DOHA ( Qatar): Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales began his 2021 MotoGP campaign with a season-opening victory at the Barwa Qatar Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit on Sunday.
On a day which saw defending champion Joan Mir missing out on a podium finish Viñales took a surprise win in Qatar as Ducati had to work hard just for podium finishes.
The factory Ducati Lenovo Team looked like missing the top podium until Suzuki’s Mir, faulted at the final corner.
It allowed Pramac Racing’s Johann Zarco to reclaim second and Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia finished third, consigning Mir to fourth.
Fabio Quartararo of Monster Energy Yamaha finished fifth , one position up on Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar), while Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo) slumped all the way to ninth by the time the chequered flag came after 22 laps.
Sam Lowes wins Moto2 opener
In Moto2, Sam Lowes hit the front on lap two and never looked back, leading over the line by over two seconds to get his season started with a win.
He remained unchallenged at the chequered flag – 2.229s ahead of Remy Gardner.
Gardner, winner of the final round of 2020 in Portugal, attempted to pull Lowes back to him but by then the task was too huge, leaving him in second place.
A late move by Fabio Di Giannantonio gave a very emotional Gresini team third, with his podium finish dedicated to Fausto Gresini.
In Moto3, Jaume Masia won a thrilling race on his KTM Ajo debut, fending off rookie team-mate Pedro Acosta and Darryn Binder at the finish.
Masia has switched from Leopard Honda to Aki Ajo’s KTM squad for 2021, and completed a stunning final lap to claim his fourth career victory by just 0.042 seconds.
