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2021 Qatar MotoGP Race Result: The Stars Aligned

By Zara Daniela | Sun, 28/03/2021 - 18:26

A cooler, windier, dustier Qatar set the stage for the first premier class race of the 2021 season and the tiny crowd in attendance witnessed a reversal of fortunes over the course of the 22 laps. In the end there was no disputing that Maverick Vinales was the strongest man on track, the Yamaha man slaying the Ducatis one by one on his way to victory. Back in the red camp, Johann Zarco was the top Ducati and scored second place on his first race for Pramac, while poleman Pecco Bagnaia did not know if he would be stepping onto the podium until he saw the finish line ahead of the reigning world champion.

Quite predictably, the launch off the line was Ducati’s crowning glory, turn 1 seeing four Ducatis take control of proceedings, with poleman Bagnaia ahead of Jack Miller and Zarco, plus the added bonus of rookie Jorge Martin, who flew from 14th grid position into fourth place. Fabio Quartararo, Vinales and Valentino Rossi lagged behind, while Franco Morbidelli strangely dropped out of the top 15 altogether. Aleix Espargaro and the two Suzukis kept close and were looking to spoil the Ducati-Yamaha party.

Back ahead, Bagnaia pushed on the first lap and stretched a little bit of a gap over his colleagues led by Zarco but the Ducati reign would soon start to crumble. The first of the Ducatis to fall victim to the factory Yamahas was Martin on lap 3 but the remaining red machines would be a bigger challenge. Meanwhile, the Suzukis ganged up on Rossi and had Martin next in their sights but the rocket Ducati kept the Spaniard ahead of the challengers for long enough that the leaders were over one second ahead by the time Rins made a move stick on lap 5. Mir took a little longer but soon joined his teammate’s pursuit.

Presumably worried about tyre wear, Bagnaia did not show the pace he impressed with in practice and it allowed Zarco to edge closer in the next few laps. Right behind them, Quartararo pulled a move on Miller at turn 15 at the end of lap 6 and Maverick followed his example two laps later. The Yamahas looked on a mission to pick up the Ducatis one by one and their next target was Zarco, only four tenths ahead. Miller bided his time and tagged to the back of the Yamaha duo but was soon threatened from behind by Rins. Mir seemed to drop a second on his teammate by lap 9, keeping busy with Aleix Espargaro, Martin, Miguel Oliveira, Rossi and Pol Espargaro.

By lap 10, the leading groups had nearly merged together and Vinales took control of the chase from his teammate, immediately reeling in the two red liveried leaders. However, Quartararo seemed to struggle to keep his teammate’s rear wheel and Miller pounced the next time around turn 1. While Quartararo got pushed back another place by Rins, Vinales demoted Zarco from second position and almost immediately showed his intentions to Bagnaia.

The wind seemed to aid Yamaha’s cause by taming the leading Ducati along the straight but Bagnaia kept calm and did not make any mistakes. Vinales showed his nose here and there and the pace and shenanigans at the front allowed Mir and Aleix Espargaro to close in on the group. Vinales looked extra keen to rub some red paint on his blue fairing and finally took the lead with a move at turn 10 with 8 laps to go and immediately pushed for a gap. While all eyes were on the battle for the lead, the Suzukis were making progress through the group, Rins threatening Zarco for a podium position and Mir finding a way past Miller for fifth with 7 laps left.

Vinales’s plan worked a treat and the Spaniard quickly stretched a half second gap, aided by Zarco’s move on Bagnaia into turn one with 6 laps remaining. The poleman did not get to retaliate because there were two Suzukis breathing down his neck and he lost over a second on the victory fight over the next lap. With five laps remaining, Zarco too struggled to keep up with Vinales and dropped one second back, while Bagnaia was trying to defend the final podium spot from the reigning world champion, Mir quickly gapping his teammate after overtaking him with 5 laps left. Mir made his move on the Italian with 3 laps to go and the other Ducati was not out of reach either, only half a second ahead.

While Vinales sailed to the checkered flag unperturbed, Zarco had a Suzuki sonata in his ears until the final lap, with Bagnaia waiting to pick up the crumbs. Mir eventually made his move on Zarco at turn 15 but went a little wide at the final turn and stood no chance against the two Ducatis on the finish straight, getting mugged by both Zarco and Bagnaia to the line. Almost two seconds later, Quartararo took fifth, ahead of Rins and a solid seventh for Aleix Espargaro. Brother Pol managed eighth place on his debut for Honda, while Miller faded all the way to ninth and Enea Bastianini claimed top rookie and joined the top ten ahead of the likes of Stefan Bradl and Valentino Rossi.

Taking the first victory of the season – particularly the way in which he did so – reaffirms Vinales as a title contender, but the Ducatis together with the reigning world champion will be confident in their ability to recover ground next week.

Results:

Pos. Num. Rider Bike Gap
1 12 Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha 42'28.663
2 5 Johann ZARCO Ducati +1.092
3 63 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati +1.129
4 36 Joan MIR Suzuki +1.222
5 20 Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha +3.030
6 42 Alex RINS Suzuki +3.357
7 41 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia +5.934
8 44 Pol ESPARGARO Honda +5.990
9 43 Jack MILLER Ducati +7.058
10 23 Enea BASTIANINI Ducati +9.288
11 6 Stefan BRADL Honda +10.299
12 46 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha +10.742
13 88 Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM +11.457
14 33 Brad BINDER KTM +14.100
15 89 Jorge MARTIN Ducati +16.422
16 10 Luca MARINI Ducati +20.916
17 27 Iker LECUONA KTM +21.026
18 21 Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha +23.892
19 32 Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia +46.346
    Not Classified    
  73 Alex MARQUEZ Honda 9 Laps
  30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda 16 Laps
    Not Finished 1st Lap    
  9 Danilo PETRUCCI KTM 0 Lap
2021
1
MotoGP
Losail, Qatar
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Comments

Zomby Woof

1 year 10 months ago

Permalink

What a fantastic race!

What a fantastic race!

So many kept it upright till the finish line. That was an excellent performance.

Pecco kept his cool and Mir had to have a go for the podium and they didn't bin it.

Zarco made a solid statement about why he belongs to the series.

Bastianini has kept it together and made it to the top ten. He is learning very fast that Ducati.

Maverick looks convincingly confident. He didn't run away with it. He climbed to the top and took the win in a dominant fashion. I am very happy for him, it must feel great.

Also the Espargaro brothers didn't disappoint.

I found this race a perfect start of the season and I am looking forward to the next one :)

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Steve Reddy

Profile picture for user Apical
Australia
DUCATI

996 Strada

Apical

1 year 10 months ago

Permalink

Congratulations Winner!

Wow! Well done Maverick Viñales! I didn't se that coming. So good to see great racing again. Tough race for the other Yamahas, Franky M had a technical problem, V.R.46 was pushed wide by a KTM. Once that door was opened 5 bikes went past the goat. Quartararo couldn't match the pace of Mav & was caught by the Suzukis. Yamahas' race was "good in parts".

Bravo Zarco & Pecco! The other Ducatis? Jack Miller found a reverse in his seamless gearbox and went backwards from 3rd early on? Wrong tire choice or what. Perhaps I gave him the kiss of death by hoping for too much. Miller's 9th was a disappointment, Enea Bastianini's tenth was a great result for his first MotGp race. Jorge Martin also good in the race & took a point.

Suzuki need to qualify better, one row closer to the front & they may have had a podium. M1R was soo close, but a small mistake in the final curve cost J.M.36 the bubbly.

Forza Aprilia!! 7th for Aleix Espargaro is a very good result for the other Italian team. Maybe Dovizioso will want to ride the RS-GP. Savadori, lets give him a bit more time to get up to warp-speed. He isn't slow.

My "technical problem" involved my alarm clock, slept in, missed the start & the first lap. I plan to make a better job of it next weekend. Qatar 2 the Grand Prix of Doha may be even more exciting.

 

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Ibis117

1 year 10 months ago

Permalink

In reply to Congratulations Winner! by Apical

The start

is worth a watch. Just the bit down to turn one. Stunning.

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Lilyvani

1 year 10 months ago

Permalink

2020 Redux

Great race, you can only feel for Mir. It's good that we have this mixture of bike strengths, makes the racing much less predictable. And it looks like we could have another year like last year, where it's anyone's guess who'll do well on the day.

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grumpy ol' expat

1 year 10 months ago

Permalink

I so enjoyed that

Thank Dog the season has started , it's been a long cold winter 

 

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LAH

1 year 10 months ago

Permalink

testing, testing

vinales sez that crutchlow was an immense help during testing.

cudos to mav for giving props to their test rider. this seems to be a theme of late; sylvain, dani, now cal. this makes me wonder, even more, why ducati seemed to dismiss casey's input...seriously bad decision.

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spongedaddy

1 year 10 months ago

Permalink

In reply to testing, testing by LAH

Casey created art through racing a

Casey created art through racing a motorcycle. It can be difficult to understand a genius and near impossible to duplicate the method of how an artist creates. Dovizioso had to admit he couldn't ride the way Casey rode a motorcycle. So did Rossi. So how would engineers be able to interpret his advice? 

It is my guess that Casey focused intently on the end result and allowed his true nature to use his unique vehicle, the body and mind, to express itself to the best of its abilities. Were Dovizioso and Rossi to do the same, and they probably do, their unique vehicles will/would express themselves in their own way.

That's why riders want to steer the direction of the bike's development towards what feels the most natural for them.

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St. Stephen

1 year 10 months ago

Permalink

The entire field was separated by 23 seconds

...except for Savadori, who was another 23 seconds behind the next-to-last rider in front of him (FM21 with a technical issue, apparently). Hoping to see Dovi next week, test or no test.

Excellent race.

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The old site was great!

TRIUMPH

Not happy - why have this area so big on the left here? Then the comment area stacked so thin on the right? It was so much better before. NOT HAPPY. And DISCORD?! Not sticking around.

Motoshrink

1 year 10 months ago

Permalink

Onboard visceral yum

If you haven't, trust me and take 3 mins to enjoy onboard footage from Qatar 1 focused on the start. SO good! Sound up.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pb3noEOQSfw&t=14s

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