 Stoner celebrates his first ever MotoGP victory |
Casey Stoner won a cat-and-mouse battle with Valentino Rossi to take victory in the season-opening Qatar MotoGP. The pair, who started at the front of the grid, traded the lead throughout the race with Australian Stoner finally prevailing for his first MotoGP win.
Rossi's Yamaha was superior on the turns but Stoner's Ducati gave him the edge with awesome straight-line speed.
Reigning champion Nicky Hayden looked ill at ease on the new Honda and finished down in eighth place.
Hayden's team-mate Dani Pedrosa won a hard-fought battle with American John Hopkins to take third place.
 | A win is better but second is not so bad |
Northern Ireland rider Jeremy McWilliams was not fit enough to take part after hurting his leg in a crash during Friday's qualifying.
Rossi started on pole and held the lead until the end of the first lap when Stoner's power down the straight propelled him past the Italian.
From then on, the pair shared the lead and began to pull away from Spaniard Pedrosa.
| 606: DEBATE |
Stoner held the lead for the majority of the second half of the race and when Rossi tried to make a move with four laps to go, the Australian immediately went back in front.
The 21-year-old then put in his fastest lap on the last circuit of the track to claim victory.
"We struggled in a few parts of the track during the race where Valentino was a bit quicker but I just used what we had to our advantage," said the Australian.
Five-time champion Rossi was more than satisfied with his start to the season.
"The Yamaha was well balanced and took the corners well," the 28-year-old told BBC Sport. "I am happy because we made the right tyre choice."
"A win is better but second is not so bad."
Eugene Laverty's debut in the 250cc race saw him come home in 18th place on his LCR Honda, with the race being won by Jorge Lorenzo, ahead of Alex de
Angeles and Hector Barbera. In the 125cc race, Hector Faubel snatched victory from Aspar Aprilia team-mate Gabor Talmasci on the line, with Lukas Pesek third.
Repsol Honda's Bradley Smith came 12th and Molenaar Honda's Danny Webb retired near the end of the race.
Qatar MotoGP result:
1 C Stoner (Aus) Ducati 43min 02.788 seconds
2 V Rossi (It) Yamaha 43:05.626
3 D Pedrosa (Sp) Honda 43:11.318
4 J Hopkins (US) Suzuki 43:11.859
5 M Melandri (It) Honda 43:20.221
6 C Edwards (US) Yamaha 43:21.435
7 C Vermeulen (Aus) Suzuki 43:25.704
8 N Hayden (US) Honda 43:25.845
9 A Barros (Brz) Ducati 43:28.749
10 S Nakano (Jpn) Honda 43:31.244
250cc race result:
1 J Lorenzo (Sp) Aprilia 40mins 23.753secs
2 A De Angelis (SM) Aprilia 40:24.977
3 H Barbera (Sp) Aprilia 40:26.664
Selected other:
18 E Laverty (GB) LCR Honda 42:21.211
125cc race result:
1 H Faubel (Sp) Aprilia 38mins 12.029secs
2 G Talmacsi (Hun)
Aprilia 38:12.102
3 L Pesek (Cze) Derbi 38:29.528
Selected other:
12 B Smith (GB) Honda 38:52.708
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Moto GP Highlights: Stoner wins in Qatar