By Soup StaffMotoGP Qatar Race Results 2018.
Race notes:
Lorenzo crashed out well in the back with a suspected mechanical.
Rins crashed.
Dovi came from well back on the grid and after a poor start to lead and win the race.
Pole-sitter Zarco led nearly 2/3 of the race but was overhauled by Marquez, Dovi and others for an eventual 8th place finish.
When the tires were well used and fuel weight dropped Maverick came from nowhere to finish sixth.
Tough-talking KTM, which one year ago were boasting of the eventual pleasure they’d take in beating Honda in MotoGP, were essentially nowhere in this race. Both riders had big crashes on the weekend, and Pol Espo’ pulled in with a mechanical after running the race well in the back. Bradley Smith finished a pathetic 18th.
As most veteran race watchers expected, the off-season wing drama, tire drama, speed by Lorenzo, speed by Vinales, THE ALL NEW APRILIA! … yadda yadda yadda didn’t amount to much. A guy who qualified closer to the third row of the grid than the front basically passed every pre-season favorite and then dropped all but MM93 to easily win. Dovi’s squared off the corners and basically pulled the pin. His Ducati had wings–not on the fairing–on the throttle.
Nine-time champion Rossi did well to finish third. His factory Yam, on acceleration, versus the Honda and Ducati, looked like it was dragging a piano.
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| Pos. | Rider | Team | Bike | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati Team | Ducati GP18 | 42:34.654 |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | 0.027 |
| 3 | Valentino Rossi | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha YZR-M1 | 0.797 |
| 4 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | Honda RC213V | 2.881 |
| 5 | Danilo Petrucci | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 3.821 |
| 6 | Maverick Vinales | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha YZR-M1 | 3.888 |
| 7 | Dani Pedrosa | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | 4.621 |
| 8 | Johann Zarco | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha YZR-M1 | 7.112 |
| 9 | Andrea Iannone | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki GSX-RR | 12.957 |
| 10 | Jack Miller | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 14.594 |
| 11 | Tito Rabat | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 15.181 |
| 12 | Franco Morbidelli | Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda RC213V | 16.274 |
| 13 | Alvaro Bautista | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | 19.788 |
| 14 | Hafizh Syahrin | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha YZR-M1 | 20.299 |
| 15 | Karel Abraham | Ángel Nieto Team | Ducati | 23.287 |
| 16 | Thomas Luthi | Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda RC213V | 24.189 |
| 17 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda RC213V | 24.554 |
| 18 | Bradley Smith | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 31.704 |
| 19 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia RS-GP | 34.712 |
| 20 | Scott Redding | Octo Pramac Racing | Ducati | 37.641 |
| 21 | Xavier Simeon | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 46.706 |
| DNF | Pol Espargaro | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 7 LAPS |
| DNF | Alex Rins | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki GSX-RR | 10 LAPS |
| DNF | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati Team | Ducati GP18 | 10 LAPS |
After the races be sure to read Soup’s MotoGP World Standings. Updated automagically!
