125cc: Terol untouchable in 125cc opener
Nico Terol underlined his 125cc title favourite status with a crushing win in the season-opener in Qatar
The rest of the field barely saw the Aspar Aprilia rider, as having been fastest in every practice session and qualifying, Terol broke away from the pack at the start and pulled away at a second per lap early on.
His lead got as high as 13 seconds at one stage, before he eased off to cruise home with a seven-second cushion.
The battle for second provided much more entertainment, with Hector Faubel, Sandro Cortese and Efren Vazquez hotly disputing the place at first, and eventually being caught by Sergio Gadea and Jonas Folger.
Faubel looked well-placed to give Aspar a one-two going into the closing stages, but his bike appeared to cut out at the first corner when second, and he struggled home in 11th.
Cortese then managed to put a bit of distance between himself and the rest of the podium battle, securing second as Gadea came through to complete the top three ahead of Vazquez and Folger.
Johann Zarco beat Alberto Moncayo, Luis Salom and Maverick Vinales to sixth.
Results - 18 laps:
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time/Gap
1. Nicolas Terol Aspar Aprilia 38m28.687s
2. Sandro Cortese Germany Aprilia + 7.710s
3. Sergio Gadea Blusens Aprilia + 9.147s
4. Efren Vazquez Ajo Derbi + 9.514s
5. Jonas Folger Ajo Aprilia + 9.698s
6. Johann Zarco Ajo Derbi + 15.260s
7. Alberto Moncayo Andalucia Aprilia + 15.352s
8. Luis Salom RW Aprilia + 15.696s
9. Maverick Vinales Blusens Aprilia + 15.910s
10. Miguel Oliveira Andalucia Aprilia + 27.396s
11. Hector Faubel Aspar Aprilia + 42.563s
12. Jasper Iwema Ongetta Aprilia + 43.772s
13. Danny Kent Ajo Aprilia + 44.001s
14. Simone Grotzkyj Phonica Aprilia + 44.272s
15. Louis Rossi Matteoni Aprilia + 50.030s
16. Danny Webb Mahindra + 50.424s
17. Niklas Ajo TT Motion Aprilia + 1m01.545s
18. Taylor Mackenzie Phonica Aprilia + 1m02.931s
19. Zulfahmi Khairuddin Ajo Derbi + 1m05.192s
20. Luigi Morciano Italia Aprilia + 1m05.273s
21. Marcel Schrotter Mahindra + 1m05.396s
22. Alessandro Tonucci Italia Aprilia + 1m12.458s
23. Jakub Kornfeil Ongetta Aprilia + 1m30.629s
24. Daniel Kartheininger Forward KTM + 1m30.792s
25. Harry Stafford Ongetta Aprilia + 1m30.798s
26. Giulian Pedone Phonica Aprilia + 1m54.387s
27. Francesco Mauriello WTR-Ten10 Aprilia + 1m54.548s
28. Adrian Martin Aspar Aprilia + 4 laps
Retirements:
Joan Perello Matteoni Aprilia 9 laps
Hiroki Ono Forward KTM 7 laps
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