MOTOGP
2016 MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 1 / MARCH 20, 2016
LOSAIL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT / DOHA, QATAR
P50
little, or come second by very
little."
It was the latter, and it was
Antonelli who drafted past to win
by inches.
Bagnaia was third, then
Fenati, Bastianini, Bulega and
Navarro, victim of a last-corner
nudge from Bulega. The first
seven crossed the line in 0.674
of a second; Loi was eighth,
another second down.
What a great start to the
year. CN
By half-distance, impressive
Sky VR46 rookie Nicolo Bulega
had joined in, after finishing the
first lap 12th. He even led briefly
with three laps to go, but by now
the tough guys were getting go-
ing, among them Enea Bastianini
(Gresini Honda). And an up-and-
down Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta
Rivacold Honda), still nursing
a pre-season skiing injury, and
three times a crasher in practice.
Binder had tried running onto
the straight second a few times,
but said, "I was never ahead
over the line, so I tried leading
out of the last corner instead. I
knew I would either win by very
10th next time after a scrape in
the usual multi-bike scramble,
and spent the rest of the race
desperately trying to close up on
an eight-strong leading group.
It was Binder making most of
the running with Fenati leading
over the line several times and
Jorge Navarro (EG-VDS Honda)
also prominent at the front of the
typically furious group.
Also present, Pecco Bagnaia
on the only Mahindra up front—
he alone had the benefit of last
year's fairing, which had proved
so much better than the new
one in practice that it had been
specially homologated.
Pedrosa had the hugely impressive
Vinales in tow for the entire race but
managed to hold onto fifth place.
Niccolo Antonelli
(left) and Francesco
Bagnaia celebrate
their 1-3 finish in
Moto3.
