MotoGP 2007 Round 1
Losail, Qatar
March 10, 2007

Text and Photos Courtesy MotoGP, Kawasaki, Suzuki Racing, Yamaha Racing and World Superbike.  Edited by webBikeWorld.com staff.

Race Results - Stoner Takes First Win on Ducati
Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi finished second in the inaugural Grand Prix of the 800cc era today after losing out in a close battle with Casey Stoner (Ducati), who took his first MotoGP win.

After starting from pole position for the 46th time in his career, Rossi got a good start but surrendered his lead to the eventual winner as they crossed the line at the end of the first lap with Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and John Hopkins (Suzuki) in close contention.

From then on seven-time World Champion Rossi stalked the Australian youngster with both showing their strength in different parts of the track; Rossi's Yamaha was generally faster in the corners whilst the Ducati claimed the advantage on the straights. 

With four laps to go Rossi made his move and passed but Stoner passed him back over the line and Rossi was unable to stay with him in the final few laps.  Stoner eventually took the checkered flag 2.8 seconds clear of Rossi with Pedrosa just holding on for third ahead of Hopkins.

After being consistently fast throughout the practice sessions and also starting from the front row in third, today was not to be Colin Edwards' day and a small slide off the start line saw him lose his grid position into turn one before dropping to seventh by the end of the first lap.  The Texan had a few problems during the race and was unable to make it back up to the front group, settling into a best position of fifth before Marco Melandri (Honda) eventually relegated him to sixth with three laps to go.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd; Time: +2.838:  "It was a great race today and a good battle, although of course we would have preferred to start the season with a win!  After the practice this morning we were a little bit scared because we had some problems with the tire, but we understood what to do and I definitely made the right tire choice with Michelin, so I am happy for that."

"I got a great start and my M1 worked very well, I could ride it how I wanted on the limit and keep pushing.  I wanted to push Casey and try to take the fight to him more, but in fact he was perfect today.  He didn't make a single mistake as far as I could see and he rode very well; he deserved to win so congratulations to him.  I could see that he was faster on the straight and so I knew that if I got in front I was going to need to make a gap from him, but in fact he was too strong!"

"In the last few laps we were getting faster and faster and I thought I still had a chance, but then he kept on going and my tire started to slide a little bit so I wasn't able to stay with him to the finish.  Anyway, we only waved the white flag right at the end so I am happy about this!  Of course it's not perfect but my team have worked very hard and it's much better to have 20 points like this than two like last year!  Now we need to find a little bit more horsepower, but Yamaha is working very hard and I am confident that we will continue to improve."

Kawasaki MotoGP Team - Jacque In The Points As De Puniet Crashes Out
Olivier Jacque was the sole Kawasaki survivor in today's opening race of the season in Qatar, bringing his Ninja ZX-RR home in twelfth place after his young teammate, Randy de Puniet, crashed out of contention after just seven laps

Jacque was forced to change his riding style after one-third distance, after the hard compound rear tire he opted to use in the race started to slide under acceleration.  Despite the lack of traction, the 33-year-old Kawasaki pilot maintained a consistent pace to close onto the back of Kenny Roberts and Toni Elias at the start of the final lap.

Jacque waited until the final corner to slingshot past the two Honda powered machines to steal a hard fought twelfth place finish at the line, and to claim Kawasaki's first championship points of the new season.

De Puniet managed a good start from the third row of the grid, but lost one place as the leading riders fought for position into the first turn, and then lost another as former teammate, Shinya Nakano, passed him on the next short straight.

The 26-year-old Frenchman then found himself chasing reigning World Champion, Nicky Hayden, but despite being able to close right onto the back wheel of the American, de Puniet didn't have the outright top speed to put in a clean pass on the main straight.

Instead, the Kawasaki pilot was forced to try and carry more speed though the turns, and it was while pushing hard to make up ground that he lost the front of his Ninja ZX-RR in the final turn and ended his race without injury in the gravel trap.  The Kawasaki Racing Team will remain at the Losail International circuit for a one-day test tomorrow, where they will focus on a tire evaluation program set by Bridgestone.

Olivier Jacque - 12th place:  "Considering how hard the practice sessions were, I was not expecting to finish like this.  Twelfth position is not where I want to be, but the rhythm and the fight have been satisfying.  Following my team's advice, I took it easy at the beginning looking for my pace.  I felt good and had a nice fight with Elias and Roberts.  On the last lap I was behind Elias and he surprised me, making me go wide.  Roberts overtook me but at the last turn I braked later than them and exited the corner faster, allowing me to finish in front. It was great to come back to racing and understand the bike better."

