MotoGP news
Stoner dominates in Qatar
13 April 2009 / Results / PhotosCasey Stoner has won the opening round of the 2009 MotoGP season, having been completely in control of the Qatar Grand Prix from start to finish. The Yamaha pairing of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo completed the podium on Monday, after the race was postponed due to rain the previous night.
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| Thankfully, no rain made an appearance on Monday |
Spectators had looked on in highly disappointed fashion on Sunday, as heavy and highly unexpected rain lashed the Losail circuit. Having already shortened the 125cc and 250cc races, organisers eventually took the decision at 9:30pm to cancel the season-opening night race, with a further announcement moving the event to Easter Monday.
When the race did finally get underway, Australian Stoner led away comfortably from pole position and was already two full seconds ahead of the pack by the end of the first lap, despite his recurring wrist injury which had led to speculation over his ability to retain a lead.
Reigning Champion Valentino Rossi was up to second by the third lap, but was unable to catch the flying Stoner who had already pulled out a lead of over three seconds; Dovizioso eventually sank to fifth place as he struggled to adapt to the new single tyre regulations.
In his first race on Japanese Bridgestone tyres, Jorge Lorenzo's Yamaha finished third behind his team-mate as Colin Edwards' fourth place was welcome news to the Tech 3 Yamaha outfit. Mika Kallio, new to the 500cc class, was happy to achieve eighth spot as series returnee Sete Gibernau crossed the line thirteenth.
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| It was a lights to flag victory for the 2007 Champion |
Back in the pack were the battle scarred riders as Pedrosa and Hayden hoped adrenaline overcame the pain of their injuries. Having crashed at the same circuit pre-season, Pedrosa's knee and wrist held up for the race to bring him important championship points for eleventh, as Hayden's Saturday accident resulted in him finishing one place further back, with his fastest time coming on the very last lap of the race.
After running in the top five in the opening stages, Marco Melandri fought successfully back to fourteenth having run off the track at Turn 1 on only the second lap. Also in the wars, a strong start for the Rizla Suzuki of Loris Capirossi ended in an unimpressive way as the Italian lost control and retired from the race eight laps in.
With a weather-affected weekend unable to eventually halt Stoner, the next meeting could also see rain as the teams move to Motegi in Japan for Round 2 in a fortnight.
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