MotoGP

Lorenzo Begins Title Defence with Qatar Victory

1 Mins read

Jorge Lorenzo got his MotoGP championship defence off to an ominous start with a comfortable victory in Qatar. The Spaniard was involved in a five-way battle at the front before taking the lead shortly before half distance and ultimately easing away with Andrea Dovizioso beating Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi to second.

The theme of 2015 saw Lorenzo often take a first-lap lead before storming off into the distance but the phenomenal straight-line speed of the Ducatis ensured he couldn’t check out this time. Before the end of the opening lap, Andrea Iannone had breezed through into the lead while Dovizioso also used the horsepower of his Desmosedici GP to grab second on lap two.

Any Ducati masterplan began to fall apart on lap six as Dovizioso took the fight to Iannone, diving past into turn one. The younger of the two Italians snapped straight back to regain the lead but when Dovizioso edged ahead again at turn six, Iannone’s response was a high-speed crash at turn thirteen which eliminated him from the battle.

Lorenzo inherited second as a result and despite Marquez and Rossi shadowing him, the world champion had eyes only for the lead and under braking for turn four on lap nine, Jorge eased past Dovizioso to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish. Dovizioso came under further pressure in the latter stages but despite a last corner lunge from Marquez, the Ducati rider maintained second with Rossi a tenth of a second further back in fourth.

Dani Pedrosa won a race-long scrap with Maverick Vinales for fifth while Pol Espargaro outdragged Tech 3 teammate Bradley Smith on the run to the finish line to snatch seventh. Hector Barbera was ninth, three seconds clear of Scott Redding in tenth but Cal Crutchlow failed to register any points after crashing on lap seven.

 

2016 COMMERCIAL BANK GRAND PRIX OF QATAR (RACE RESULT)

[table id=861 /]

Avatar photo
5101 posts

About author
MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and WorldSBK writer for The Checkered Flag. Contact: [email protected]
Articles
Related posts
MotoGPNASCAR Cup Series

Trackhouse Racing Team entering MotoGP in 2024

1 Mins read
NASCAR Cup Series team Trackhouse Racing will become a MotoGP team in 2024 as they partner with Aprilia to field bikes for Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez.
DakarMotoGP

Marc Marquez shoots down running Dakar Rally on bike

3 Mins read
As much as MotoGP great Marc Márquez likes the Dakar Rally, he has no interest in racing it on a bike. While it has its own challenges, he did not necessarily rule out a run on four wheels.
MotoGPSportscars

MotoGP star Rossi announced as BMW M Motorsports driver for 2023

2 Mins read
BMW M Motorsport has announced the MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi as a works driver for 2023