Qualifying Results
Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards carried on from where they left off yesterday on day two of the season opening Grand Prix of Qatar, topping the time sheets again in this morning's free practice before taking first and third in a gripping Qualifying session this afternoon.

Rossi will start from pole for the 46th time in his Grand Prix career with his team mate two places away from him, the pair separated only by the Ducati of Casey Stoner who was just five-thousandths of a second slower than the Italian.

With the new tire restrictions meaning the Yamaha duo had only two qualifying tires to work with in the session, the first forty minutes were focused on perfecting the set-ups of their 800cc M1s and both continued to show a consistently strong pace on race tires. 

Already holding the top spot after a string of fast laps inside the last twenty minutes, Edwards' first qualifying tire saw him consolidate first place with ten minutes to go, his team-mate moving into second place behind him a few minutes later.  The last five minutes saw a flurry of activity with Rossi, Edwards, Stoner, Toni Elias and Dani Pedrosa (both Honda) all putting in quick flying laps in a tense finale.  All five riders lapped under last year's pole time but it was Rossi who took the honours with a lap of 1'55.002, over half a second faster than the existing record.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 1st; Time: 1'55.002:  "It's great to have my first pole of the season at the very first race and it's extra special for me because it's pole number 46 of my career!  I hope this is a good omen for tomorrow.  I'm really happy for this pole position because everyone has worked so hard; all my mechanics, engineers, Michelin…everyone involved.  Yamaha has built us a great bike."

"Anyway tomorrow is another day and the real race, but we're starting from first and Colin is on the front row too so I hope we can put in a good Yamaha show!  We have a couple of things to check in morning practice but we're more or less ready.  I really like this track, the grip is great, it's fast and technical and it's possible to have a lot of fun with the new Yamaha.  It's also quite quiet here, with not too many people and this is a nice atmosphere in which to start the season as I can focus completely on racing without too many other distractions!  I think tomorrow there are three or four riders who can fight at the top with Colin and me, but we're feeling confident in our garage."

Colin Edwards - Position: 3rd; Time: 1'55.223:  "Yamaha, Michelin, Valentino and I have all worked so hard and it's really exciting to be up there together on the front row...although of course I would like to try to reverse the order tomorrow!  Our bike is going so well so far this year, everywhere we go we've got a plan and it seems to work and the lap times are just amazing.  It's a great feeling."

"I love this track and the set-up we have seems to be spot-on, really we don't have anything left to do tomorrow morning except double-check everything and make our final tire choice.  I've got a choice of two but honestly I'm not too worried, they both work well and I don't think either will be the difference between winning and losing - Michelin seem to have it all under control for us!  It's going to be a matter of getting a good start and seeing how it goes. I think there's a few that can run with us but our race pace is pretty good so I am confident I can be up there fighting!"

Following a long winter of testing it was a relief for the team to finally get the season underway, with this the first time the championship has begun outside Europe since Rossi's historic first win with Yamaha in South Africa in 2004.

After an excellent performance at the test here just a few weeks ago, Rossi and Edwards were both confident of a strong start today and there were no surprises from their 800cc M1s, running in their new Fiat Yamaha Team livery (story) for the first time.

Edwards finished the morning session on top with his team-mate close behind in third whilst Rossi dominated the second free practice this afternoon, sitting at the top of the time sheets for the majority of the hour-long session.  Edwards, despite not bettering his time from this morning, was second, just over three-tenths of a second behind his Italian team-mate.

Today was also the first day of the new MotoGP tire regulations, which stipulate a maximum of 31 tires (14 fronts and 17 rears) per rider during a Grand Prix weekend.  This has forced the teams to alter the way they work throughout the practice sessions but Rossi especially is confident that these new rules will help rather than hinder the riders, bringing increased clarity on set-up decisions and making it easier to plan the weekend's work.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 1st; Time: 1'56.464; Laps: 47:  "It was a very good beginning for all of the team; it's a new season and we have a new sponsor and livery so it's good to start with both Colin and I at the top!  We were in a good situation at the test here also but really the most important test was Jerez, because there we understood a lot more about our bike and we made some important changes."

