Doha: The MotoGP season flags off in Qatar with fresh challenges and old rivalries as Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez square up again for the first time since last year’s toxic finale.
An aggrieved Rossi, now 37 and the oldest rider on the grid, decried a Spanish ‘stitch-up’ last November after accusing Honda’s Marquez of helping Jorge Lorenzo win his third MotoGP title for Yamaha.
Rossi, Lorenzo’s team-mate and title rival, finished fourth in that race in Valencia after being sent to the back of the grid for a clash with Marquez in the previous race in Malaysia.
Marquez, a double world champion and still only 23, has taken on the role of Rossi’s arch-enemy after the Italian accused him of acting like Lorenzo’s ‘bodyguard’ and not attempting to pass.
Rossi, who won under the Qatar floodlights in last year’s opener, is will be starting his 21st season in grand prix racing, hopes to be back on the podium at least on Sunday.
The big names on the start list at Doha’s Losail International track will also include the likes of Dani Pedrosa, Maverick Viñales, Pol Espargaro, Tito Rabat and Stefan Bradl.
The Peninsula
