Casey Stoner clawed his way to the top after he managed to get into the rhythm, with Rossi being unable to follow him. However, there was another rider able to follow Stoner, at least in the middle of the race, and that was rookie, Jorge Lorenzo. Casey Stoner then decided that it was time to check-out, and set string of record laps and made gap of more than 4 seconds at the end of the race. Jorge Lorenzo made fantastic success by staying in second place on his first ever MotoGP race, showing potential of the real Champion.
Dani Pedrosa was first man to get in front of Rossi, who lost his initial charge and started loosing places. Pedrosa ended race in 3rd place, which is great result considering that he is still recovering from injuries. Another rookie that shown full potential tonight was Andrea Dovizioso, who also managed to overtake Rossi in closing stages of the race and get 4th position in his debut race.
Rossi eventually finished race in 5th place, probably with significant impact on the confidence. Races that follow will show to us is this end of Rossi era, as new, young forces are comming.
Another rookie, James Toseland, proved that new riders are way to improve MotoGP, as he finished just behind Valentino Rossi. Colin Edwards was last Yamaha rider in 7th place, one second behind his team-mate. Loris Capirossi defended colors of Suzuki in 8th place. Randy de Puniet was 9th, and Nicky Hayden completed top 10 finishers in Losail today.
1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 42min 36.587 secs
2. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 42min 41.910 secs
3. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 42min 47.187 secs
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Scot Team (M) 42min 49.875 secs
5. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 42min 49.892 secs
6. James Toseland GBR Yamaha Tech 3 (M) 42min 50.627 secs
7. Colin Edwards USA Yamaha Tech 3 (M) 42min 51.737 secs
8. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 43min 9.092 secs
9. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 43min 9.590 secs
10. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 43min 14.941 secs
11. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 43min 20.871 secs
12. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 43min 26.444 secs
13. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 43min 26.458 secs
14. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 43min 35.119 secs
15. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 43min 35.517 secs
16. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 43min 42.230 secs
17. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1 lap
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