Marc Márquez starts title defence with Qatar victory

MotoGP rules had been updated for the 2014 season, with its now-familiar starting point of the night race at Losail in Qatar. The champion Marc Márquez was coming into the event only a month after breaking his leg in the off-season, perhaps giving the advantage to his main rivals.

For two years, the second division of Motorcycle Grand Prix machinery has been the CRT class, with its production-based Superbike engines; but for 2014 the CRT division is gone. Instead, the manufacturers now have to make available customer versions of their prototypes machines for the Open class, with fewer restrictions, whilst the rules for the up-to-the-minute factory bikes have been tightened in the quest to close the gap for the non-works squads. Factory bikes will now be operated with the specification sealed, with only five engines allowed across the full season; and there is also a further reduction in fuel - down from 21 to 20 litres.

Open versions of the Yamaha M1 and the Ducati Desmosedici are available, whereas the Open class Honda is the RCV1000R, as distinct from the prototype RC213V. Other machines to be lined up for the Open class are the FTR/Forward Yamaha, the Avintia, the PBM and the ART/Aprilia. There are also changes on the rider front, involving the arrival of the top two in the Moto2 championship of 2013, 22-year-old Pol Espargaró and 21-year-old Scott Redding, as well as the former 125cc title winner Mike di Meglio (26). Also new to MotoGP is World Supersport contender Broc Parkes (32).

Despite promising signs in practice from some of the Open runners, especially for Aleix Espargaró on his NGM-backed Forward Yamaha, in qualifying the top eight were all on full prototype machines. Leading the way were two of the Honda riders, with Repsol-backed HRC man Márquez apparently physically fit enough as he took pole position, from Álvaro Bautistá on the GO&FUN Gresini bike. Team-mate to the champion, Dani Pedrosa was sixth for Repsol Honda, with Stefan Bradl one place behind him on the LCR team’s RCV.

The works Yamahas of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi were for this season backed by the MoviStar concern, but the M1 furthest up the grid was that of Tech 3 team leader Bradley Smith, with a best-yet third place. Jorge would start fifth, Valentino only tenth, with Bradley’s new partner Pol Espargaró in P12. The two works Ducatis completed the top eight, with reunited former Tech 3 team-mates Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow in fourth and eighth respectively.

Aleix Espargaró finished up ninth, with his team-mate Colin Edwards in P14. Following Rossi was Pramac Ducati rider Andrea Iannone, and from P13 onwards were the remainder of the Open group: Nicky Hayden and Hiroshi Aoyama (both Drive M7 Aspar Honda) either side of Edwards, and then Redding (Gresini Honda), Yonny Hernández (Pramac Ducati), Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Honda), Héctor Barberá (Avintia), Danilo Petrucci (IodaRacing ART), Parkes (Paul Bird Motorsport), di Meglio (Avintia) and Michael Laverty (also PBM).

Form guide: GP wins at Losail
Lorenzo 5; Rossi 3; Barberá, Bautistá, Bradl, P.Espargaró, Iannone & Márquez 1

For the race, the only leading rider to opt for the hard compound rear Bridgestone tyre was Márquez; and at the start he soon found himself back in fifth place. Smith was the man away in the lead, but he was quickly relegated by Lorenzo, aiming to pull away with his now-familiar immediate burst of pace. Márquez lost out on fourth place to Bradl, but the early shuffle saw Dovizioso pushed behind these two from an initial third place. Then it was Iannone, Pedrosa, Bautistá, Rossi and Aleix Espargaró.

Rossi made quick work of the two Honda riders ahead, moving his Yamaha into seventh, but this became sixth with the misfortune of his team-mate. Lorenzo was aiming to make a good start as he looked to take back the title from youngster Márquez, but the opposite happened. He was already pulling a gap over Bradl, Smith and the rest, but then Jorge lost the machine with a front slide when he got onto a white line whilst braking. That was his race done before it really got started, and it left the two customer team riders at the front.

Losail has a heavy-braking tight right-hander at the end of the main start-finish straight, which is often a good place for overtaking. Márquez used this corner to get past Smith for second at the start of lap two, with Bradl still leading and now Iannone passing the works Ducati of Dovizioso for fourth. Then it was Rossi, Pedrosa, Bautistá, Aleix Espargaró, Crutchlow, Hernández, Pol Espargaró, Hayden and Redding. Rossi was the next man to pass Dovizioso, moving up to fifth. Another early incident saw Iannone suffer a lowside crash at the final right-hander, with the Italian resuming at the back of the field.

