The Winners & Losers Of The Second MotoGP Weekend Under The Lights In Qatar

A wise man once said “Never Say Never,” and that’s exactly what the second round of the 2021 MotoGP season has led us to believe. Why the quote, you ask? Read on to find out.

Winners: 

Biggest Winner: Jorge Martin

No, he isn’t the race winner but after taking a staggering pole position, it was almost a dream race for the Pramac Ducati rider. Just like the last race, Martin made an excellent start and even went on to lead the field for the better part of the race from teammate Johann Zarco. No one was able to show him a rear wheel until the last few laps where he started to run into tyre issues. Towards the end, the Martinator’s soft Michelin rubber wasn't in the best shape to keep his Desmosedici in winning contention. But he still managed to round up the podium places, finishing in third, capping off a great weekend for the satellite Ducati team.

Fabio Quartararo 

Fabio took a leaf out of teammate and last weekend's grand prix winner, Maverick Vinales' book to make it two straight wins for the factory Yamaha team. It didn’t come easy, though, as Fabio struggled to get into a rhythm in the first half of the race, thanks to aggressive overtakes and a sluggish launch. However, once the fuel load decreased and tyre issues for the other riders cropped up, he really got into his own and cut through the field like a hot knife through butter. Fabio’s race was indeed a “Never Say Never” scenario with even Yamaha team boss Massimo Meregalli saying that he had given up at one point!

Johann Zarco

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Making it a dream day for France as well as the Pramac Ducati team was Johann Zarco, notching up a second straight second-place finish. The number 5 remained behind his rookie teammate for the majority of the race, preserving his tyres a little better. Thanks to this, he was able to take a jump on his teammate on the final lap of the race and come in second. Zarco now leads the World Championship and is becoming a constant front runner in the MotoGP field.

Other Winners:

Two other riders among the strongest performers today were Maverick Vinales and Alex Rins. Both ran an extremely hot pace throughout the race and Rins even looked good enough for the win at one point. Finally, Rins finished in fourth while Vinales finished in fifth as they struggled to keep ahead of the Ducatis on the straights. Another impressive rider was Brad Binder who finished eighth after showing superb late race pace and putting his medium rubber to full use.

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Losers:

Biggest Loser: Valentino Rossi

Let’s just say that the only good thing about Rossi’s weekend is that it’s finally over. After a dismal qualifying, the Doctor started the MotoGP race from 21st place (second last). In the first laps, the GOAT had no pace as he ran amongst the tailenders for a long time. It was only towards the end where he settled into a rhythm and got past people but couldn't muster a points finish.

Jack Miller

Another frustration filled weekend for one of Ducati’s top men. Starting the race from a respectable fourth place, Miller failed to deliver yet again and finished a disappointing ninth. He was involved in a controversial scrap with reigning world champion Joan Mir, which resulted in both riders losing several places after the two came in contact on the main straight at over 200kmph. Had Miller acted a bit maturely, he could’ve passed Mir cleanly and probably finished higher.

Miguel Oliveira

Running a completely opposite race to his teammate, Oliveira made an excellent start and kept with the front runners before overcooking his tyres. Once his tyre woes began, the number 88 dropped through the pack and finished just ahead of Rossi in 15th place. It’s safe to say that KTM's MotoGP team will be happy to forget this weekend (or even Qatar altogether) and look ahead to the upcoming Portugal GP where Oliveira was the undisputed king last year.

Speaking of the Portugal GP,  Marc Marquez is scheduled to finally return to the paddock after missing out the entirety of last season due to a career-threatening injury. We’re sure that he would’ve loved how the first two rounds of the season have panned out and he wouldn’t mind throwing a few elbows in there too. Here’s to hoping for more action-packed future races.