Source: MotoGP.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has clinched victory in a thrilling MotoGP world championship season opener under the spotlights of Qatar.

Marquez would start from pole position, the tenth of his career, but it was title rival Jorge Lorenzo who capitalised at the start, the Movistar Yamaha rider fighting his way to the lead by the first corner.

Looking to put a difficult start to the grand prix behind him, Lorenzo began to move clear of his pursuers, a charge that would last less than a lap as he crashed heavily, his YZR-M1 destroyed.

Seizing the initiative was LCR Honda MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl, who took up the lead out front and began to set the pace as the field settled somewhat behind him.

Unfortunately the German rider ultimately met with the same fate as Lorenzo, crashing heavily in the same turn some laps later, and handing the baton to the second factory Yamaha of Valentino Rossi.

The battle between Rossi and Marquez that followed would run for the remainder of the race, with the riders exchanging aggressive passes in an attempt to shake the other.

They would stay locked together, however, with Marquez making best use of his track position in the decisive stages to deny Rossi of the win by just 0.259 seconds.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa claimed the third podium placing, riding safely as a high attrition rate claimed a host of top names around him.

GO&FUN Gresini Honda’s Alvaro Bautista, who at one point was a realistic challenger for a win, suffered a huge crash, with the Monster Tech3 Yamaha of Bradley Smith also going to ground late in the piece as he ran a competitive fifth.

NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Aleix Espargaro put in a consistent showing to move forward from ninth on the grid to fourth. Espargaro was undoubtedly left wondering what could have been after dominating the early stages of the grand prix weekend on his Open configuration Yamaha.

Fifth and sixth went the way of the Ducat factory pairing of Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow, a much-neeed confidence booster for the Italian team competing in its first grand prix under the Open Factory banner.

Scott Redding put in a solid performance to come home seventh in his premier class debut with Gresini Honda, followed closely to the line by Nicky Hayden, also on debut with Drive M7 Aspar Honda.

The wily Colin Edwards was ninth on his Forward Yamaha, with Andrea Iannone recovering from an early crash to claim 10th.

Australia’s Broc Parkes impressed in his MotoGP debut, outlasting the opposition to claim a crucial world championship point for his 15th place finish.

The Paul Bird Motorsports rider moved forward six places from his grid position of 21st with his two-wheel pedigree shining through despite the considerable learning curve he has faced.

Marc VDS Racing Team rider Esteve Rabat has won the opening Moto2 race of the season, recovering from a slow start to deny IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia’s Takaaki Nakagami of a first win on the final corner.

Spanish rider Rabat edged out the Japanese talent by just 0.040 seconds at the line, concluding a battle that raged for several laps.

Mika Kallio completed the podium for the Marc VDS Racing Team, finishing 1.059 seconds adrift of the top two. Thom Luthi ran fourth on the Interwetten Paddock Moto2 mount, while 2013 Moto3 champion Maverick Vinales put in a solid ride to round out the top five.

Simone Corse was a lone sixth, with Sam Lowes, Sandro Cortese and Jordi Torres claiming seventh through ninth respectively.

An exemplary effort from Aussie Ant West saw him peg back 16 positions from his grid placing of 26th to claim 10th outright. The QMMF Racing Team rider shone in his team’s home amphitheatre, with his experience in the class outlasting a great many of his rivals who faltered along the way.

Source: MotoGP.

The Moto3 class welcomed a new winner in the ranks, with Australia celebrating a stunning victory by Jack Miller on the Red Bull Ajo Motorsports KTM.

An embattled Miller took the fight to the top teams in 2013 on an underpowered Honda, earning a ride with the Ajo outfit on his merits.

He has wasted little time in confirming his intentions this season, and after qualifying fourth, was able to factor at the front and pounce when Alex Marquez made a minor mistake on the last lap.

A busy pack pushed each other to the finish line, with Miller claiming the win from Marquez by just 0.233 seconds and just 0.587 seconds rounding out the top six finishers.

Efren Vazquez was thrd, with Miguel Oliveira fourth and Alex Rins fifth. Positions five through ten were claimed by Jakub Kornfeil, Alexis Masbou, Isaac Vinales, Niccol Antontelli and Franesco Bagnaia.

It was a difficult debut weekend for Mahindra Racing’s Aussie charge Arthur Sissis, a non-starter at the season opener.

The MotoGP world championship resumes at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas in just under a fortnight.

2014 MotoGP World Championship

Round one – Losail, Qatar

MotoGP race results:
1. Marc MARQUEZ
2. Valentino ROSSI +0.259
3. Dani PEDROSA +3.370
4. Aleix ESPARGARO +11.623
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO +12.159
6. Cal CRUTCHLOW +28.526
7. Scott REDDING +32.593
8. Nicky HAYDEN +32.628
9. Colin EDWARDS +39.547
10. Andrea IANNONE +43.360
15. Broc PARKES (AUS) +1m14.386

MotoGP championship standings (after round one of 18):
1. Marc MARQUEZ 25
2. Valentino ROSSI 20
3. Dani PEDROSA 16
4. Aleix ESPARGARO 13
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO 11
6. Cal CRUTCHLOW 10
7. Scott REDDING 9
8. Nicky HAYDEN 8
9. Colin EDWARDS 7
10. Andrea IANNONE 6
15. Broc PARKES (AUS) 1

Moto2 race results:
1. Esteve RABAT
2. Takaaki NAKAGAMI +0.040
3. Mika KALLIO +1.059
4. Thomas LUTHI +3.741
5. Maverick VIÑALES +4.043
6. Simone CORSI +5.830
7. Sam LOWES +14.170
8. Sandro CORTESE +24.943
9. Jordi TORRES +25.196
10. Anthony WEST (AUS) +25.322

Moto2 championship standings (after round one of 18):
1. Esteve RABAT 25
2. Takaaki NAKAGAMI 20
3. Mika KALLIO 16
4. Thomas LUTHI 13
5. Maverick VIÑALES 11
6. Simone CORSI 10
7. Sam LOWES 9
8. Sandro CORTESE 8
9. Jordi TORRES 7
10. Anthony WEST (AUS) 6

Moto3 race results:
1. Jack MILLER (AUS)
2. Alex MARQUEZ +0.233
3. Efren VAZQUEZ +0.280
4. Miguel OLIVEIRA +0.295
5. Alex RINS +0.369
6. Jakub KORNFEIL +0.586
7. Alexis MASBOU +2.109
8. Isaac VIÑALES +2.161
9. Niccolò ANTONELLI +8.153
10. Francesco BAGNAIA +8.173

Moto3 championship standings (after round one of 18):
1. Jack MILLER (AUS) 25
2. Alex MARQUEZ 20
3. Efren VAZQUEZ 16
4. Miguel OLIVEIRA 13
5. Alex RINS 11
6. Jakub KORNFEIL 10
7. Alexis MASBOU 9
8. Isaac VIÑALES 8
9. Niccolò ANTONELLI 7
10. Francesco BAGNAIA 6

Click here for detailed results