The Championship leader eventually gets the better of Top Gun but a post-race tyre pressure penalty for the #12 sees Morbidelli promoted to the podium
The double in Doha - who'd have thought it? Some might, but not Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team). However, that's exactly how it unfolded for the #93 as a frantic MotoGP battle played out in a Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar that saw Maverick Viñales clinch a first podium in Red Bull KTM Tech3 colours - or so we thought. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) recovered to P3 at the line after a dissatisfying Saturday, as drama unfolded for Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), who was forced to settle for P7, which was then P6.
Why? Because after a tyre pressure penalty for Viñales post-race, most of the points scorers were promoted one position. It saw Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) elevated to P3 - and, of course, Bagnaia to P2. Those +16s demoted Viñales to P14.
A FRANTIC OPENING
Marc Marquez was the rider to earn the holeshot into Turn 1, but as the field exited the opening corner, contact was made between the #93 and Alex Marquez, with a piece of bodywork pinging off the rear end of the red machine. This allowed Morbidelli to take the lead into Turn 2 as Viñales made life harder for Alex Marquez. Top Gun was P3 through the fast Turn 3 but fair play to Marquez, he bit back to get behind his older brother once more.
Morbidelli’s lead was up to 0.8s at the beginning of Lap 3, as Bagnaia made a decent start. The Americas GP winner was up to sixth before more contact! Alex Marquez was trying to muscle his way back past Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) into Turn 12 but he misjudged it. Both went wide with Marquez dropping to P7 and the luckless Di Giannantonio being forced back to P21. And for the incident, Alex Marquez was handed a Long Lap penalty.
Meanwhile, Bagnaia was on the move. On the anchors heading into Turn 1 on Lap 5, Bagnaia breezed past Marc Marquez to climb into second place. That meant the Championship leader was third, Viñales was fourth, Johann Zarco (LCR Honda Castrol) was running in P5 with Fermin Aldeguer and BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP teammate Marquez in P6 and P7.
On Lap 6, Marquez completed his Long Lap penalty. The #73 went from P6 to P12, 4.9s away from Morbidelli. At the front, Marc Marquez forced his way back through on Bagnaia for P2 with 16 laps left, and right behind them, Viñales set the fastest lap of the race as Morbidelli’s lead continued to shrink. What were we saying about Viñales? At the end of Lap 7, the #12 passed Bagnaia for P3 and then set his sights on Marquez.
VIÑALES LEADS, MARQUEZ PLOTS RESPONSE
And with 13 laps to go, Viñales got the better of his second factory Ducati. This was stunning from the Tech3 star, and a lap later, he led. Same spot, same outcome. Morbidelli lost the lead for the first time, and Marquez powered past the Italian as well. Bagnaia was then desperate to pass Morbidelli as the VR46 Academy duo swapped positions five times on Lap 11 of 22, but it cost the pair crucial ground. Over the line, Bagnaia was 0.9s behind Marquez.
Zarco was the next rider to get the better of Morbidelli as the Frenchman grabbed P4, and the Italian started to immediately lose ground. With eight laps to go, Viñales was still holding Marquez at bay, with Pecco 0.8s behind the top two. Then, a mistake. Viñales was slightly wide at Turn 6 and that opened the door for Marquez to take the race lead baton with seven laps to go, so what could Viñales and Pecco do now?
PIN PULLED - MARC MARQUEZ STYLE
The answer, for now, was not a lot. Marquez was the fastest of the trio, but only by a tenth over Bagnaia. However, Viñales was 0.3s slower than Marquez on Lap 17, so was this the KTM start beginning to run out of grip and steam? It wasn’t – it was Marquez finding pace. The fastest lap of the race was landed by the six-time MotoGP World Champion - it was two tenths quicker than Viñales and seven tenths faster than Pecco.
Three to go. Another fastest lap of the race for Marquez saw the #93 stretch his lead up to a second, as Bagnaia slipped 1.4s behind Viñales. And heading onto the last lap, it was as you were. Marquez led Viñales by 1.5s, Bagnaia was in a comfortable third and sure enough, as the chequered flag waved, Marc Marquez bounced back from his Austin disappointment with an almighty bang. For the first time since 2014, Marquez claimed victory and with it, strengthened his Championship position ahead of a date with Jerez.
Viñales’ P2 result is a huge boost for KTM – what a ride from Top Gun in Doha. Bagnaia will be disappointed to lose ground in the title chase but after a below-par Saturday, a comeback ride to P3 was a job well done by the Italian.
YOUR POINTS SCORERS IN QATAR
Morbidelli did fight back in the end to earn P4 across the line but as mentioned, that's now P3 as Zarco held off the efforts of Aldeguer to earn a career best Honda result in P4, while the latter earned his best Grand Prix result in MotoGP with a P5. Alex Marquez’s recovery ended with a P6, a top job to get back there from the Spaniard, but that’s the run of P2s and podiums over.
Starting from the front row for the first time since 2023, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) bags P7 ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), and Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) - the Italian completed the top 10.
Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) claimed P11, Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) takes home a P12 as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Viñales after his penalty and Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) collected the final points.
Unfortunately, Jorge Martin’s (Aprilia Racing) Grand Prix Sunday comeback ended prematurely after the World Champion suffered a crash. The #1 was taken to the medical centre for a check-up, and then to local hospital. Aprilia have provided updates on rib contusions and fractures, with Martin remaining in hospital for the moment.
