The 2016 Industrial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar marked the starting of a new era in MotoGP, that of Michelin tires and normal electronics across the grid. In the run-up to the race, hopes that some new faces would emerge from the pack and discover their way to the podium had been soaring. Under the lights of Losail, nonetheless, defending champion Jorge Lorenzo held serve for Yamaha against a sturdy challenge from Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez the Usual Suspects had after again asserted their dominance of the sport.
The boys are back in town.
Qualifying had developed an ethnically-striated grid – Spaniards filling up rows a single and three, with an all-Italian second row and an all-British fourth. Lorenzo laid down a quick lap early in the session, as did Marquez a bit later, and both held up in spite of Maverick Vinales and Andrea “Maniac Joe” Iannone taking critical runs at them at session’s finish. Vinales missed out on the two hole by 4/1000ths of a second. Iannone could have effortlessly moved up to the front row had he not been momentarily held up by Scott Redding, who appeared to be doing his greatest to get out of the way. (A track record final lap by Marquez was tossed when it was determined he had started it a single second right after the checkered flag had waved.)
Having watched six of the top seven riders in Moto2 jump the start off, the commence of the MotoGP tilt appeared somewhat sluggish, specially for Marquez and Vinales, who got lost in the sauce. Marquez, looking WAY more comfy than he looked final season prior to switching to his 2014 chassis, escaped from the crowd to join the lead group in fourth position. Vinales, perhaps concerned about producing an early-season error, discovered himself mired behind Dani Pedrosa, exactly where he spent the whole evening.
Last season, it took Jorge Lorenzo till Could to get his very first win, let alone his 1st podium. He won the championship anyway, but it assists to get the very first 25 points out of the way early.
The lead group formed up with Lorenzo leading the Dueling Andreas of the factory Ducati team, trailed by Valentino Rossi and Marquez. At the start off of Lap two, each Ducatis flew past Lorenzo, Iannone in the lead. Marquez slipped past Rossi on Lap three and began dogging Lorenzo on Lap four. I was just obtaining comfortable with the idea of Iannone winning his initial premier class race when he lowsided out of the lead in Turn 13 of Lap 6, leaving Dovizioso to slug it out with the Aliens. Confident enough, on Lap 9 Lorenzo found his way by way of on Dovizioso and that was that. Marquez and Dovizioso would trade areas a handful of instances more than the remaining 14 laps, but no 1 was capable to mount any type of severe challenge to Lorenzo when he found his rhythm.
Inform Us Once again What We Discovered This Winter
Nothing at all. Elevated expectations for Vinales and Octo Pramac Ducati Brit Scott Redding didn’t pan out, at least in Round One particular. This is a very good time to point out that the Qatar GP normally delivers up a handful of surprises to which followers of MotoGP give as well considerably weight. This is probably much more accurate in 2016 than usual, provided the technical modifications absolutely everyone was dealing with. Here’s what we know at this moment:
Jorge Lorenzo remains the top dog.
- The best riders have currently adjusted to the Michelins and the control ECU.
- Dovizioso and Iannone will do properly at the lengthy, sweeping circuits like Brno and Phillip Island. We don’t know how they will hold up at the cramped small joints like The Sachsenring and Motegi.
- Marquez has finally learned that 16 points is much better than none.
- Rossi, now joined at the hip with Yamaha for the rest of his profession, will have a lot more fruitful days than he did today. Although he certified far better than usual, there was no late-race challenge from #46. His selection of the harder selection rear tire proved to have been in vain.
- Michelin has figured out a lot of stuff in a very short time. A lot of of the riders set their quickest laps of the day late in the race.
- Iannone has replaced the departed Nicky Hayden in the competitors for the absolute worst haircut on the grid. At this point, he’s winning by a mile.
- The competitors for the top riders has already begun.
Early Season Silliness
After two seasons in the wilderness (er, Ducati), Rossi knew he was onto a good factor when he returned to Yamaha. It’s no surprise that he leapt at the chance to sign a contract extension.
Correct, so Rossi and Lorenzo have been reportedly presented contracts for 2017-18 simultaneously, by e-mail. Rossi signs his right away. Lorenzo does not. Rossi suggests Lorenzo is shopping Ducati. (Lorenzo is, in fact, shopping Ducati.) Lorenzo fires back that Rossi had no selection since no 1 else would want him. Boom. Bradley Smith, on the verge of eviction by Tech 3 boss Herve Poncharal, indicators a deal with KTM for next year, leaving Yamaha a spot with which to woo Alex Rins.
I would say the odds of Lorenzo moving to Ducati in 2017 improved at the close of Lap 1, when the lead group entered the front straight. Lorenzo, at the front of the pack, could only sit and watch as each factory Ducatis effortlessly blew past him, Grant-through-Richmond style, forcing him to push harder in the turns than he may possibly have wished for the rest of the race. The speed of the Desmosedici (Iannone was clocked at 218 mph on Saturday) combined with the expertise of Jorge Lorenzo herald a formidable force if, indeed, Lorenzo elects to switch. He would most likely enjoy, too, the prospect of winning a title or 3 at Ducati, which The Medical doctor was unable to do, albeit in the course of the pre-Dall’Igna era.
Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo would be wise to leverage his bargaining position ahead of deciding to sign a new contract with anybody.
Here’s an effortless 1: If/when Lorenzo bolts for Ducati, Yamaha will quickly sign the 21 year-old Vinales for as extended as they can. He’s the hottest home in MotoGP right now, regardless of his mediocre overall performance nowadays. Honda, on the other hand, requirements to decide quickly if they really want another two years of challenging-luck Pedrosa, or if the future wouldn’t appear a lot brighter with Marquez and Vinales (or Marquez and Rins) fronting the Repsol factory group.
The Big Image
I’m not even confident there IS a big image so early in the season. Iannone’s impression of Lorenzo’s 2014 crash in the desert has needlessly place him behind the eight ball for the rest of the year why he was pushing so difficult so early in the race, with all that bike beneath him, is a mystery.
The 2016 Ducati Desmosedici is notable for its winglet design and style. Andrea Iannone opted for 4 winglets although Andrea Dovizioso used just one pair.
Rossi, his meal ticket punched for the subsequent three years, might have lost a bit of intensity – about racing, that is. He appears fully charged up for a season-lengthy verbal feud with Lorenzo, and would almost certainly welcome Marquez back into the fray as well. Dorna, it seems, is not amused by Rossi’s baiting of his two Spanish rivals, and may try to convince him to cool his jets. Having a 27 year-old Rossi snarling and snapping at you was once a frightening prospect. A 37 year-old Rossi, who has been beaten by each Lorenzo and Marquez: not so a lot. Yamaha could reside to regret their pre-emptive signing of Rossi, especially if it ends up costing them each Vinales and Rins.
Those hoping to see a continuation of final season’s drama amongst Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez will have to wait as the Doctor seemed more intent on roiling items up with Jorge Lorenzo.
Two Weeks to the Middle of Nowhere
The grid has a tiny time to screw issues back collectively just before heading off for a back-to-back, Round Two in Argentina and Round Three in Austin. Even old econ majors like me are not as well geeked up about hearing the teams yammer on about analyzing all the information they collected this weekend. What ever. It is great to have the bikes back on track competing in anger. It is fantastic obtaining Nick Harris calling the shots in the booth. It’s excellent for the sport to have Marquez competitive once more this year. It will be good – subsequent year – to have far more bikes on the grid. And it will be fascinating to see which bums finish up on which seats as the season rolls on.
For now, Lorenzo rules.
| 2016 MotoGP Qatar Benefits | |||
| Pos. | Rider | Group | Time |
| 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Movistar Yamaha | – |
| 2 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati Corse | +2.019 |
| three | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda | +two.287 |
| 4 | Valentino Rossi | Movistar Yamaha | +two.387 |
| 5 | Dani Pedrosa | Repsol Honda | +14.083 |
| six | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki Ecstar | +15.423 |
| 7 | Pol Espargaro | Monster Yamaha Tech3 | +18.629 |
| eight | Bradley Smith | Monster Yamaha Tech3 | +18.652 |
| 9 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Racing | +21.160 |
| ten | Scott Redding | Octo Pramac Yaknich Ducati | +24.435 |
| 11 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki Ecstar | +35.847 |
| 12 | Eugene Laverty | Aspar Ducati | +41.756 |
| 13 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia Gresini | +41.932 |
| 14 | Jack Miller | Estrella Galicia , Marc VDS Honda | +41.982 |
| 15 | Tito Rabat | Estrella Galicia , Marc VDS Honda | +54.953 |
| Not Classified | |||
| – | Stefan Bradl | Aprilia Gresini | 11 Laps |
| – | Loris Baz | Avintia Ducati | 14 Laps |
| – | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | 16 Laps |
| – | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | 17 Laps |
| – | Yonny Hernandez | Aspar Ducati | 21 Laps |
| 2016 MotoGP Best Ten Standings Right after 1 Round | |||
| Pos. | Rider | Motorcycle | Points |
| 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Movistar Yamaha | – |
| two | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati Corse | +two.019 |
| 3 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda | +2.287 |
| four | Valentino Rossi | Movistar Yamaha | +two.387 |
| five | Dani Pedrosa | Repsol Honda | +14.083 |
| six | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki Ecstar | +15.423 |
| 7 | Pol Espargaro | Monster Yamaha Tech3 | +18.629 |
| eight | Bradley Smith | Monster Yamaha Tech3 | +18.652 |
| 9 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Racing | +21.160 |
| 10 | Scott Redding | Octo Pramac Yaknich Ducati | +24.435 |
MotoGP 2016 Losail Final results
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