Repsol Honda RC213V rider Marc Marquez opened the defence of his debut-season MotoGP World Championship in the style of a champion – returning from injury to claim a fighting victory after a fierce battle with Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) that lasted all the way to the end of the 22-lap race, held under floodlights at the Losail circuit in Qatar.

Already the youngest ever premier-class title winner, Marquez was back on a bike for the first time in six weeks at Qatar after breaking his leg in a training accident. In spite of missing the final tests, he was soon up to speed, qualifying on pole position for the opening round – the only race of the year to be run after dark, to avoid searing daytime desert heat.

Last year, aged 20, Marquez made his MotoGP debut at Qatar, finishing a sensational third. The Repsol Honda RC213V rider would finish on the rostrum in all but two of the races, where a crash and a black flag resulted in no scores, claiming six wins on his way to a stunning rookie title win.

Repsol Honda RC213V team-mate Dani Pedrosa made it a double podium for the HRC team, finishing a close third after a well-judged race, taking the benefit of his experience at one of his least favourite circuits. Pedrosa bided his time while several riders crashed on the treacherous track, and came away with the reward.

It meant a strong start also for the veteran Repsol Honda rider’s title campaign. The former 125cc and double 250cc World Champion is in his ninth season with the HRC team.

Marquez’s ride was the highlight of an exciting race – not only first of the season, but the first run under new rules with “Factory Option” and “Open” machines competing under different technical rules. The greater leveller, however, was the tricky 5.38-km Losail circuit, with several riders falling victim to the treacherous surface, where a slippery coating of sand awaits any rider who strays too far off line.

The first victim was fast starter Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), who took the lead into the first corner, but did not complete the first lap. Then LCR Honda RC213V rider Stefan Bradl took over for the first eight of 22 laps, only for the German to suffer the same fate.

After ten laps, there were still five riders within one second of new leader Rossi. By now Pedrosa had moved to third, while Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Gresini Honda RC213V) and Bradley Smith (Yamaha) were close behind.

Smith would also fall, and then Bautista as well, after mounting a strong attack on Pedrosa.

Marquez led over the line for the first time on lap 14, and over the last two laps he and Rossi engaged in furious combat, changing places repeatedly until the Honda rider gained a small advantage he was able to hold to the line, winning by 0.259 seconds. Pedrosa had been a close spectator, and was happy with a safe third place.

Bradl and Bautista escaped injury in their tumbles, and had to take comfort from the erstwhile strength of their performances; Bradl leading the race and Bautista a major protagonist in the rostrum fight. Bautista has a supplementary role, as race-tester for Showa suspension and Nissin brakes, made by Japanese companies with strong links with Honda.

Four more of the new Honda RCV1000R production racing machines competed under the new “Open” rules. The best of them laid on an exciting race-long battle for seventh, finishing only three hundredths of a second apart. Winner by inches was class rookie Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Honda RCV1000R), defeating 2006 Honda World Champion Nicky Hayden (Drive M7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R).

The other pair of new Hondas also finished in the points, with former 250cc World Champion Hiro Aoyama 11th on the second Drive M7 Aspar machine, and Czech star Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Honda RCV1000R) 13th.



Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: 1st

“I’m very happy with the result today. The 25 points are important but it’s also been an important race, because I was coming back from an injury that caused me to miss most of the pre-season. Also, this weekend there were a lot of riders up at the front, all with a great pace, and seeing how the race went, this win is a big one. The battle with Valentino was the best part of the race besides the win, I really enjoyed it!”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd

“Third place is a positive result. We’ve finished on the podium this weekend at a circuit that’s difficult for me, because it isn’t well suited to my style. So it’s a good way to start. We were close, but with the way the race went – with so many crashes – it was important to finish. So from here on we will try to keep improving and try to fight for the win at the next race.”

Scott Redding, GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 7th

“I am very satisfied, as I was expecting to be able to follow Nicky Hayden for only a few laps and, although he was the target, I wasn’t really expecting to beat him. In the first laps I wanted to take maximum advantage of the soft tyre and I was pretty aggressive with the passes. I got through on Nicky and thought I’d got away from him, but then he came back at me. But I knew I was faster than him, so I waited until two laps from the end before making a move, retaking the place and then holding him off to the finish. Tonight we achieved our goal; to be the first open class Honda home, so I’m pleased with that.”

Nicky Hayden, Drive M7 Aspar Honda: 8th

“We had to change our start procedure tonight and it wasn’t easy – there were riders everywhere, but I managed to get into a better rhythm than the test and practice here, setting consistent 1’56s. I tried everything to stay with Espargaro, but in the end I had worn out the left hand side of the tyre and ran off. It ended up a straight battle between me and Scott, we passed each other a few times and he got me on the line. A few riders crashed but we made it to the end and picked up eighth. We set a great pace at the start of the race, now we need to work on the second half and try to improve on what we have learnt here. I want to thank the team, Honda and all the sponsors for their efforts. Now we need to look ahead to the next race.”

