Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe
Live text
General

Qatar MotoGP season opener

Live Text

Sort by
Rossi is in P7, behind Pedrosa, while Lorenzo is down in P16.
So it's Zarco, Marquez, Iannone, Dovizioso and Vinales as they come up to finish the first lap.
And Marquez is through into second.
Zarco takes the lead from Iannone!
Third is Marquez, then Dovizioso and Vinales. Lorenzo runs out wide.
Great start from Iannone on the Suzuki, he leads into Turn 1, and Zarco slots in behind.
Green flag
And we're racing!
The riders form up. All eyes on the lights.
So, 45 minutes later than planned, but we're about to get this going. Fingers crossed it goes the distance, and that everyone stays safe...
The riders begin their second sighting lap. So far so good...
Information
Just a reminder, we will have a 20-lap race rather than a 22-lap race.
Information
Tyre selections have arrived. Everyone is on a front medium besides Alvaro Bautista, who takes a soft.

Rear choice is more split, with Zarco, Barbera, both Aspar bikes, both Aprilias, Pol Espargaro's KTM and both works Ducatis on the soft option. The rest are on mediums.
Riders have left the grid, again.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three minutes to the warm-up laps.
But when will "as soon as possible" be? How long's a piece of string?
We're now told the start will take place "as soon as possible" - with two warm-up laps and a total of 20 laps comprising the race.
Reports filtering through via the official broadcast that we are going to have a 20-lap race. No word yet on a start time.
And the medical car has headed off for another tour.
Following a meeting inside the pit building, team managers are heading back out to the grid.
The bad news, if we're being realistic, the longer this goes on, the more likely a Monday race is.
The good news, if we're being positive, is that we have not had any fresh rain.
Sounds like Loris Capirossi - safety representative - is reporting that the track surface is dry, but that the kerbs at Turn 13 and 14 are wet.
Some riders, including Vinales, have remained planted on their bikes during this second delay.
The other issue that we have looming, within the next hour, will be dew forming on the track surface. That generally means the last hour of running in the pre-season tests here is a write-off.
Bikes and riders are staying on the track. We're back to playing the waiting game.
Sounds like all of the track is completely dry, but the last three corners are wet, to the point that riders would need wet tyres.
Crash
Start delayed again.
Pit exit has been closed, for what it's worth. We are still inside the 15-minute restart procedure.
Rossi, Miller, Iannone, Aleix Espargaro, Lorenzo, Petrucci and Baz are down talking to officials. Others have stayed on their bikes.
That must have been rain, or at least a wet track surface, up at Turn 14, given how animated the riders are.
Lots of heads being shaken by riders now that they are back to the grid.

By: Mitchell Adam

Published: