Reigning MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez pipped veteran Valentino Rossi for the first win of the year under the Qatar floodlights after Jorge Lorenzo crashed out on the first lap, losing the front under braking.
The Repsol Honda man swapped places with Rossi throughout the race but just got a small gap on the last lap - setting his fastest of the race in the process - to cross the line with a quarter of a second in his pocket.
Marquez was the only rider on the grid to use the hard option rear tyre and was riding with a still-broken leg but it looked like, with two laps left, Rossi may have his measure.
Rossi took the lead on the penultimate lap, but Marquez came back past a couple of corners later. Rossi then went back past but Marquez pushed him wide to re-take the lead. Marquez dealt with the pressure of having the nine-time world champion right behind him but didn’t flinch on the run to the line.
Dani Pedrosa had a lonely ride for third when Gresini Honda’s Alvaro Bautista crashed with only two laps left to run. The Spanish pair had been scrapping for the last podium spot two seconds behind the leaders while Britain’s Bradley Smith, who had been running in solid fifth, also crashed out in the late stages which promoted Aleix Espargaro to fourth place on the Open class Forward Yamaha.
Stefan Bradl will be scratching his head again as he crashed out of the lead, losing the front again and sending his LCR Honda into the gravel. HRC have openly questioned his front-end problems and this will have done nothing to help.
Andrea Dovizioso was the lead Ducati by some margin, passed by Espargaro with eight laps to go, while Cal Crutchlow finished in sixth but 16 seconds behind Marquez and had a technical problem from the first lap.
Scott Redding rode to an incredible seventh-placed finished and was the top Honda production rider, passing Nicky Hayden with eight laps to go while Colin Edwards was ninth. Michael Laverty finished in 16th after jumping the start and taking a ride-through penalty.
