German Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) won the opening Moto2 World Championship race of the season, taking victory in the Grand Prix of Qatar after starting from the first pole position of his career.
Bradl led from the start of the race and eventually won by a large margin of 4.330 seconds. This race last season was won by the late Shoya Tomizawa and under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit, an intense battle occurred for the positions between second and fifth.
In a field of 16 Grand Prix winners, racing is always tough in the intermediate class but it was Andrea Iannone (Speed Master) who grabbed the second spot on the rostrum and gained his 14th podium of his career.
After starting down in 16th place, the Italian clawed his way up to ninth place at the end of lap one and was up to second place by lap nine.
Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) finished third after equalling his best ever qualifying starting from third position. Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing) was overtaken by Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) on the last lap and dropped to fifth place.
After a poor start from the front row, reigning 125cc World Champion Marc Márquez (Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol) found life more difficult in his Moto2 debut and crashed out in the first part of the 20-lap race.
Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project) was sixth, 14.217 seconds behind the race winner. He beat Frenchman Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing) on the line in a close finish. Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing Moto2) was eighth, just behind the duo.
Bradley Smith (Tech 3) was the best debutant recording a ninth placed finish, beating Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar).
Nicolas Terol (Bankia Aspar) took the top spot in the 125cc Grand Prix season opener at Losail.
Under the floodlights the 125cc class kicked off the championship and it was the Spaniard who collected the 25 points, after dominating every session held in Qatar this weekend.
Aprillia have won the 125cc race in Qatar for the past five years and Terol made it six in a row. The Bankia Aspar rider won the race here in Qatar in 2010 and his victory in the 2011 opening round, takes his victory tally to six in this class.
Terol was never headed from the start and made an early getaway, winning by a large margin of 7.710.
The fight for the podium was hotly contested amongst a group of four riders, but it was Sandro Cortese (Intact Racing Team Germany) making his 100th Grand Prix start, who clinched second place in the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, taking his sixth podium in 125cc.
The fight for the final podium position was fierce, but it went to the experienced rider Sergio Gadea (PEV-Blusens-SMX Paris Hilton) who won the first ever Qatar Grand Prix back in 2008.
He edged out Efrén Vázquez (Ajo Motorsport) and Jonas Folger (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) for third, who followed close behind.
2011 MotoGP World Championship
Round One – Losail Circuit, Qatar
Moto2 Results:
Moto2 Standings:
125GP Results:
125GP Standings: