visors down

With the sun set and the circuit lights turned on, it was race time in the desert.
Qatar is always a test for the riders, the conditions are hot and sweaty, the bikes are getting their first outing in race conditions and the pressure is on.

Moto3:
Moto3 started off in fine fashion for the classes first Grand Prix. There was a solid battle up and down the field, the main being for the podium.
Championship favourite, Maverick Vinales had a close battle with rookie Romano Fenati who put in a fantastic performance, chopping and changing the lead with Vinales throughout the race. Vinales broke away from the Italian during the last few laps to take the win, Fenati was guaranteed 2nd place (providing he didn't slip up - which he didn't) however the 3rd and final place on the podium was very much up for grabs. Sandro Cortese, Luis Salom and Miguel Oliviera were all in contention. All on a charge on the last lap it was pole sitter Cortese who made a brave move to take 3rd from Salom.

[1st-Maverick Vinales, 2nd-Romano Fenati, 3rd-Sandro Cortese]

Moto2:
2012 started no different in Moto2, exciting racing from the start, followed by controversy and a Marc Marquez win!
Where do i start? From start to finish the race order was constantly changing. Pol Espargaro got off to a great start leading the race, he was closely chased by Marquez, Andrea Iannone, Esteve Rabat and Thomas Luthi, with all of them going deep and off line at some point during the race.
With  no clear leader throughout the majority of the race it was tactical Marquez who kept calm and calculated, well and truly putting the doubters to rest after his eye injury, he made all the right passes to take 1st from Iannone who came 2nd. Joining them on the 3rd step of the podium was Pol Espargaro thanks to Luthi who ran wide after clashing with Marquez earlier on.
In my opinion Marquez didn't cut Luthi off, touching each others back-to-front wheels, intentionally. Luthi was not a happy rider after the race, unnecessarily hitting Marquez on the arm on the cool down lap in fury which is never a good move.

[1st-Marc Marquez, 2nd-Andrea Iannone, 3rd-Pol Espargaro]

MotoGP:
The first five lights of the season went out and the race in Qatar was underway. Pole sitter Jorge Lorenzo got off the line and lead the pack in to the first corner. Dani Pedrosa aka 'the pocket rocket' is the master of getting a good start, he whipped out his trick once again and jumped up to 2nd from starting 7th on the grid.
Casey Stoner wasn't going to let them both get away and claimed the lead on Lap 3, the Australian went on to pull a two-second lead from the pack and looked as though he was on to a winner.
Both Yamaha Tech 3 riders Andrea Dovizioso and 2011 rookie of the year Cal Crutchlow had a race of their own for 4th place. Crutchlow was the fastest of the pair and finished in 4th position, both riders are determined to prove themselves for a seat in the team next year as only one will get the chance to ride for Tech 3 in 2013 as the other seat has been promised to Moto2 rider Bradley Smith.
Rookie LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl had a fairly lonely race running in 6th, until the final few laps when he came up against Nicky Hayden and Alvaro Bautista who both overtook him demoting him to 8th place. A fine opening race for the promising young German.
Talking of Nicky Hayden, who is now in his 10th year of Grand Prix racing (congrats Nicky, here's to many more) pushed his Ducati to the limits, crossing the line in 6th - a result which i think is a good start for the team and Nicky but with teammate Valentino Rossi finishing in a dismal 10th position, needs a re-evaluation of what exactly is gong on with the multiple world champion. If his teammate is able to finish in 6th and the other Ducati's such as Hector Barbera finishing in 9th, you've got to question if it is the bike or the rider? One thing is for sure Valentino isn't a rider that accepts not being on the podium.
A place behind Rossi was Yamaha rider Ben Spies who had a tough race slowly dropping down the order with what he says as a beat up bike after enduring several high speed crashes over the weekend, one to forget for the Texan, hopefully he'll be back to top form in Spain.
With the race coming alive towards the end few laps when the riders push their skills further to the limit in a bid to get a higher result, Casey Stoner dropped back to 3rd, where he finished, after suffering from arm pump and bike chatter. Not a way you want to end any race however teammate (and they only have each other this year instead of three riders at Repsol Honda) took full advantage and fought with Lorenzo for the win. There weren't enough laps in the race for Pedrosa and he crossed the line 2nd, the win went to pole sitter Jorge Lorenzo after a sweaty, intense race under the Losail lights.

[1st-Jorge Lorenzo, 2nd-Dani Pedrosa, 3rd-Casey Stoner]

Next race: Spain.

Before that though will be the F1 Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.

Here we are again

After what was a very long winter for MotoGP, it's back! First stop on the calendar: Qatar. The circus have arrived for the only night race (can you really call it a night race? More on the evening side) in the season.
MotoGP are very much entering a new era, in more ways than one.

Firstly, the historic 125cc class has followed the change of Moto2 (previously 250cc) and is now Moto3. A little easier to remember. The main change in the lower class championship is they have now moved up to 250cc four-stroke, single cylinder motorcycles from previous 125cc two-stroke bikes.
Moto3 is the 'starting' or lowest (i don't like saying that because they are all so talented and Moto3 isn't a bad place to race) of the three championships, this means that from season to season the rider line up can chop and change quite dramatically compared to MotoGP, with 32 rider competing, all at a young age it's always set to be a corker.
While Moto2 stays near enough the same big changes have happened in MotoGP.
2012 see's the switch in engines; since 2007 teams have been restricted to 800cc engine capacities, now they are riding 1000cc engines, as Dani Pedrosa has said with the new engine you 'brake later and are faster through corners'
As well as the engine change, MotoGP has also introduced CRT (Claiming Rule Team) on the grid. This allows independant teams to be competitive at a lower cost and increase the number of bikes on the grid, something MotoGP was seriously lacking in before the 2012 season. These bikes are effectively bikes you could go and ride on the road compared to the factory bikes which you can't buy.
While it all get's a bit complex for a simple blog the 'Claiming Rule' is an attempt to lower costs further, teams can 'claim' their rivals engines, if they wish, however the actual 'claiming' is done by the MSMA Manufactures. If you want to read the endless pages of rules on CRT then you can always Goggle it, there's plenty of information on 2012 rules released by FIM.

QATAR QUALIFYING
A short low down of Qatar quali - otherwise tomorrow's race blog will be bordering on an essay.

Moto3:
A very close battle at the front has taken place in Moto3 all weekend, qualifying being no different.
125cc veteran (sorry Sandro) Sandro Cortese just grabbed pole in the last few seconds of the session.
Cortese has been around in 125/Moto3 for some time now, with a fresh move to KTM this season, he seems to be settling in well. The KTM so far seems consitent, the bike's been in development for some time and now is the time to see the hard work pay off, starting with a pole. Though Cortese has the race to come, with front runners and young guns, Maverick Vinales, Louis Rossi and Luis Salom all hot on the KTM's exhaust, it is going to be a close battle not only for the top riders but also for the whole field.

Moto2:
Suter rider Thomas Luthi has been quick all weekend, once again he pulled it out when it mattered in quali and took the first Moto2 pole of the season.
Marc Marquez is back and ready to fight for the 2012 championship after being denied the chance to fight for the title last year after his bad crash in Sepang which left him unable to race in Valencia.
Andrea Iannone, Pol Espagaro and Mike Di Meglio are all in contention for a podium.

MotoGP:
The spartan, Jorge Lorenzo triumped to pole position in a last minute hot lap taking pole of reining champion Casey Stoner.
Like the Moto2/3, the grid in MotoGP is set to be a competitive one. Lorenzo and Stoner are most likely to battle it out for the win however the podium is wide open with the likes of Cal Crutchlow, Ben Spies, Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa all eager to get up there. Not the list you thought it would be? Cal Crutchlow has been on it all weekend and is certianly the rider who is switching up the familiar 2011 order, as well as Nicky Hayden who put if a great effort to qualify 5th seeing as Ducati are still struggling to get close to the top with Valentino Rossi only qualifying 12th.

With all the bikes looking beautiful under the lights of the Losail circuit, the long winter break now behind us, it's time for lights out.
On a side not, while we all go in to this season remembering the life of Marco Simoncelli, who i know i'll always remeber and will always be apart of MotoGP, the sport still continues, in memory of  not only Marco Simoncelli but all the fallen riders.
All three race's from Qatar tomorrow evening are set to be thrilling openeers!