VOL. 55 ISSUE 11 MARCH 20, 2018 P81
race of the new MotoGP sea-
son, there was as big a boost for
the small but enthusiastic crown
in the desert night at the floodlit
Losail circuit. Bouncing back
from a disappointing seventh-
place qualifying position on the
third row of the close-packed
grid, Valentino Rossi showed no
respect for his youngers, as he
secured a close third place. It
was close to the perfect celebra-
tion for the 39-year-old, after
signing a contract renewal until
the end of 2020.
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
H
istory does repeat itself.
Sometimes in a good
way. That's how it hap-
pened at Qatar, with an almost
exact repeat of two of the best
races of 2017—with the same two
riders, the same final, right-hand
corner, and the same result.
As in Austria and as at Mo-
tegi, defending champion Marc
Marquez was shadowing last-
lap leader Andrea Dovizioso on
the factory Ducati. As at those
races, the Repsol Honda rider
made a desperate lunge into the
last corner, pushing ahead of the
big, red Desmosedici.
And, once again, with trade-
mark calm and maturity, Dovi let
him do it, waited as he inevita-
bly ran wide on the exit, then
opened up that Ducati horse-
power to lead him over the line
by just 0.027 of a second.
It was déjà vu. All over again.
If that wasn't enough of a fit-
ting climax to an excellent first
