VOL. 56 ISSUE 10 MARCH 12, 2019 P65
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
W
ell, we told you it was going to be
close. But nobody could have pre-
dicted just how close. Records for
closeness were smashed at Qatar, with the
closest ever top-15, one of the closest podiums,
and a thrilling victory by 0.023 of a second.
It went to Andrea Dovizioso, in a repeat of last
year, holding off a terrier-like Marc Marquez in
yet another battling last lap. As last year, they
changed places five times on the final tour. As
last year, Dovi had it under control, using a bet-
ter last-corner exit and the power of his Mission
Winnow Ducati to hold off the Repsol Honda's
final charge by the narrowest of margins.
Less than three tenths behind, a heroic Cal
Crutchlow (LCR Honda) finally got ahead of
frequent race leader Alex Rins on the clearly
fully competitive 2019 Ecstar Suzuki.
This was the climax to a race where the
combination of tire-saving tactics and the
equalizing regulations made the premier class
into an extraordinary spectacle, with bikes of
close to 300 horsepower packed even closer
than an already spectacular Moto3 race. At
half distance of the 22-lap race, the top nine
riders were still within less than 1.7 seconds
(count them!), the sound was awe-inspiring,
and positions were constantly changing all the
way down the field.
The race to the line
was a near exact
copy of the 2018
race. And the result
was the same.