"It seems here that the setting is very good and we were fast from the start this morning.  I'm very happy with my Yamaha today, I can ride it well, I have a good rhythm and it's great fun to ride here in Qatar!  For me, the new tire rule is very good.  Like this you know just what you have from the start, it's much more logical and there is less confusion for everyone.  It means we can make decisions more quickly and I think, especially with a delicate bike like ours, that it's going to be helpful to have such a clear situation with tires from the start of every weekend.  Now let's see how we get on tomorrow and try to keep this rhythm going throughout the weekend."

Colin Edwards - Position: 2nd; Time: 1'56.665; Laps: 45 -  "Today's gone pretty good, I think we can say we've made a strong start to the weekend.  After finding a great setting here at the test we made a few more changes in Jerez and made the bike even better.  We started off today with the bike set-up pretty similar to Jerez, with just a few small changes, and it seemed to work well from the off.  We had a little bit of an issue this morning with a tire, but we compared notes with Valentino afterwards and sorted that out pretty quickly between us."

"It's the first day of the new tire rules and it's a little bit scary to know that there's no longer an inexhaustible supply, but we just have to slightly adapt the way we work to accommodate it and I think it will work well in the long run.  Here it could be more of an issue because the conditions can be quite changeable from day to day, but we'll keep our fingers crossed that we stay in the "range" and save one of each of our best tires for race day."

Race Preview
Here's my prediction, and it takes no great prognostication to say this: We're in for yet another fantastic MotoGP season!  The new 800cc MotoGP bikes have already proven faster than the 990cc bikes of last year, due to their lower weight and higher cornering speeds. 

The reason for the switch was to make the bikes slower, thus safer?  Not sure who's head will be on the chopping block for this, but nevertheless, I think the lighter bikes will prove more interesting to watch in the long run.

We'll continue to try and bring you the latest MotoGP information for the 2007 season, even though we're doing it as armchair racers.  And by the way, although we're huge Rossi fans, there's a soft spot in our heart for the underdog, Kawasaki.  Let's hope they pull off a few more wins this year.

So let's get started -- here's the first report for the upcoming Qatar race:

 Confident Kawasaki Head for Qatar

After a long and intense period of pre-season testing in which Kawasaki riders Randy de Puniet and Olivier Jacque covered more than 7000 km aboard their Ninja ZX-RR machines, the first race of the 2007 season has finally arrived.

This week the Kawasaki Racing Team head for Qatar for the opening race of the season at the spectacular Losail International circuit, which is located in the desert on the outskirts of Qatar's capital city, Doha.

The demanding 5.380 km Losail track has not always been kind to the Kawasaki Racing Team in the past, but a successful pre-season test at the circuit less than three weeks ago means that de Puniet and Jacque head for the middle east with high expectations of a strong race debut for Kawasaki's new 800cc Ninja ZX-RR.

De Puniet crashed out of last year's Grand Prix of Qatar on the opening lap, but heads for this year's race confident of making amends, after topping the timesheet during the final day of testing at Jerez just one week ago.

The 26-year-old Frenchman has concentrated specifically during pre-season testing on improving his consistency over race distance.  De Puniet completed three race distance simulations in as many days during last months test at Qatar, with positive results, although the long runs highlighted how critical tire choice will be for the opening race of the season.

De Puniet's Kawasaki teammate, Olivier Jacque, also heads for Qatar determined to put the memory of a crash behind him.  The 33-year-old Frenchman was forced to sit out most of the recent three-day test at the Losail circuit as a result of injuries sustained after high-siding his Ninja ZX-RR on the opening day.

Jacque is under no illusions about his return to racing this weekend.  The Kawasaki pilot has worked hard during testing to provide engineers with the feedback so critical to Kawasaki's development program, but now the former World Champion needs to switch back to race mode ahead of Thursday's opening free practice session.

The new regulations for tires and fuel consumption could prove a major factor in the final results in Qatar, an exposed track where wind, sand and an abrasive surface also play a critical part.

With the ambient temperature expected to exceed 30 degrees centigrade (86 F), and with recent tests cancelled due to sandstorms, the race in Qatar, which is only one of two held on a Saturday, promises to be another test of endurance for all the MotoGP teams.

Randy de Puniet: #14:  "After such a heavy test schedule I'm really looking forward to finally getting down to racing again.  I think we've shown our competitiveness over the past few weeks and I'm happy with the performance of both our Ninja ZX-RR and myself.  The test is Qatar went well, although we struggled a little with identifying a race tire, but we were able to do some more work on this at Jerez where we made a big step forward."

