MotoGP News
Date:
8/April/2013
Reigning MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo dominated round one
in Qatar, but it was the riders alongside him on the podium that stole the
show.
Fallen star Valentino Rossi put two miserable seasons at
Ducati behind him by fighting his way through the field to second place on his
Yamaha return, while MotoGP rookie Marc Marquez delivered a daring ride to third.
Second place may not sound like much for a seven time MotoGP
champion and record holder for race wins, but it was the manner of his Qatar
rostrum that was most significant.
Whereas his three Ducati rostrums came during wet weather
races, or picking up the pieces from incidents and accidents ahead, Rossi turned
back the clock and went on the attack on Sunday.
Starting just seventh on the grid, the 34-year-old ducked
and weaved his way up to fourth on the opening lap, but then ran wide as he
tried to overtake Ducati successor Andrea Dovizioso.
Dropping back to seventh, Rossi watched anxiously as the
riders ahead pulled clear before finally getting ahead of Stefan Bradl and
hunting down the three-way fight for second place.
Rossi said: “My first target was to try to arrive in the
podium in Qatar for the Yamaha comeback. I’m so happy.
“Because of my bad qualifying I wanted to overtake the guys
in front quickly, but unfortunately when I overtook Dovizioso I touched Pedrosa
and went wide. Then my race became harder because I was stuck behind Bradl.
“When I was free I had a great rhythm and I enjoyed it a lot
because I could see my podium getting closer and closer.”
Rossi overtook Tech 3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow and 2012 title
runner-up Dani Pedrosa in successive laps - but Pedrosa’s rookie Honda
team-mate Marquez proved a tougher prospect.
Unlike the others, the young Moto2 champion re-passed Rossi
and the pair fought to the finish, with Rossi just 0.2s ahead. Lorenzo won by
almost six-seconds.
“I thought the harder fight would be with Marc and it was
like this to the last lap,” said Rossi. “But I rode well, didn’t make any
mistakes and pushed a lot.”
Rossi’s performance naturally drew comparison with his 2004
Yamaha MotoGP debut, when he stunned the MotoGP world with victory in his first
race since leaving Honda.
“Victory is always better than second place. Always. So
Welkom was more special,” said Rossi. “But now my rivals are unbelievable. The
level is very high. So to come back on the podium and second place is a great
emotion.
“My target for the next race [Austin] will be another
podium, because after that we go back to Europe and some good races for me and
Yamaha. Usually the older tracks where I grew up and learned to ride are better
for me.”
Without Rossi’s performance, the night would have belonged
to Marquez, who set the fastest lap of the race and beat team-mate Pedrosa at
his very first attempt.
Marquez said: "I started at my 100 per cent and I
finished at my 100 per cent!
"I don't think I've ever been so nervous before a race.
However, I regained my concentration at the last moment.
"When I rode behind Dani I learnt a lot, also later on
with Valentino. Valentino was a tough rival to overtake on the final laps. He
beat us this time, but we hope to learn from him and from everyone who went
faster than us.
"But in the end I enjoyed it a lot and it is a dream
come true to be up here with these two guys [Lorenzo and Rossi]."
Asked about Marquez, Rossi replied: “I did the fastest lap
in my first race, and so did he - but I crashed, so he is better than me!”
No comments:
Post a Comment