Hiroshi Aoyama, Drive M7 Aspar Honda: 11th

“It was a tough race because as the night progressed the temperatures dropped and the feeling with the tyres worsened, which is why so many riders crashed. Personally I chose the softest option tyre and it was difficult to adapt my pace according to the temperature. I got in a fight with Hernández and even though my pace was better than his I couldn’t get away. If I didn’t get embroiled with him I might have finished higher up but anyway I am happy because it has been a tough weekend and the team has done a great job. We found a good setting yesterday and it has paid off today with 11th place.”

Karel Abraham, Cardion AB Motoracing Honda: 13th

“I am happy and angry at same time – 13th is perfect for the points, but with all the riders crashing it was a lucky position. Otherwise I would have been 18th. I am very happy I managed to finish the race, because it was difficult with my injured shoulder. I made some mistakes, and it was difficult to try to get back again to catch the group, because by then my shoulder was getting harder and harder to work with the bike, especially on the left-hand hairpin. I couldn’t turn the bike, or push hard.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda: DNF

“Actually it’s difficult for me to express my feelings right now. In some ways I did a very good job because I took a good start from the third row, making a perfect first lap. Honestly I was not expecting such a strong performance considering the issues we had in the last days but for the race I felt strong and determined. Basically I cannot say why I crashed because I made the same manoeuvre the lap before at Turn 6, but this time I lost the front. Luckily I am OK and the positive thing is that I have made a big step in the race. Many riders crashed on left corners so probably the humidity was too high and affected the grip level. Anyway let’s go ahead to Austin which is another track that I like very much.”

Alvaro Bautista, GO&FUN Honda Gresini: DNF

“Luckily I’m fine, but it was a strange crash: I entered Turn 2 in the same way as the previous laps but I suddenly lost the front. I had some problems with the brakes during the race: I don’t know if this has contributed to the fall, however I am very sorry for the team. Until the crash I was having fun battling for the first positions. My start was not so good, but gradually I was able to charge through the field. At one point I found myself in second place and surely we could get on the podium. Too bad we haven’t finished the race. I apologize to the team and my fans, and I hope to bring home the result next time.”

Event results - Round 1 - Race 1

1 Marc Marquez 42'40.561 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Valentino Rossi 0.259 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Dani Pedrosa 3.370 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Aleix Espargaro 11.623 ESP FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing
5 Andrea Dovizioso 12.159 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
6 Cal Crutchlow 28.526 GBR DUCATI Ducati Team
7 Scott Redding 32.593 GBR HONDA GO&FUN Honda Gresini
8 Nicky Hayden 32.628 USA HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
9 Colin Edwards 39.547 USA FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing
10 Andrea Iannone 43.360 ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing
11 Hiroshi Aoyama 46.595 JPN HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
12 Yonny Hernandez 46.688 COL DUCATI Pramac Racing
13 Karel Abraham 50.581 CZE HONDA Cardion AB Motoracing
14 Danilo Petrucci 1'03.127 ITA ART IodaRacing Project
15 Broc Parkes 1'14.386 AUS PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
16 Michael Laverty 1'32.593 WAL PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
17 Mike De Meglio 1'36.085 FRA AVINTIA Avintia Racing
18 Alvaro Bautista DNF ESP HONDA GO&FUN Honda Gresini
19 Bradley Smith DNF GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
20 Pol Espargaro DNF ESP YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
21 Stefan Bradl DNF GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
22 Hector Barbera DNF ESP AVINTIA Avintia Racing
23 Jorge Lorenzo DNF ESP YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing

Championship standings

1 Marc Marquez 25 pts ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Valentino Rossi 20 pts ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Dani Pedrosa 16 pts ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Aleix Espargaro 13 pts ESP FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing
5 Andrea Dovizioso 11 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
6 Cal Crutchlow 10 pts GBR DUCATI Ducati Team
7 Scott Redding 9 pts GBR HONDA GO&FUN Honda Gresini
8 Nicky Hayden 8 pts USA HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
9 Colin Edwards 7 pts USA FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing
10 Andrea Iannone 6 pts ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing
11 Hiroshi Aoyama 5 pts JPN HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
12 Yonny Hernandez 4 pts COL DUCATI Pramac Racing
13 Karel Abraham 3 pts CZE HONDA Cardion AB Motoracing
14 Danilo Petrucci 2 pts ITA ART IodaRacing Project
15 Broc Parkes 1 pts AUS PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
16 Mike De Meglio 0 pts FRA AVINTIA Avintia Racing
17 Michael Laverty 0 pts WAL PBM Paul Bird Motorsport

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