"We're still missing a bit of top speed, which will be a slight handicap at Qatar with the long straight, but we've already shown that we can make up this deficit through the turns thanks to the balanced handling of our bike.  The track at Qatar is normally quite dirty, which means there is normally only one racing line. This means that it's difficult to overtake and makes a good starting position even more important.  I will be looking to qualify as high up the grid as possible, and I will be happy if we leave Qatar with a top ten finish in the opening race of the season."

Olivier Jacque: #19:  "I can't wait for the first race; I'm really excited about making my racing return at Qatar.  We've had a good pre-season; progressing and always evolving after each test, now we need to carry that momentum into the opening race.  Losail is a special circuit for me.  I have done many tests in Qatar, and despite the fact that I've crashed there a few times I really like the circuit.  It's a good track, fast and flat, although it can also be tricky because the wind blows sand onto the track, making surface conditions unpredictable.  There is a long main straight, and our top speed is not yet the best, but I think we can compensate for this through corner speed, which has proved to be one of the strengths of the new Ninja ZX-RR during testing."

"My target for the coming weekend is to improve my lap times, gain some consistency and battle it out with one of the groups in the race.  I don't know if a top ten finish is possible, as I'm still not completely up to race speed, but I'm sure it's going to be a close and fun race.  This race is sure to give me a boost; I have been waiting a long time to be part of a full factory team and I want to make the most of this opportunity, starting this weekend."

 Suzuki MotoGP Racing

The testing has ended and Rizla Suzuki MotoGP is in Qatar for the first round of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship, to be staged at the Losail International Circuit on Saturday 10th March.

John Hopkins is fighting to be back at full fitness to take his place on the grid with team-mate Chris Vermeulen, as both riders will be going all out to make a solid start to the 2007 Championship campaign.  Hopkins is recovering from his high-speed crash last month – also at Losail – and is eager to get back on the bike whilst Vermeulen is keen to capitalize on his rookie season in MotoGP last year and develop into a force to reckoned with.

This is the first time that Qatar has held the inaugural GP of the season and it will give riders and machines alike a real tough start to this season’s 18-race series - the Losail circuit can become very dusty and slippery due to its location in the Qatari desert. 

The hot and abrasive nature of the track’s surface will make tire choice all important and the high air temperatures will test the riders’ stamina to the limits.  This race will also mark the first ever Grand Prix for the 800cc bikes and see the instigation of the new tire rule – which only allows each rider using Bridgestone or Michelin tires a limit of no more than 31 slick tires per rider, 14 front and 17 rear, for the duration of the race weekend.  There will be no limit on the number of wet tires.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP tested at the 5.380km circuit only last month and gathered important data about the performance of the new Suzuki GSV-R and the latest generation of Bridgestone tires, which all parties hope will stand them in good stead come race-day.

Practice will begin on Thursday as Hopkins and Vermeulen take to the track for an hour-long session in the morning and afternoon.  Friday will see another hour of practice followed by the all-exciting afternoon qualifying session to decide grid positions for Saturday’s 22-lap race that gets underway at 15.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

John Hopkins:  “I am slowly getting back to fitness and I’m ready to get to work in Qatar.  I was gutted to miss the final test as we still had a bit of work to do and I really wanted to go for the car, but it was the best thing to do as I need to be ready for this weekend.  Chris worked hard in Jerez and we learnt some stuff about tires so we have an idea of what to use here in Qatar.  I am more excited for this first race than I have ever been in my career and I need to get out there and start showing what the Suzuki and I can do!”

Chris Vermeulen:  “Qatar is an unusual circuit and one that we have struggled at a bit before, but I am sure with the new bike and the latest tires we will make some sort of impact this year.  I have raced here in MotoGP and Superbikes so it is a track that I know quite well.  It is going to be tough out there because of the heat, wind and dust but it’s also a track that gives good, fast racing and I hope that we can push the Suzukis right up there to the front.”

 Yamaha MotoGP Team

Yamaha Factory Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards begin their assault on the 2007 MotoGP World Championship next weekend as the most eagerly anticipated season in recent history finally fires up in Qatar.  Saturday's race is the first of eighteen mouth-watering events across thirteen countries and four continents that will decide the destiny of the most coveted prize in motorcycle racing.  For the first time since the turn of the millennium, Rossi starts out as a challenger to the throne.

After finally conceding his title to Nicky Hayden (Honda) in a dramatic last chapter to the 2006 campaign at Valencia in November, the ever-popular Italian has worked tirelessly alongside his engineers on development of Yamaha's all-new YZR-M1, which features an 800cc capacity engine in accordance with new technical regulations.  The revised rulebook also stipulates a reduced fuel capacity of 21 liters and a maximum of 31 tires (14 front and 17 rear) per rider during a race weekend, piling extra pressure on the teams and adding even more intrigue for the fans as the season gets underway.

