MotoGP: Qatar Debrief

Andrea Dovizioso – Master Tactician

It was a true demonstration for controlling a race. Dovizioso knew exactly the pace he needed to set to win the race, taking into account the unusually cold track temperatures, and rode accordingly . No matter what his rivals threw at him, you always felt the Mission-Winnow Ducati man would have enough in hand to respond – although he’ll be the first to admit that a winning margin of just 0.023s might have been a tad too close for comfort.

Qatar is a tricky venue to execute a race plan – the conditions this year made life a constant headache for everyone. If it wasn’t the plummeting temperatures, it was the gusty winds blasting sand across the track reducing grip and increasing tyre wear. Averaging a metronomic 1’55”5 lap times, Dovizioso was quick enough to lead the field, whilst keeping enough rubber in hand to use when Alex Rins (Team Ecstar Suzuki) or Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) briefly passed him. A masterclass in race tactics. Just what you should expect from the man dubbed ‘The Professor’.

Marc Marquez – Master Sandbagger

The reigning world champion fooled us all into believing his shoulder would not fully hold up to the riggers of 22 laps of world championship racing. The 26-year old had not completed more than nine laps in any stint during winter testing – his longest pre-race run being 11 laps during Saturday’s free practice 4. Yet come Sunday you could have been forgiven for thinking we’d rolled back the clocks to 2017. Marquez took the fight to Dovizioso and once again a last lap battle royale ensued. The duel not being settled until the final corner. Marquez was always going to lunge up the inside of the Ducati, but was forced to run too deep into the braking area forcing him to square-off the corner, scrubbing vital momentum. On this occasion, the Spaniard had to make do with second best.  

The result for Marquez also delivers a huge psychological blow to teammate Jorge Lorenzo. The Majorcan has had injury troubles of his own during the winter – most notably breaking his scaphoid bone – and elected to sit out the opening pre-season test in Malaysia. Lorenzo struggled all weekend, crashing the RC213V on multiple occasions during practice. To further rub salt in the wound he failed to come away from the first round with only 3 championship points. Marquez took 20. He will be desperate to recoup his losses next time out in Argentina.

Cal Crutchlow – The Warrior Returns

“Don’t doubt me!” was the cry when he claimed victory last year in Argentina. If anyone was still doubting him after that, none will be doing so now. The British rider produced an absolutely heroic ride to secure the final podium place. Crutchlow (LCR Honda) has not raced since the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix, and the whole winter has been one long slog for him just to be fit in time for this race.

Unable to put any weight on his ankles for almost three months after his horrific crash during practice at Phillip Island, there were understandably concerns about his future in the sport. An extensive pre-season of rehab and no weight training at all – majority of training being Cycling – and despite the odds stacked against him he has returned to racing in the premier class.

Crutchlow understandably took time to reacclimatise to a 1000cc 280bhp prototype. He had to go through Q1 on Saturday, but consistently improved with each session leading up to the race, eventually qualifying on the second row of the grid Once the lights went out, he produced perhaps his finest performance to date. More than held his own against his rivals, and his overtake on Rins late in the race confirmed he’s lost none of his tenacity. A podium finish and sheer joy from himself and the team in parc ferme. Welcome back Cal!

What Might Have Been

It was a case of “what might have been” for Alex Rins who narrowly missed out on the rostrum. For the majority of the race he looked for all money to be the only rider who could beat Dovizioso. Indeed, he led the grand prix at various points. All the more impressive when you take into the small matter of him starting down in P10 after misjudging his qualifying run. The initial diagnosis is that he just wore his tyres out too much, too soon. Rins had not experienced any tyre wear issues during the daytime practice sessions, so it is fair to expect to not see such issues as much over the next two rounds (Argentina and USA respectively) where the climate is much warmer.  

Nevertheless, fourth place for the Spaniard confirms what we have suspected over the winter – Suzuki have made a big step forward with their GSX-RR machine, in particular with the stability under braking and significantly improved straight line speed. They will go toe-to-toe with Ducati and Honda for victories this season.

Maverick Vinales’ pole position on Saturday really was as good as it got for the Monster Energy Yamaha team. The Spaniard was royally swamped off the line into turn one, dropping seven positions on the opening lap alone. If there is any comfort the team can take away from Qatar, it is that at least the two factory riders (Vinales and Valentino Rossi), along with satellite rider Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) all secured top ten finishes. Rossi was the pick of the trio, finishing in 5th place – albeit a very distant 5th place.

There was not a smile to be found by the trio after the chequered flag. The race had been a brutal reality check for the manufacturer, and are well behind Ducati, Honda and Suzuki over the 75-mile grand prix distance. Rossi’s gloomy expression in the pit box after the race said it all. 2019 could be a year of hurt for this once great team.

The Rookies

The four rookies made their MotoGP bow, and we were treated to two fantastic performances by Joan Mir (Team Ecstar Suzuki) and Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha) respectively.

As debut races go in the premier class, Mir’s was about as good as it can get. Having botched qualifying on Saturday, the former Moto3 champion ripped through the field on the opening lap and more than held his own against the established front runners of the class. Prepared to fight with anyone on track, Mir is certainly not one to be phased by reputations. Although his race tailed off in the closing laps – suffering from the same tyre degradation issues as his teammate – both rider and team will leave Qatar buoyant after a brilliant start to 2019.

Quartararo was particularly impressive when you consider he was forced to start the race from the pit lane after his bike stalled on the grid prior to the warm up lap. The Frenchman threw any thoughts of caution firmly into the wind, turning out a series of blistering laps to catch the pack, before carving his way through the pack, picking off Lorenzo in the process. Alas, he was ultimately denied a points finish by compatriot Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM) who slogged it out for P15. Despite the Yamaha M1’s woes, one thing is for certain – Quartararo will wring every once of performance he can from that machine.