Maverick Vińales put on a sensational show in Qatar this evening, taking victory by over a second as he defeated the Ducati’s at the desert track.  

Having spent the offseason getting married and announcing the imminent arrival of his first child, the celebrations continued for the Yamaha rider as he took the first win of the year in impressive style after recovering from sixth in the opening laps, despite suffering the majority of the weekend without his crew chief.

Johann Zarco claimed top Ducati honours as the Pramac rider claimed second from his factory counterpart, Pecco Bagnaia, with the pair out-dragging Suzuki’s Joan Mir across the line. 

The 30th Grand Prix season got underway under the floodlights of Losail as record-breaker Bagnaia commanded the grid from pole position. The Ducati youngster had a trio of Yamaha’s for threatening company as Fabio Quartararo and Vińales joined him on the front row with Valentino Rossi neatly behind, just as he had been in qualifying, in fourth. 

As the grid lined up, both the wind and temperatures dropped significantly, though the conditions remained tricky ahead of the 22-lap contest and as the lights went out it was Bagnaia who stole the show once again. Ducati dominance saw the four Bologna riders lock out the lead, with Jack Miller trailing his team-mate and Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin setting sensational early pace - the rookie having stormed through from 14th on the grid. 

The Yamaha trio sat behind, holding fifth to seventh as they headed Aleix Espargaro as Zarco stole second from the Australian. Danillo Petrucci ending a disastrous start to the season in the gravel before the first lap was even complete.

Lap three saw both Suzuki’s advance on the Aprilia as Quartararo took his chance on the latter Ducati, Vińales emulating his fellow Monster Energy man soon after. The Suzukis were back on the move on the following lap as the pair both dispatched Rossi to ninth before Rins set his sights on Martin for sixth. 

Seven laps down and Zarco looked to be threatening his factory cohort, Bagnaia aiming to control his early pace in a bid to save his tyres for the closing stages. Quartararo made a move stick on Miller as the lap drew to a close with the Frenchman hoping to block the Ducati’s attempts at a comeback down the dreaded straight. His teammate, it appears, was taking notes and the Spaniard repeated the move two laps later, leaving Miller dejectedly in fifth. Rossi, however, was going in the opposite direction, the 42-year-old now circulating outside of the top-10, in 11th, behind Miguel Oliveira and Martin.

12 laps to go and Miller had Rins firmly on his wheel, the battling pair now 1.6s ahead of the reigning world champion while Rossi’s fortunes faded even further when the Petronas rider left the track and dropped to 16th, his teammate Franky Morbidelli already struggling in 19th. 

Lap 13 saw a rejuvenated Vińales threatening the front as he dispatched Zarco for second before immediately looking to challenge the leader. The prevailing wind seeming to play into the Yamaha’s hands as his speed unexpectedly matched that of his adversary. 

Nine to go and Pecco was working hard to keep the Frenchman behind him, as multiple attacks fell narrowly short, Rins having more success on Miller as he advanced to fourth. Triumph finally found Vińales, at least for now, halfway round lap 15 as he secured the lead, his teammate seeming to fade further, in seventh. 

An inspiring debut on the Repsol Honda saw Pol Espargaro circulating just behind his elder brother for ninth with a top-rookie performance promoting Enea Bastianini to 10th. 

Ducati’s delight seemed to be dimming fast as Zarco dispatched his factory rival for second while Miller dropped again, this time to eighth. Martin’s early excitement was short-lived as the Spaniard now found himself in the final points position, sandwiched between Rossi and his younger brother, Luca Marini.

Four laps to go and Vińales had extended his impressive lead to over a second from Zarco and Bagnaia. Mir now the Suzuki in charge, in fourth, with Quartararo also finding late-race-pace as he quickly dispatched Rins to sixth. One lap later and Mir had replaced Pecco for the final podium position while both Espargaro brothers had the better of his teammate and Ducati’s day went from bad to worse. 

A dramatic last lap saw the Suzuki hotshot all over the Pramac machine but Bagnaia was biding his time behind the battling pair. The closing sector saw Mir finally take second before the might of the Ducati engine destroyed his dreams, both Zarco and Bagnaia storming past down the straight to claim the podium by 0.09s at the line. 

Quartararo’s recovery left him fifth at the flag and ahead of Rins with the Espargaro brothers completing the race in chronological order. Miller finished a disappointing ninth with Bastianini jubilant in 10th. Stefan Bradl completed his first of, at least, two stand-in rides for the missing Marc Marquez, in 11th ahead of Rossi, Oliveira and Brad Binder, with Martin holding on for the final point. Marini concluded his GP debut in 16th from Iker Lecuona while Morbidelli ended a disappointing day 23 seconds behind the lead in 18th. Lorenzo Savadori completed the roster a painful 22.4 seconds off the Petronas, in 19th while disaster for LCR saw both riders crash out of the race on laps seven and 14.