MotoGP Season Review

The MotoGP season got off to a start in the pitch black desert of the Losail track in Qatar at night time. Fortunately, somebody had the presence of mind to erect enough floodlights to illuminate most of the planet, and the bikes looked magnificent as the light glinted off them. The first surprise was that Yamaha had locked out the front row, the second surprise was that FIAT Yamaha's Valentino Rossi wasn't riding any of them, as he was way back in 7th on the grid, struggling with setup in his first race on Bridgestone tyres. His rookie team mate Jorge Lorenzo had incredibly taken pole in his first ever MotoGP qualifying session. In the race, Ducati's Casey Stoner took his time getting to the front, but then disappeared as usual. Jorge Lorenzo trailed him across the line in second place, with Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa third. Andrea Dovizioso elbowed past Rossi to grab 4th place on the privateer Scot Honda, while James Toseland finished 6th on the Tech 3 Yamaha after ricocheting through the pack. Despite his Ducati team-mate winning the race, Marco Melandri was miles off the pace...

Jerez came next, the Southern Spanish track giving Jorge Lorenzo another pole position. Colin Edwards hit the headlines in qualifying after avoiding a lowside crash by digging his knee and elbow into the track and lifting the Tech 3 Yamaha back up. It was save of the season. When the red lights went out, Dani Pedrosa headed off into the wide blue yonder for a boring victory. Valentino Rossi took 2nd ahead of Lorenzo in 3rd. Stoner could only manage 11th after spending half the race flying off into the gravel, but still beat Melandri. Toseland took 6th place after bouncing off half the field again, annoying Dovi in particular...

Read the whole MotoGP Season Review at Motorbikesport.