Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) – the new “speed king” of MotoGP, after his sensational new record of 262.4 kph on the start-finish straight of the Losail International Circuit. Starting from position 6 on the grid, the fast man from Cannes is one of the favorites for a podium and even veteran Valentino Rossi belongs to the illustrious circle of 8 to 10 podium candidates for the 1st race of the year.

Live blog Moto3 headline: Vinales wins ahead of Zarco and Pecco – Lowes Moto2 winner!

We have been to Losail several times for MotoGP and WorldSBK. We are therefore very surprised how virtually all media neglect the fact that the season starts with a double ghost race. This applies to the fact that only locals sit in the stands, which is not in the interests of the sport. Visitors from abroad are currently not even allowed to enter Qatar. But because the Arabs pay the most, it starts here on Sunday after the only tests this year, unless a sandstorm wrecks everything. Actually not a good sign, as they tested in advance on a track that hardly provides any information for the rest of the season. At least that’s what almost all team bosses and drivers said about the pre-test, which was shortened from 5 to 4 days. But that’s all history now. Soon we will know which drivers will be splashing around them with rose water instead of real champagne for the first time in Losail.

Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha) – the “Sphinx of MotoGP” after qualifying. The Catalan is considered to be perhaps the most unpredictable driver in many years. In the last race in Losail in 2019, he started from pole position, but only finished seventh in the race, while team-mate Rossi drove from far behind to P5. With him, anything is possible in the first GP of the year, from winning to missing top positions.

Injuries and too high a risk – an absolute no-go for the season opener

In two consecutive races, the drivers must be aware that, despite their desire for victory or top placement, the risk must not be too high. A crash with injuries can mean that a driver will be canceled for the next race or even the race after that in Portugal. This is what happened to Belgian Barry Baltus in Moto2. Finding a replacement for the second race in Losail is a mammoth task for the team. Just think of the entry procedure in Doha with immediate quarantine of up to 2 days, which it sometimes took for the PCR test result. Nevertheless, falls are to be expected for the race at the start of the season. Let us hope that these will turn out lightly!

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) after his highsider in Jerez de la Frontera in July 2020 in the gravel bed. Because he tried it too early on his own only 4 days after the operation, his fans are still waiting for his comeback to this day. We had already explained before his first training session on the bike why this was hardly to be expected before the Jerez GP. A few days later, the official cancellation for the double race in Qatar came, which at least didn’t surprise our readers.

The warm-up of the three categories – Lowes and Schrötter with Crash in Moto2 Warm Up

While the Moto3 already completed its last laps before the kick-off two hours later in the 20 minutes to 3 p.m. local time, the track was at least passable. The wind is currently very strong and gusty, with peaks over 30 km / h, but currently nothing indicates a cancellation or postponement to Monday. At 13:10 GMT the Moto2 warm-up is expected, followed by the premier class. In Moto2, Jake Dixon was moved back from 7th on the grid to 10th due to an incident with Petronas Sprinta team-mate Xavi Vierge. MV driver Simone Corsi, on the other hand, will be completely absent after his higsider on Saturday, as will Barry Baltus. Marcos Ramirez was also declared not fit enough for today’s GP after his fall on Saturday by the race doctors for Sunday. About nine minutes before the end of the Moto2 Warm Up, Sam Lowes crashed in the infamous Turn 2, the first left bend after almost half a lap. The Englishman remained uninjured and was driven back into the pits on a scooter. In the last minute, Marcel Schrötter also stumbled away unharmed in the same place.

Simone Corsi (Forward MV Agusta) – along with Barry Baltus and Marcos Ramirez, the Italian is one of the three fall victims who cannot take part in the first race of the season (© Forward MV Agusta).

Warm-up of the premier class

.With 14 minutes left on the clock, there has never been a crash in MotoGP. Monster Energy Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo set the fastest lap with just over 1’56, shortly afterwards he was replaced by Johan Zarco, who put down a 1’55.333. In between, Alex Marquez was a bit faster on the Honda, but immediately afterwards it was Zarco again who took the lead. A little later Aprilia ace Aleix Espargaró also gave a sign of life with the second best time. Six minutes before the end, “Speed-King” Zarco was replaced at the front by Maverick Vinales, who managed a 1’55.285 and thus undercut the Frenchman’s time by half a tenth. With 1’55.147 it was three minutes before the end of the Catalan’s teammate who took command. The time of the fast Frenchman was not beaten in the end and so the two Yamahas are ahead of Zarco on the fastest Ducati and the three Hondas of Alex Marquez, Takaaki Nakagami and Pol Espargaró. Behind them, Enea Bastianini, is the best rookie on another Ducati.

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) – the man with starting position 2 was the fastest in the warm-up ahead of his teammate Maverick Viñales and compatriot Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati). The premier class is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. local time (7 p.m. CET / 6 p.m. GMT).

The Moto3 race: Masia wins ahead of Acosta and Binder – John McPhee out!

