A familiar sight was delivered by Casey Stoner as he kicked off the MotoGP season with a commanding win under the floodlights in Qatar.
Now, the 2007 world champion has successfully secured the first race of the year at the Losail circuit in four of the past five years, marking a victorious debut ride for the Repsol Honda team.
Defending champion Jorge Lorenzo trailed 3.440 seconds behind in second place, with Stoner’s teammate Dani Pedrosa completing the top three. Fourth place went to third factory Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso, just ahead of fellow Italian Marco Simoncelli.
Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi finished in seventh place during his first race for Ducati, while British newcomer Cal Crutchlow finished a commendable 11th in his initial race after moving up from the World Superbike Championship.
Stoner remarked: “After a fantastic pre-season, we approached this race weekend and everything continued to improve for us. Dani came past, and I decided to follow him to identify his strengths and my weaknesses.
“As I began to feel more secure with the bike, gaining grip and maneuverability, we opted to push ahead and seize the opportunity. The bike was exceptional, just as it had been throughout all the sessions, and I’m extremely proud to have achieved my first win in the opening race. It’s a brilliant way to commence the season.”
From his third position, Lorenzo made an excellent start, leading at the end of the first lap, but pole-sitter Stoner quickly dived back in to regain the lead.
The impressive straight-line speed of the Honda allowed Pedrosa to surge past Lorenzo into second place at the conclusion of lap two, and soon he was all over Stoner’s back. Pedrosa executed a daring maneuver to take the lead at turn one as lap five commenced, while Lorenzo kept Dovizioso at bay in fourth.
Simoncelli then passed Dovizioso as Stoner shadowed Pedrosa, who could not pull away.
As anticipated, Rossi struggled for pace, going head-to-head with Ben Spies until Stoner regained the lead at the race’s halfway point. This time, the Australian was able to pull away with eight laps to go while Lorenzo battled his way into second.
