MotoGP Grand Prix of Qatar: Viñales succeeds in his first meeting with Yamaha
Maverick Viñales becomes the tenth youngest rider in history to win in the premier class with two different manufacturers: on the Suzuki GSX-RR in 2016 at Silverstone (Great Britain) and on the Yamaha YZR-M1 from the race of opening 2017 in Losail. All while passing through the drops of this very nerve-racking MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix. Report and rankings.
A crazy race! The first round of the MotoGP 2017 season will go down in history for its completely unexpected turns and events. It all started with a small downpour of rain that fell just before the start of the premier class, which caused a postponement of the start and several questions….
- MNC Live : The race delayed because of the rain !
- MNC Live :
- MNC Live :
The race direction having noticed the day before that it was not possible to compete in the Grand Prix in the rain for lack of adequate drainage, many were already afraid of an outright cancellation of the race or its postponement to the next day, as in 2009. Finally, the competition took precedence over the weather and the start could be given for a race shortened to 20 laps. In these half-grip and half-right conditions, Johann Zarco put himself forward superbly by taking control in front of all the cracks on his Yamaha Tech3! The French debutant will even forge a 1.7 sec lead over Marquez, Dovizioso, Iannone, Viñales and Rossi, while Lorenzo misses himself in the first corners and starts again in the last positions. But the double Moto2 world champion asks too much of his M1 and falls after six laps led briskly, losing the front in a left…
- MNC Live : Zarco out, Viñales to victory
Dovizioso then regains the lead ahead of Marquez, whom he has just overtaken. Meanwhile, Viñales seems to be looking for his marks and loses the asp on the leading group. Rossi – one of the cameras hanging on the back of his M1! – at that moment takes the hull of his teammate in his sights, while Crutchlow goes twice to the mat on his Honda LCR, followed by Bautista on his Ducati Aspar. Marquez was attacked and passed by Iannone, very comfortable on his Suzuki 12 laps from the finish. The defending champion does not let it be fooled and replies a few turns further: these overtaking benefits Dovizioso, who takes a little air in first place. Then it was Andrea Iannone’s turn to fall. Viñales and Rossi, the two Yamaha Boys, took the opportunity to overtake a Marquez in small form and quickly come back in the wake of the leader, Andrea Dovizioso. "Mack" went on the offensive with six laps to go: he doubled a first time "Dovi" to take the lead, but the Italian replied thanks to the power of the Ducati V4. The two men passed each other on numerous occasions, but Viñales put all his energy to win and ended up forging a sufficient lead over the Ducati to win his first race in the Yamaha colors ahead of Dovizioso and Rossi..
- MNC Live : Viñales in front of Dovizioso and Rossi
Fourth, Marc Marquez passes under the checkered flag completely unhooked behind the leading trio: the Spaniard is 3.5 seconds behind with three laps to go. The reigning world champion finished ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Aleix Espargaro, very convincing for his first on Aprilia. Redding, Miller, Rins and Folger round out the Top 10 as Jorge Lorenzo finishes a modest 11th position for his first outing on Ducati.
A very positive result for the first race of 2017 !
In the end, we will remember the flamboyance of Johann Zarco during the first laps, the ability of Viñales to deal with his favorite costume and the stainless Rossi, who climbed on the podium despite an offseason and down tests. Ducati’s good form is also a pleasure to see, even if Qatar is a track that traditionally succeeds at the Desmosidici. Too bad Lorenzo was not shown to be able to take advantage of it … "I didn’t hurt myself, only my heart and my head," says Johann Zarco after the race, explaining that he wanted to "play my card". "It was fabulous to be in front, but I made a small deviation from the trajectory and in these conditions it was not allowed". Of course, finishing on the ground is never the ideal, but what a start for the French rookie: even the winner Maverick Viñales was stunned by his pace: "but how did he do it? Bravo to him!", Sportingly commented the official Yamaha. We will remember this start in Qatar !
Results and classification of the MotoGP Grand Prix of Qatar 2017
- Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA 25
- Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA 20
- Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 16
- Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 13
- Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA 11
- Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 10
- Scott REDDING Ducati GBR 9
- Jack MILLER Honda AUS 8
- Alex RINS Suzuki SPA 7
- Jonas FOLGER Yamaha GER 6
- Jorge LORENZO Ducati SPA 5
- Loris BAZ Ducati FRA 4
- Hector BARBERA Ducati SPA 3
- Karel ABRAHAM Ducati CZE 2
- Tito RABAT Honda SPA 1
- Pol ESPARGARO KTM SPA
- Bradley SMITH KTM GBR
- Sam LOWES Aprilia GBR
Not classified
- Danilo PETRUCCI ITA
- Andrea IANNONE ITA
- Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA
- Johann ZARCO ENG
- Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR
Provisional classification of the 2017 MotoGP World Championship
- Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA 25 points
- Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA 20 points
- Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 16 points
- Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA 13 points
- Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA 11 points
- Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 10 points
- Scott REDDING Ducati GBR 9 points
- Jack MILLER Honda AUS 8 points
- Alex RINS Suzuki SPA 7 points
- Jonas FOLGER Yamaha GER 6 points
- Jorge LORENZO Ducati SPA 5 points
- Loris BAZ Ducati FRA 4 points
- Hector BARBERA Ducati SPA 3 points
- Karel ABRAHAM Ducati CZE 2 points
- Tito RABAT Honda SPA 1 point
- Pol ESPARGARO KTM SPA
- Bradley SMITH KTM GBR
- Sam LOWES Aprilia GBR
- Danilo PETRUCCI ITA
- Andrea IANNONE ITA
- Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA
- Johann ZARCO ENG
- Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR
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