MOTOGP
FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 1 / MARCH 18, 2018
LOSAIL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT / DOHA, QATAR
P92
MOTO2
The pre-season promise of close
Moto2 racing was fulfilled, but
while rich in tension the middle
class remained processional for
the start of 2018.
First-time winner Pecco Ba-
gnaia (SKY VR46 Kalex) didn't
quite lead from start to finish, but
he was only headed once, very
briefly, on the final lap, when Lo-
renzo Baldassarri (Pons Kalex)
nosed ahead, only to be pushed
back immediately on the subse-
quent change of direction.
"I knew he was faster on the
straight, so I had to try, but it was
not enough," said the former
winner, who was just over a
tenth adrift over the line.
For Bagnaia, top rookie last
year, "it was a long, long race. I
was watching the gap every lap;
it was difficult to remain concen-
trated."
It had been a three-bike affair
and might have ended more dra-
matically, had pole starter Alex
Marquez (EG VDS Kalex) not
slowed suddenly at the start of
lap 15, after moving past Baldas-
sarri to close on Bagnaia four
laps earlier.
