It didn't look as comprehensive as last year, but Casey Stoner and Ducati did what they did here last year only more so. Twelve months ago the winning margin was only a couple of seconds, this time it was double that. Last year he motored past Rossi's Yamaha on the first run down the main straight, this time he let a whole lot of craziness happen in front of him before moving to the front on lap eight and never being headed again. He finally shook off the attentions of Jorge Lorenzo with a burst of lap-records at three-quarter distance.

Early on, he steered well clear of fairing-bashing action from Pedrosa - who got the holeshot from the third row!, Toseland, Lorenzo, Rossi and Edwards. Once Casey was clear of the mayhem, the outcome was never in doubt although the Spanish rookie kept him honest. Pedrosa finally settled the argument over third at three-quarter distance leaving Rossi to try and hold on to fourth. Another rookie, Andrea Dovizioso, took that off him on the last lap. It is probably the only thing that will have really annoyed the Doctor over the whole race weekend.

The Honda and the Yamaha weren't as fast as the Duke but at least they could keep Casey in sight this year.

The disappointment of the weekend was the lack of showing from both Suzuki and Kawasaki, although John Hopkins is still far from fit. There was also the curious sight of Chris Vermeulen pulling in with front tyre problems. Although Qatar isn't usually a reliable guide to form, we can draw a few conclusions: Casey is still the man to beat, at least three of the four rookiesa re going to be quick this year, Michelins like Losail better than Bridgestones - except of course when Casey is using them, the Ducati is still fastest but not by much. And when James Toseland gets the new engine he really is going to be very competitive. He indulged in some serious barging today before dropping back from the leaders - he said he was learning - and then closing back up but he couldn't put a pass on Valentino last time round. He did put one brutal move on Lorenzo early on, all part of the process of learning how to ride a MotoGP bike, he said, adding that it ended up a tougher pass than he meant it to be.

Lorenzo refused to get upset about it, pointing out than he had done the same thing more than once and offering the opinion that James was 'a good guy.'

The really unexpected result was Pedrosa's third place despite his hand shaking when he squeezed the front brake during the second half of the race. Dani used the '08 bike but Nicky Hayden reverted to the '07 Honda, which on the face of it seemed a strange decision given all the work he has put in on the new model over Winter.

The picture may become clearer in three weeks time when we arrive Jerez, where Nicky was fastest in close-season tests.