3. Valentino Rossi (MotoGP)
Make no mistake about it, Yamaha have had a rotten winter and through much of free practice it looked as though their troubles would continue in Qatar. The 2014 Bridgestone tyres simply do not provide the edge grip Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo need to carry the desired corner speed and qualifying did little to allay their fears, Lorenzo qualifying fifth and Rossi tenth. Race day brought some welcome good news for Yamaha as Lorenzo rampaged into an early lead but the Spaniard fell before completing a lap, leaving Rossi to fly the Movistar Yamaha flag.
The Doctor did just that, climbing to third by lap seven and when Stefan Bradl crashed out of the lead, Valentino hit the front with an opportunistic move on Marc Marquez. The stage was then set for a battle between MotoGP’s past, present and future and Rossi proved there was plenty of life in the old dog yet by pushing Marquez to the limit.
Valentino made his move two laps from the finish with a dive up the inside of turn four but a couple of corners later, Marc responded to regain the lead. The next overtaking chance came at turn ten and Rossi wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity but on this occasion he carried slightly too much speed and Marquez sneaked through again. The lost momentum would prove decisive as Marquez held on for the remaining lap and a half but even in defeat, Rossi’s ride was worth more than just 20 points.
After a winter surrounded by question marks after the unsavoury parting with Jeremy Burgess, Qatar brought validation that Rossi’s call was correct at this stage of his career. A new right-hand man seems to have brought new motivation and 2014 may yet go on to be an Indian summer in Rossi’s glittering career.
(Photo Credit: Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