No sooner had started than one of the favorites, Dennis Foggia, flew off and shortly afterwards a Tech 3 KTM was in the dirt, which also. A little later, Fenati was awarded a double long lap penalty due to a false start. John McPhee was taken out of the saddle by Xavi Artigas a little later. With Darryn Binder, the pole setter is one of the dominant drivers along with Acosta, Masia, Antonelli and Gabriel Rodrigo. With 14 laps to go, Binder was at the top and after that only in 10th place, which shows how close it is in the top 15. The positions within the top group of fifteen change constantly. It should be a very close decision about victory and podium places. With 10 laps to go, Kaito Toba crossed the finish line in the lead for the first time as the 2019 winner. It is slowly beginning to get dark and the Japanese is still in front, but apart from Kofler and Fenati the leading group is still together when it goes into the ninth to last lap. As expected, Toba fell back on the home straight and is only on P8.

Start of the first Moto3 Grand Prix of the season in Losail. with pole setter Darryn Binder on the far right

Exciting finale with a tight decisiong
With eight laps to go, 7 riders pulled away slightly, including Acosta, Masia, Binder, Sasaki, Rodrigo, Guevara and Garcia. With seven laps to go, Rodrigo made a mistake that threw him back to P13. In the seventh last round, Rodrigo made a mistake that threw him back to P13. There are still 5 laps to go when the leading group consists of 6 drivers and the gap behind them was almost closed by the pursuers. With four laps to go, it is still impossible to predict the podium. In the third to last lap, Sasaki leads Binder. Tatay and Fenati have lost touch with the leaders and Kofler is even further behind in P16. Masia before Binder and Antonelli is the order in the penultimate lap. In the last lap, Sasaki was eliminated by a crash. Masia wins ahead of Acosta, Binder, Garcia, Rodrigo, Antonelli and Guevara. Kaito Toba is eighth ahead of Tatsuki Suzuki and on P10 the Swiss Dupasquier with his first top ten result of his career. Max Kofler in 15th place still benefited from Sasaki’s fall and thus scored the last championship point.

The podium of the first Moto3 Grand Prix of the season with from left 16-year-old Pedro Acosta (P2), winner Jaume Masia (both Red Bull Ajo KTM) and third-placed pole setter Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Honda).

The Moto2 race: Sam Lowes wins the first GP of the season

Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing VR46 Kales) on the Qatar starting grid. The Italian is one of the top World Cup favorites and his mentor Valentino Rossi wants his young friend from his Racing Academy to win.

Bezzecchi only took the lead for a short time – then the pole setter struck
Halfway through the race, Lowes has a clear lead of around 1.5 seconds over Remy Gardner as the closest pursuer. Rookie Raul Fernandez follows on P3 in front of Di Giannantonio, Joe Roberts, Jake Dixon and Bo Bendsneyder Schrötter is 10th ahead of Lüthi, followed by Celestino Vietti. The 2019 winner Lorenzo Baldassari fell and Hafizh Syahrin is also already out of the race. With six laps to go, Xavi Vierge also retired from the race with a crash after touching Aron Canet. This has to be investigated by the race management afterwards. The American Cameron Beaubier is holding up well and is fighting in the first 13 drivers to try to work his way into the top ten. Three laps before the checkered flag, Sam Lowes can only beat himself, the Englishman leads by a comfortable 2 seconds ahead of Gardner. Lowes is particularly strong in the first two sectors, where he always has the best times displayed in red on the monitor. While Lowes is heading towards a safe victory ahead of Gardner, third place was still very close. In the end, Fabio Di Giannantonio was third ahead of Bezzecchi and took a surprising podium. The recently deceased Fausto Gresini would have been very proud of his compatriot!

Start of the first Moto2 race of the season on the Losail International Circuit with pole setter Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) in the front right of the picture.

The first victory of an Englishman at the opening Grand Prix since 1979
Sam Lowes the first Englishman since Barry Sheene to win an opening race. After 1976 at Le Mans, the Idol won the first Grand Prix of the season in Venezuela for another 3 years. The twin brother of Alex, the team mate of record world champion Jonathan Rea at Kawasaki in the WSBK is currently in a league of its own. So he is of course the favorite for the second race at the same place and if he never falls injured, also for the title. With 5th place behind Bezzecchi, rookie Raul Fernandez, who was in 3rd place in the meantime, made an excellent debut in the middle class. Joe Roberts was a good sixth ahead of Dixon, Schrötter, Bendsneyder and Navarro. Behind them, Moto2 rookie Cameron Beaubier narrowly missed the top ten in eleventh place, while veteran Tom Lüthi fell back to P15 in the end.

The Moto2 podium with Remy Gardner (P2) from left, winner Sam Lowes and third-placed Fabio di Giannantonio from the team of the recently deceased Fausto Gresini. The first 9 drivers in the race rode on Kalex chassis.

The MotoGP – Vinales wins ahead of Zarco and Pecco!

Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) only on grid position 16, behind on the left on P17 Stefan Bradl – the Spaniard’s brother is still missing after more than 8 months and a return to Jerez is very unlikely, which means that Marc is hardly for the title for the second year in a row can fight along.

