Francesco Bagnaia (centre) celebrates with team members after winning the Qatar MotoGP at the Lusail International Circuit, yesterday.
Experts say if you have to win the MotoGP Grand Prix you have to be perfect.
The reigning double world champion Francesco Bagnaia precisely did the same as he delivered a flawless performance to start his title defence with an emphatic victory in the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar.
As Brad Binder would describe the Ducati rider later, Bagnaia was “unreal” as he made impossible for his rivals to beat him under floodlights in the season-opening race at the Lusail International Circuit.
Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez also grabbed the spotlight finishing at an impressive fourth position on his Ducati debut.
Francesco Bagnaia celebrates with the trophy during the podium ceremony.
Last night, Bagnaia made a storming start from fifth off the grid, snatching an immediate lead from Sprint winner and pole-sitter Jorge Martin after Turn 4.
The 22-lap race was reduced by one lap due to a delay after Spain’s Raul Fernandez had mechanical issue on his Trackhouse Aprilia.
After taking the lead, Bagnaia never looked back and remained dominant, building a lead of more than a second over the chasing pack by the 11th lap.
KTM’s Binder, who outpaced Martin after a long battle, put pressure on Bagnaia and at one stage the South African cut his lead to less than a second but the world champion held firm to score his first victory and take lead in the title race.
“We knew our potential, we tried to do our maximum yesterday, but changed the set up - today was totally different,” said Bagnaia, who finished fourth in the Sprint on Saturday.
“I just tried to be a bit more aggressive and I knew if I was leading in the first laps that my potential was good enough to manage a gap. The sprint yesterday was a good lesson to change a bit the approach to have performance with the new bike,” he said.
“I have to say thanks to my team because from yesterday evening to this morning we worked a lot to improve a bit the setting for the race. Overall, it was the perfect start to the season.”
Binder, after overtaking Martin in the 11th lap, capped off his outstanding week finishing second after claiming runner-up spot in the Sprint.
“We knew it was going to be tough to get to the end. I tried to get so close to ‘Pecco’ (Bagnaia) but he did an unreal job, he didn’t make one mistake,” said Binder.
Martin claimed third position as he picked up pace in the final two laps to finish ahead of Marquez.
“A win yesterday and P3 today, I’ve taken a lot of points over the weekend so I’m pleased,” said the Pramac Racing rider, the runner-up of last year’s championship.
Marquez though missed the podium finish, he enjoyed a bright start with Ducati’s satellite Gresini bike, also finishing fifth in the Sprint.
The Spaniard said he preferred a fourth finish rather than crashing after struggling with the front tyre.
“I did my attack in the last eight laps, and when I did the attack it was when I started to push more with the front and I finished the front tyre, and the last two laps I gave up because I saw the chance to crash and the chance to take two more points, three more points… I preferred to finish fourth and wait for two weeks in Portimao,” he said.
Ducati’s Enea Bastianini prevailed in a fight with Gresini’s Alex Marquez to claim fifth position with the latter ending up on sixth spot. In his MotoGP debut, Tech3 GasGas’s Pedro Acosta was among the riders in the leading pack at one stage but he took a wide turn in the 14th lap, eventually finishing ninth behind defending Qatar GP champion Fabio di Giannantonio and Aleix Espargaro.
Maverick Vinales rounded up the top 10 with Fabio Quartararo securing 11th-place.
Second-placed Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Brad Binder (left) and third-placed Prima Pramac Racing Spanish rider Jorge Martin celebrate with their trophies. AFP
Bagnaia holds two-point championship lead over Binder after tallying 31 points at Lusail while Martin is third with 28 points. The riders will now move to Portimao for the Portuguese Grand Prix scheduled to take place from March 22 to 24.
Moto2 winner, SpeedUp Racing’s Spanish rider Alonso Lopez
Meanwhile, Alonso Lopez of the Sync SpeedUp team claimed victory in the final race of the Moto2. Clocking in at a total time of 35 minutes and 45.595 seconds, Lopez clinched the win by a narrow margin of 0.055 seconds against Barry Baltus from RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP, who secured second place. Following closely behind, Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets - MSI) secured third place with a total time of 35 minutes and 46.337 seconds.
Moto3 winner, CFMoto Aspar Team's Colombian rider David Alonso on the podium. AFP
Moving to the Moto3 category, David Alonso of CFMOTO Aspar Team emerged victorious with an incredibly tight margin of 0.041 seconds against Daniel Holgado from Red Bull GASGAS Tech3, completing the race in 33 minutes and 19.819 seconds. Taking the third position, with a gap of 0.143 seconds, was Taiyo Furusato from Honda Team Asia, with a time of 33 minutes and 19.921 seconds.
Asia Talent Cup: Ramadhipa takes maiden win in close-finish classic
Young Indonesian rider Kiandra Ramadhipa yesterday secured the victory of the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup race 2 at the Lusail International Circuit. The Indonesian fended off Race 1 winner Zen Mitani, Riichi Takahira and Kiattisak Singhapong in a four-way fight for the win. After the first two races of the season, Mitani leads the way in the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup standings on 45 points, seven clear of Ramadhipa. Takahira’s two podiums put him nine points adrift as the Championship moves to the Grand Prix of India for Round 2.