NEXT UP: JEREZ
For Marquez at the top, that's seven wins from eight. And now, a trip home beckons. Marc Marquez leads the MotoGP World Championship ahead of the Spanish GP and we can absolutely promise a party atmosphere awaits in Jerez. The question is, can anyone halt the #93’s momentum?
For full results, click HERE!
Canet outpaces Öncü, Gonzalez third as Dixon crashes out in Doha
The best win of his career? Surely the answer is yes. Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) completed a stunning comeback ride to claim a first victory of the season and with it, the Moto2 World Championship lead. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) finished P2 and P3 in Qatar, as Argentina and USA winner Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) crashed out of the race.
Gonzalez got the getaway he would have wanted from pole, with Dixon also launching well from the middle of the front row – but it was a disastrous start for Aron Canet (Fantic Racing). A big wheelie as the lights went out saw the Spaniard got from third down to P14 on Lap 1, as Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) made a rapid start – the rookie was P3 on Lap 1.
That was then P2 on Lap 2. Holgado shoved his Triumph Kalex up the inside of Dixon’s #96 machine, before Öncü and Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) carved past the Championship leader too. Then, those aforementioned riders attacked Gonzlaez. Öncü led from Holgado and Arenas, with Gonzalez shuffled down to P4 ahead of Dixon on Lap 4 of 18.
Canet’s climb back through the pack was impressive. The #44 was up to P5 on Lap 7, ahead of Gonzalez, as Öncü still led the pack that were locked together in the victory battle. That was then P2 with eight laps to go, as teammate Barry Baltus set the fastest lap of the race to cling onto the back of the top seven. Then, it was the top six because title race leader, Dixon, crashed at Turn 13 as he tried to chase down Gonzlaez. Not the night the #96 was searching for in Lusail.
With five laps to go, Canet hit the front for the first time after a small mistake from Öncü handed the Spaniard the lead and from there, Canet began to stretch his legs. Heading onto the final lap, Canet was 1.1s clear of Öncü who in turn was doing a great job to keep Gonzalez behind him. And that’s how it stayed. A classy Canet comeback ride sees him clinch a first win of the season and the World Championship lead heading to Jerez, as Öncü grabbed a first podium of the year to finish ahead of third place Gonzalez.
Rookie Holgado finished 2.7s away from the podium in P4, a fantastic effort from the #27, as Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) beat Baltus in the P5 battle. Celestino Vietti (Team HDR Heidrun) was the lead Boscoscuro machine over the line in seventh, with Marcos Ramirez (American Racing Team), Arenas and Filip Salač (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) completing the top 10.
2024 Moto3 World Champion David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) claimed more points in P11, Zonta van den Goorbergh (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP) was 12th as Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), recovering from a jump start and double LLP, and Joe Roberts (American Racing Team) collected the final points on offer in Doha.
What a ride from Canet. We have a new leader in the title chase heading to Jerez as Round 5 now beckons. For full results, click HERE!
Piqueras denies Furusato first win in Lusail photo finish
Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) is the new Moto3 Championship leader after defeating Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) on the drag to the line in Doha, with the duo split by just 0.009. Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) completes the podium for his second GP rostrum from a maiden pole position, with drama hitting late on for Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) as a technical problem dropped him out the fight for the win.
Yamanaka grabbed the holeshot and there wasn’t too much drama at the start, with the freight train forming from the off. But the penalty notifications came in quickly for those with Long Laps to serve – one for Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and two for rookie Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – dropping them down the order, and a crash for Dennis Foggia (CFMoto Gaviota Aspar Team) that saw him tag David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) took them out the front group, Foggia out of the race and Muñoz dropped down the order.
At the front, it became a leading quartet of Yamanaka, Joel Kelso (LEVELUP – MTA), Rueda and Piqueras, with a gap back to David Almansa (Leopard Racing) heading the fight for the top five. It closed up again as the laps ticked down though and Almansa slid out of contention, leaving six riders battling before Riccardo Rossi (Rivacold Snipers Team) faded from the group to make it five.
Just before the final lap, huge drama suddenly hit in the title chase as Rueda sat up. The former Championship leader had a mechanical and was out of the fight, leaving four riders to fight for three places on the podium. As ever at Lusail, the chopping and changing went right to the wire. At Turn 14 on the last lap, Furusato took over in front as he decided to be the defender at the final corner, and defend he did – but maybe too much.
The #72 stayed well on the inside and was ahead on the exit too, but Piqueras got the hammer down and just beat him to the line by 0.009. Furusato just misses out on that maiden win, but Piqueras makes a 25-point gain on Rueda to just take over in the Championship leader. Yamanaka fended off Kelso to follow up a maiden pole with a second ever podium.
Kelso is forced to settle for fourth this time round, ahead of Rossi and an impressive comeback from Muñoz after getting forced wide by Foggia’s crash. He just beat SIC58 Squadra Corse duo Luca Lunetta and Stefano Nepa. Nicola Carraro (Rivacold Snipers Team) pipped top rookie Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) as they completed the top ten, just ahead of Carpe who stormed back through to P11 despite his double Long Lap.
Check out full results here and come back for more Moto3 in two weeks from the classic Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto!