering well when unfortunately he crashed. This is the first round of the 2018 championship and I want to dedicate this victory to all the guys in Ducati and Ducati Corse and thank them for their commitment which has enabled us to produce this Desmosedici GP18, which already seems to be in excellent form!”


Gallery:



Race results

Pos.Nr.DriverTeamBikeTime
1 4 A. Dovizioso 42:34.654
2 93 M. Marquez + 00:00.027
3 46 V. Rossi + 00:00.797
4 35 C. Crutchlow + 00:02.881
5 9 D. Petrucci + 00:03.821
6 25 M. Viñales + 00:03.888
7 26 D. Pedrosa + 00:04.621
8 5 J. Zarco + 00:07.112
9 29 A. Iannone + 00:12.957
10 43 J. Miller + 00:14.594
11 53 T. Rabat + 00:15.181
12 21 F. Morbidelli + 00:16.274
13 19 A. Bautista + 00:19.788
14 55 H. Syahrin + 00:20.299
15 17 K. Abraham + 00:23.287
16 12 T. Luthi + 00:24.189
17 30 T. Nakagami + 00:24.554
18 38 B. Smith + 00:31.704
19 41 A. Espargaro + 00:34.712
20 45 S. Redding + 00:37.641
21 10 X. Simeon + 00:46.706
DNF 44 P. Espargaro 7 Laps
DNF 42 A. Rins 10 Laps
DNF 99 J. Lorenzo 10 Laps

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