Four Ducatis in the front after the start!
Right from the start it looked like two Yamahas would take the lead, but then the Ducatis of Bagnaia, Miller, Zarco and Martin shot past them. Petrux, on the other hand, threw his KTM into the gravel trap at Turn 2. A little later, Zarco passed Miller on P2 and behind the 4 Ducatis were the 3 Yamahas of Quartararo, Vinales and Rossi, who had previously caught Aleix Espargaró. The Aprilia pilot first passed the old master in the tangle after take-off. After 3 laps world champion Joan Mir passed Rossi. With Miguel Oliveira, the best KTM is currently in 11th place between the two “Asparagus Brothers”. One lap later Quartararo and Vinales had passed Jorge Martin, and a little later Alex Rins on the Suzuki too.

Start of the first MotoGP race of the 2021 season in Losail – Miller already makes a run-up to pass between Quartararo (with the red number 20) and Vinales a little later. To the left behind the latter, Zarco will also pass a little later.

16 laps left – Miller von Quartararo conceded!
Shortly after the Frenchman passed the Australian in third place, Takaaki Nakagami, the first Honda rider, crashed. Zarco is right behind Bagnaia and his compatriot Quartararo is not far behind on the best Yamaha. Next, Vinales passes Miller, who does not make the strongest impression, although many were considered a favorite 2 days ago. With 13 laps to go, Rins also passed Miller, but the Ducati rider fought his way back. At the start-finish, Vinales then overtook his Yamaha team-mate Quartararo. Vinales overtook Zarco a little later and Miller went past Quartararo back to P4, followed a little later by Rins. The Frenchman is only on P6. There are still nine laps to go and Vinales attacks Bagnaia at the front, but Bagnaia can still defend himself against the Yamaha rider. The next Honda rider, Alex Marquez, fell.

Vinales takes the lead!
Shortly before the end of the eighth lap, Vinales takes the lead for the first time and Mir overtakes Fabio Quartararo and is in P6. The two are not far behind the leading group and Aleix Espargaró behind them at Aprilia can still hope for a podium. Rins overtakes Miller and Vinales tries to break away from the front. A little later Zarco walks past Bagnaia on P2 and not far behind Mir is in pursuit of the two. Bastianini meanwhile embarrasses KTM and as a rookie passes the two-time GP winner Oliveira on P10, before that Pol Espargaró is on the best Honda.

The last 3 laps Vinales wins and Zarco defends P2 to the finish
Vinales can only beat himself 1.7 seconds ahead of Zarco on P2, while Mir is past Bagnaia behind. Quartararo was able to pass Rins and Pol Espargaro is now in 8th position behind brother Aleix in front of Miller. Before the last lap, Mir attacks Zarco, who is lying in front of him, who can then pull away a little on the long straight. Not far behind, Pecco Bagnaia still has a chance of a podium. In the end it came to the Hitchkock final for the places behind the sure Spanish winner on the Yamaha. I passed Zarco a few corners before the finish line, who in turn had Pecco on his neck. But the Frenchman drove sensationally to the last corner and easily accelerated past Mir on the start-finish straight and pulled the Ducati colleague in his slipstream past the Suzuki. We had warned against not forgetting the French because of all the Miller and Bagnaia euphoria and in the end we were right. Zarco came second as the best of all Ducati pilots!

Interview with the winner and the two Ducati colleagues on the Podium
Maverick said he tried to stay calm throughout the race and manage his tires wisely. In the end, the plan worked out and he was able to pull away on the winding part of the route so as not to be overtaken by the lightning-fast Ducatis at the start-finish. Of course, Pecco was also satisfied. After the race, Francesco Bagnaia stated that he was trying his best and that he was happy that it was enough for him in the end for P3. Of course, Johann Zarco was also very satisfied, even if he had initially hoped to keep up with Vinales. In the end, however, he was above all happy to have caught Me before the finish and now he will enjoy the moment and then analyze the race in peace.

With a length of 5.38 kilometers, the Losail Circuit is one of the longest routes on the MotoGP event calendar. For MotoGP, the Silverstone circuit in England is currently the front runner with a length of 5.901 kilometers. With 6 left and 10 right turns and the start-finish straight with 1068 meters as the longest straight, a very modern course was completed within a little under a year. MotoGP has been racing here since 2004 and there was no premier class race in the first Corona year 2020.
Our MotoGP stats for the Losail International Circuit – unless Valentino Rossi or Maverick Vinales win, there will be a new MotoGP winner in the history of the Qatar GP.

Schedule for the first double race of the season

The changeover to daylight saving time is from Saturday to Sunday, which only affects Europe and which is why the time difference to Qatar is reduced by one hour. The races take place early on Sunday evening. Of course, we report live and in a summary every day. It doesn’t get much faster than ours. So the top ten can be seen on our site immediately after they cross the target.

Unless otherwise mentioned, applies to all images (© MotoGP).