MotoGP: Maverick Vinales pips Ducatis to Qatar GP win

Spain’s Maverick Vinales won the season-opening Qatar MotoGP on a Yamaha in Doha on Sunday pushing France’s Johann Zarco (Ducati-Pramac) into second.

Italy’s Francesco Bagnaia on a Ducati came third on his first ride in the factory team after starting on pole.

South Africa’s Brad Binder had a disappointing weekend but managed to bag two points for finishing in 14th place.

Defending world champions Joan Mir narrowly missed out on podium despite struggling to find pace at the Losail International Circuit. Mir finished fourth ahead of last season’s opening round winner Fabio Quartararo who now rides for the Yamaha factory team as Vinales’ teammate.

Mir’s teammate Alex Rins finished in sixth place followed b the Espargaro brothers in seventh and eighth.

Ducati’s Jack Miller was ninth while MotoGP rookie Enea Bastianini rounded out the top ten.

BARWA GRAND PRIX OF QATAR MotoGP Race Classification 2021 

Doha, Sunday, March 28, 2021

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time/Gap
1	25	12	Maverick VIÑALES	SPA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	167.1	42’28.663
2	20	5	Johann ZARCO	FRA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	167.1	+1.092
3	16	63	Francesco BAGNAIA	ITA	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	167.1	+1.129
4	13	36	Joan MIR	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	167.1	+1.222
5	11	20	Fabio QUARTARARO	FRA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	166.9	+3.030
6	10	42	Alex RINS	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	166.9	+3.357
7	9	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	166.7	+5.934
8	8	44	Pol ESPARGARO	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	166.7	+5.990
9	7	43	Jack MILLER	AUS	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	166.7	+7.058
10	6	23	Enea BASTIANINI	ITA	Esponsorama Racing	Ducati	166.5	+9.288
11	5	6	Stefan BRADL	GER	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	166.5	+10.299
12	4	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha	166.4	+10.742
13	3	88	Miguel OLIVEIRA	POR	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	166.4	+11.457
14	2	33	Brad BINDER	RSA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	166.2	+14.100
15	1	89	Jorge MARTIN	SPA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	166.1	+16.422
16		10	Luca MARINI	ITA	SKY VR46 Esponsorama	Ducati	165.8	+20.916
17		27	Iker LECUONA	SPA	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM	165.8	+21.026
18		21	Franco MORBIDELLI	ITA	Petronas Yamaha SRT	Yamaha	165.6	+23.892
19		32	Lorenzo SAVADORI	ITA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	164.1	+46.346
Not Classified
		73	Alex MARQUEZ	SPA	LCR Honda CASTROL	Honda	166.3	9 Laps
		30	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	JPN	LCR Honda IDEMITSU	Honda	165.0	16 Laps
Not Finished 1st Lap
		9	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM		0 Lap

Weather Conditions:

|   Track Condition: Dry|   Air: 20º| Humidity: 60%|   Ground: 22º

Records:

Pole Lap:		Francesco BAGNAIA	1’52.772	171.7 Km/h
Fastest Lap:	Lap: 4	Maverick VIÑALES	1’54.624	168.9 Km/h
Best Race Lap.:	2021	Maverick VIÑALES	1’54.624	168.9 Km/h
All Time Lap Record:	2021	Francesco BAGNAIA	1’52.772	171.7 Km/h