2017 Grand Prix of Qatar Race Results

Grand Prix of Qatar Race Results
Maverick VIÑALES (25) Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA
Andrea DOVIZIOSO (4) Ducati Team DUCATI
Valentino ROSSI (46) Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA
Marc MARQUEZ (93), Repsol Honda Team HONDA
Dani PEDROSA (26) Repsol Honda Team HONDA
Aleix ESPARGARO (41) Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA
Scott REDDING (45) Octo Pramac Racing DUCATI
Jack MILLER (43) Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA
Alex RINS (42) Team Suzuki Ecstar SUZUKI
Jonas FOLGER (94) Movistar Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA
Jorge LORENZO (99) Ducati Team DUCATI
Loris BAZ (76) Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI
Hector BARBERA (8) Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI
Karel ABRAHAM (17) Pull&Bear Aspar Team DUCATI
Tito RABAT (53) Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA
Pol ESPARGARO (44) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
Bradley SMITH (38) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
Sam LOWES (22) Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA
Not Classified
Danilo PETRUCCI (9) OCTO Pramac Racing DUCATI
Andrea IANNONE (29) Team Suzuki Ecstar SUZUKI
Alvaro BAUTISTA (19) Pull&Bear Aspar Team DUCATI
Johann ZARCO (5) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA
Cal CRUTCHLOW (35) LCR Honda HONDA

MotoGP was against the ropes on Sunday night in Qatar. Desert rain had come and gone. And come again. Delays brought jeers from spectators seated along the front straightaway. Officials, riders, and team managers engaged in heated discussions—some visible, others behind closed doors. Michelin men exchanged grim looks. Finally, a decision: two sighting laps, an abbreviated starting procedure, 20 race laps.

Race direction made the right call. Class newcomer Johann Zarco led the first quarter of the race from the second row but slipped off his Tech3 Yamaha with a 1.7-second cushion, handing the top spot to Andrea Dovizioso. The factory Ducati rider had just passed Marc Marquez, who swapped his preferred hard-compound front tire for a medium, a decision that cost the Repsol Honda ace a podium finish.

From there, Dovizioso had his hands full with polesitter Maverick Viñales, who appeared to ease into his Movistar Yamaha debut. "First lap, I was taking a lot of care," the 22-year-old Spaniard said after the race. Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi was picking his way through the field after starting 10th. "We never gave up," the seemingly evergreen Rossi proclaimed after pulling off his helmet.

In reality, Viñales almost didn’t survive the first corner. “I arrived second and Zarco appeared,” he said. “I needed to pick up the bike. If not, we crash. Then, he overtook Marc and Dovi [and new Suzuki hire Andrea Iannone]. The track was slippery. I couldn’t make my speed in the corners, and it was difficult to turn the bike. I even went out of the track one time in a fast corner. The early laps were quite difficult.

“Then, I said, ‘Okay, you have a good rhythm. You have to concentrate.’ Step by step, I recovered my confidence. Finally, when I arrived to Marc, I said, ‘Now it is time to push, try to catch Dovi, and see what happens. We had a great battle. I knew if I didn’t pull a little bit, Dovi was going to pass me on the straights. I was just trying to be smooth, setting my best laps at the end, and finally we did it. It’s so great—like being in a dream.”

Dovizioso likewise made a tire swap before the start of the shortened race, opting for a medium front and a soft rear. “The gamble we took was right,” he said. “We had good speed before the race, but we couldn’t finish the race with Maverick; he had a different pace. Also, there was a lot of humidity and we thought the race would be slower. If you don’t push really hard, you are able to save the tire.

“I tried to be consistent but not use the potential of the rear tire. In the last five laps, the tire dropped too much. In the right corners, I couldn’t be fast like Maverick, but I had different corners where I was faster. I tried everything, but he saw my negative points. He overtook me in the right place the lap before the last and did a small gap. It was the right strategy.” Dovizioso has finished second the past three years at the Losail International Circuit.

Rossi wore a wall-to-wall smile at the post-race press conference. “To start the season with a podium is always great,” he said. The nine-time world champion went on to reiterate that he had not felt comfortable on the new Yamaha M1 beginning with the first test last November. “Something changed from Thursday to Friday,” he admitted. “On Thursday, I still had the same problem during all of the tests. It was very frustrating.

“But Friday was better. I continued to go quite slow, but I started to improve. From that moment, I was optimistic to arrive in the first five. But on Saturday, we don’t make nothing [FP4 and qualifying were cancelled], and the warm-up was very difficult. The conditions for the race were better for me. We changed the bike, I did a great start, and I didn’t crash in the first corner when the ‘train’ came to me.”

Keeping Viñales in sight throughout the race was an important first step for Rossi. “That never happened in the tests,” he said. “At the end, I hoped that Dovi was more in trouble with the soft rear, but I was also in trouble with the front.” Rossi further admitted that he was not willing to risk a podium finish for the possibility of falling while chasing an unlikely victory.

Jorge Lorenzo was never a factor in the race, finishing outside the top 10 in his Ducati debut. All three of the podium finishers were quick to give the five-time world champion his due. “There are many races,” Viñales said. “When Lorenzo is motivated and on his pace, it is difficult to beat him. This is just the first race.” Added Dovizioso, “He has two years in front of him. He has time to change what happened today.”

Rossi delivered arguably the highest endorsement of all, particularly given his prickly history with Lorenzo, with whom he “shared” a garage for seven seasons at Yamaha before the Mallorcan signed last year with Ducati. “Everybody is sure that Lorenzo is a great rider,” Rossi said. “He is one of the best, and he has a great talent, so I think he can improve through the season.”

The trio also praised Zarco. “He was really fast,” Viñales said. “When I was behind him, I said, ‘Who is this, Jorge or Zarco?’ He was pulling so much. He did the fastest lap of the race.” Added Dovizioso, “For sure, he will be fast in the future, but maybe he pushed too much in that time of the race. Rossi echoed the others. “I think it is a mistake of inexperience—difficult conditions. But anyway, a great performance.”

As Viñales, Dovizioso, and Rossi celebrated on the podium, chasing each other with the energy of schoolchildren, the sky opened, completely soaking the circuit. Rossi later admitted the world championship had dodged a bullet. “I think that this time the organization was very, very lucky to have three races, especially MotoGP,” he said. A fitting end to a crazy weekend, indeed.