Rossi's hopes of a winning start are substantiated by two victories from three previous visits to the Losail International Circuit since its inauguration in 2004.  His confidence has been further boosted by an outstanding performance in the final pre-season test at Jerez, where he set the fastest lap in a televised 40-minute "qualifying" session and capped an excellent winter of development work that has taken in seventeen days of hard graft at circuits in Spain, Malaysia and Qatar.

The equally diligent work of Rossi's dependable team-mate Colin Edwards, who was close behind Rossi in third during last week's qualifying session, has contributed greatly to the swift evolution of the 800cc version YZR-M1 and the pair are now bursting to go racing.  The Texas Tornado is promising to whip up a storm in the desert and maintain a strong front throughout the year, as he looks to capitalize on a pre-season that has seen him side-by-side with Rossi at the top end of the time sheets at virtually every circuit they have visited.

Bike set-up at the Losail International Circuit is complicated by a host of slow corners that are preceded by fast changes of direction.  The tight hairpin at turn six, for example, comes with a quick right-left change under braking, calling for a delicate balance between stability and agility.  The most important section is the three fast rights at the end of the lap because this is where the rider can make up the most time, making stability at maximum lean angle an absolute must so that he has confidence to open the throttle with the bike still on its side.

Valentino Rossi - "Fast and fun":  The sight of Rossi and his new M1 in high-speed harmony during that final pre-season test at Jerez will have mesmerized his fans and demoralized his rivals, sending out a clear warning that the most successful motorcycle racer in recent history wants his title back.

The 28-year-old has had just one thought in his mind since shaking hands with Nicky Hayden on the warm-down lap at Valencia and he is convinced that this season's ambitions will not be hampered by the misfortunes that ultimately denied him tenure of the number 1 plate for a sixth straight year.

"After the great test in Jerez we're going to the first race feeling confident and happy," says Rossi.  "Last year we had some problems at the final test that left us feeling worried going to the first race but more than anything Jerez proved that we're in a very different situation to last year and confirmed the great job we've done with the new M1 over the winter.  Now it's finally time for the first race and it's time to see if all our hard work pays off.  Everyone is very excited and very motivated after what happened last year and our aim is very simple - to win!"

"I like Qatar a lot, it's fast and fun to ride and I have won there twice.  Of course it's quite hot and dusty so tire choice will be very important, especially with the new rules.  The other key factor is going to be the fuel consumption - I think it is something everybody is worried about this season but we are all in the same boat.  We know the bike should work well at the first two races but the championship is very long.  Dani Pedrosa has looked the most consistent in testing but I think Nicky Hayden, Loris Capirossi and my own team-mate Colin Edwards will be in the fight for the title."

Colin Edwards - "A level playing field":  After stating earlier in the pre-season that the YZR-M1 is the best 800cc bike in the field, Colin Edwards has seen nothing to change his mind over the past two tests and the 33-year-old is now on the brink of what he hopes can be his best season since joining MotoGP in 2003.  The former double World Superbike Champion has scored six podiums in that time, one of them coming at Losail in 2004, and he is confident of adding significantly to that tally this year - starting on Saturday at a circuit he feels provides a level playing field between him and more seasoned Grand Prix riders.

"Qatar is a great track, I love it and I always feel that it's a level playing field because we've only been there a few times as opposed to some of the European circuits where other riders have basically grown up," observes Edwards.  "I'm feeling really confident going back there for the first race, especially after our last test there when I was pretty fast every day, and the progress we made at Jerez last week.  The track suits my style and I felt really comfortable there during the test, so hopefully we can translate that to the race conditions."

"We had some problems in the race last year but I am feeling completely different now because this bike is a whole new ballgame.  After working really well on smooth tracks like Sepang and Qatar we managed to adopt it to the bumps at Jerez with a completely different setting so I'm really confident that we have a great package for the whole season.  I've said throughout pre-season that the target this season is to win races, so I'm looking forward to getting started."

Qatar Lap Record (990cc)
Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006, 1'57.305

Qatar Best Lap (800cc)
Casey Stoner (Honda) 2006, 1'55.683

2006 Qatar Grand Prix Results
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 43'22.229
2. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda +0.900
3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati +1.494
9. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha +22.920