Márquez set fastest lap as he raced on in second position, and there was plenty of action behind him. Rossi did not inherit fourth from Iannone, as he had been overtaken by Bautistá, who would soon set a new fastest lap. Crutchlow moved past Aleix Espargaró for eighth, with Hayden on the first of the Open class Hondas getting ahead of Hernández for P12. Redding was followed by Edwards, Aoyama, Abraham, Petrucci, Barberá, di Meglio, Parkes and Laverty, with the Ulsterman due to take a pitlane ride-through penalty for a jump start.

Bradl continued ahead of Márquez, with Bautistá moving up another place to third at the expense of Smith, using the slipstream and then braking on the inside for turn one. Rossi soon accomplished a similar move to push the Englishman back one more place. Pedrosa was in sixth, just a little bit detached from those ahead, but now ahead of Dovizioso, who headed Crutchlow and Aleix Espargaró. Another change at the front came when Márquez ran wide at turn one, with Bautistá taking over in second spot.

The race between Márquez and Bautistá continued as the Repsol man pulled ahead with the aid of a slipstream, but then could not keep in tight enough for the next corner, leaving a gap to be passed right back. Not long after this Álvaro made a mistake, losing control of the rear for a moment, recovering but with Márquez and Rossi having squeezed past. Valentino’s experience told as he swapped back and forth with the Gresini rider, who then went wide at turn sixteen and lost out to Smith, then to Pedrosa not long after.

Márquez was now able to turn his attentions on leader Bradl, attacking at turn one, but the next change happened when Marc was passed for second by Rossi. This became a battle for the lead when Bradl suffered a slide that meant he crashed out. Then Valentino passed the champion on the inside for a left-hander, with the 35-year-old Italian leading the race at half-distance. At that stage, Smith had been pushed back by first Pedrosa, at turn one, then Bautistá, who dived to the inside for a looping left-hander.

Therefore Rossi led Márquez and Pedrosa, with Bautistá closing in, and Smith just about hanging on. There was a gap back to sixth man Aleix Espargaró, now ahead of the Ducati pair, who were being tracked by the younger Espargaró. Márquez was in spectacular form, finally getting ahead of Rossi on the inside on the brakes for turn one. Valentino kept up the pressure, but the Yamaha didn’t seem fast enough in a straight line, which disadvantaged him as he tried moves at turn one.

The penultimate lap saw the pair in close combat, with Rossi getting past on the inside for a right-hander only to see Márquez squeeze through again on the inside for a subsequent left-hander. They swapped twice more, with the youngster responding and emerging to start the final lap as the leader. Valentino was not close enough to try anything at turn one, with the 21-year-old Honda man maintaining the advantage for his seventh MotoGP race victory. For Rossi it was his 148th podium result in the premier class.

Pedrosa had come under fire from Bautistá, with the 29-year-old getting past at the second attempt, at turn one, having previously given the place back when he went a bit wide at turn sixteen. Álvaro’s chances of achieving his third MotoGP podium result were ended with two laps to go in a lowside crash, something that had also befallen fifth man Smith at the left-handed turn two a few laps earlier. At much the same time, team-mate Pol Espargaró had been forced to pull in to the pits. At a track where he has never won, Pedrosa therefore completed the podium.

The attrition rate saw to it that Aleix Espargaró took fourth place on his Open class machine, ahead of Dovizioso. Crutchlow retained sixth, but dropping away at the finish with apparently marginal fuel. Seventh place at the flag went to first-timer Redding, having taken advantage of a wide moment from Hayden to defeat the former champion on equal machinery. Iannone had worked his way through the tail of the field to take tenth behind Edwards, these two followed home by Aoyama, Hernández, Abraham, Petrucci, Parkes, Laverty and di Meglio, with Barberá another non-finisher.

This race offered a trend of riders amongst the front-runners losing out with a series of crashes: there was Iannone from fourth; Bradl, the leader for several early laps; Smith from fifth; and Bautistá from third in the late stages. But perhaps none of these was as costly as the one suffered by Jorge Lorenzo on the first lap, compounded as his main championship rival Marc Márquez took the full 25 points. Like it had in 2013, this first race of the year showcased Valentino Rossi’s return to form after his spell with Ducati, except that this year there are signs that he is happier with the Yamaha and will be able to live with the pace-setting Spaniards perhaps for the whole season. There will be plenty of interest in watching the races this season.

Standings after one race: Márquez 25; Rossi 20; Pedrosa 16; A.Espargaró 13; Dovizioso 11; Crutchlow 10; Redding 9; Hayden 8; Edwards 7; Iannone 6 ·· Open leader: Espargaró.
Honda 25; Yamaha 20; Forward Yamaha 13; Ducati 11; ART 2; PBM 1.