MOTOGP
FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 1 / MARCH 18, 2018
LOSAIL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT / DOHA, QATAR
P94
MotoGP
1. Andrea Dovizioso (Duc)
2. Marc Mrquez (Hon)
3. Valentino Rossi (Yam)
4. Cal Crutchlow (Hon)
5. Danilo Petrucci (Duc)
Moto2
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Kal)
2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kal)
3. Alex Marquez (Kal)
4. Mattia Pasini (Kal)
5. Miguel Oliveira (KTM)
Moto3
1. Jorge Martin (Hon)
2. Aron Canet (Hon)
3. Lorenzo Dall Porta (Hon)
4. Niccolo Antonelli (Hon)
5. Gabriel Rodrigo (KTM)
McPhee (a late arrival) slipped
off. This left 11, across the line
within a whisker over two sec-
onds.
Narrowly in front for a first
top-three, Leopard Honda's
Lorenzo Dalla Porta, barely
four hundredths ahead of pole
qualifier Nico Antonelli (SIC58
Honda), Gabriel Rodrigo on
the first KTM, then three more
Hondas—Di Giannantonio, Toba
and Sasaki—ahead of the KTMs
of Kornfeil and Migno.
The huge group was so far
ahead of the rest that Bezzecchi
was able to remount and claim
points in 14th. There were 19 fin-
ishers. Philipp Oettl and Darren
Binder (both KTM) were the first
of several to crash out, followed
by Bastianini, Bulega, Lopez,
Bezzecchi and McPhee. CN
Canet (EG Honda), with a third
former winner and title favorite—
Leopard Honda's Enea Bas-
tianini—crashing out of the front
battle after five of 18 laps.
There was seldom much
of the late-afternoon daylight
between the remaining two,
but it was Martin ahead by just
over two-tenths of a second, as
Canet's final slipstreaming attack
fell just a foot or so short.
The battle was absorbing,
even more so the fight for the
final rostrum position. At half-
distance there were six in the
group. As they started the last
lap, it had swelled to 13 riders,
all elbows and paint-scraping
over the final 3.34 miles.
Two who had been erstwhile
leaders didn't make it. KTM rid-
ers Marco Bezzecchi and John
Jorge Martin (left) edged
out Aron Canet for the
Moto3-class win.
