MotoGP 2018: Dovizioso Wins Season Opener Qatar GP, Beats Marquez

The battle was down to the last lap as Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso took the win in the opening round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship in Qatar. The Frenchman completed the race a nail biting duel with Honda's Marc Marquez and surged ahead at the chequered flag with a gap of just 0.027s. In a sense, the 2018 MotoGP started exactly from where we left off in 2017. Both Dovizioso and Marquez started the Qatar GP in the top 5 positions with Marquez in second place and Dovizioso in fifth, while Johann Zarco of Tech 3 Yamaha started on pole having broken the lap record in qualifying. Yamaha's Valentino Rossi took the third spot on the podium making an incredible comeback.

(Dovizioso and Marquez passed Zarco on Lap 18 for the top 2 spots)

Zarco took an early lead in the race and dominated the Qatar GP for the initial laps. However, both Dovizioso and Marquez were hot on his tail and managed to pass the satellite team rider on Lap 18 in the 22 lap race. Both Marquez and Dovi passed Zarco at Turn 1 and were quick to distance themselves in a strong duel to watch out. In fact, this has been the third Marquez-Dovi battle that we've witnessed in the last nine races, with Marquez attempting a pass at the final corner of the last lap.

Marquez being Marquez at the #QatarGP! pic.twitter.com/ciRw85GZH8

— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) March 18, 2018

The Qatar GP offered more of the same, but Dovizioso managed to fight back this time as he stayed ahead when exiting the turn and crossed the finish line ahead of Marquez, gaining his career's ninth MotoGP win.

(Valentino Rossi finished third, having started the race in 8th place)

Meanwhile, Rossi started the Qatar GP in 8th place but was quick to rise in ranks over the race. The Italian rider was running fourth behind Zarco on Lap 18, when he passed the latter to take the third spot. However, Rossi made for distant third as his pace was no match for the top two contenders in the race.

Taking the fourth spot was LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow while Pramac Ducati's Danilo Petrucci took the fifth place. Both riders started the race in fourth and third place respectively, and managed to hold on till the end. Having slumped to 15th place in the opening lap, Maverick Vinales on the second Yamaha M1 made a strong recovery to sixth, followed by Honda's Dani Pedrosa finishing seventh.

(Johann Zarco led the race till Lap 18 but couldn't keep pace)

Despite the initial lead, Zarco could not maintain pace in the final stage of the Qatar GP and ended up finishing the race in eighth place. Suzuki's Andrea Iannone finished ninth, while teammate Alex Rins had to retire early after crashing on Lap 12 while in sixth place. Rounding up the top 10 positions was Jack Miller of Pramac Ducati, followed by Avintia Ducati's Tito Rabat and rookie Franco Morbidelli of Marc VDS Honda in 12th place. Nieto Ducati's Alvaro Bautista took the 13th place, while Tech 3 Yamaha's Hafizh Syharin finished 14th in his debut MotoGP race. Nieto Ducati's Karel Abraham took the final point finishing 15th.

(On the Podium - Rossi, Dovizioso and Marquez)

As for retirements, Jorge Lorenzo on the Ducati crashed out on Lap 13 after suffering a brake problem at Turn 16, while KTM's Pol Esparagaro retired on Lap 15 due to mechanical failure. Teammate Bradley Smith though finished the race in 18th place behind Thomas Luthi and Takaaki Nakagami. Aprilia riders Aleix Espargaro and Scott Redding finished the MotoGP first round in 19th and 20th respectively.

The first round of the 2018 MotoGP championship was a complete firecracker and things are only going to get hotter in the coming races. The action will now head to Argentina for the next round between April 6-8, 2018.