A new season and a new era for MotoGP in the UK - no more Eurosport, no more BBC, now it's BT Sport and a new commentary team. I'll leave it up to the forums to debate the pros and cons, although you have to hand it to Keith Huewen for one of the funniest comments of the weekend when Julian Ryder called him Toby. "I'm not bald and I don't wear brown shoes...." Class.
Stefan Bradl led the way early on
OK, out on track new rule changes meant a load of confusion and unusual events. Jorge Lorenzo having a full-on strop, Aleix Espargaro dominating practice then binning it twice in qualifying, Ducatis still off the pace, the privateer Hondas slower than anyone would have guessed; it was all fairly hectic. At the end it was a familiar grin in top spot as Marc Marquez snatched pole from Alvaro Bautista with Brit Bradley Smith gaining his first ever from row start. Lights out and MotoGP 2014 was underway.
Where the hell did Lorenzo come from? A great start by Bradley was nothing compared to how Lorenzo got off the line. Although it went badly wrong for Lorenzo in massive fashion a few corners later, a bad end to a terrible weekend for the Spaniard.
At the front Bradl was leading the way with Marquez behind and Smith on his tail, however Bautista was starting to wake up and Rossi was looking on form. And then Dani arrived on the scene.
It soon came down to just Marquez and Rossi
With the lead group now compromising of six riders, suddenly Valentino Rossi was briefly up into second place. Life in the old dog yet? With Bradl hitting the deck, the acid test was whether Rossi could hang onto new leader Marquez. Believe it or not, on lap 14 he took the lead! Would the Yamaha's fuel hold out?
Ten to go and with Rossi still in the lead, Bradley was dropping off slightly but Marquez was looking the fastest rider on the track. Could his hard tyre choice be paying off? A lap later he took the lead and it was now Rossi's turn to try and keep up. Sadly for the Brits, Bradley crashed out with four to go, but with Rossi still on Marquez's tail, the last lap was still shaping up to be a thriller.
What a race. Rossi so nearly took an amazing win, but in the end it was the new wonder kid on the block, Marquez, rather than the old goat.
Rossi held on for a while...
A huge shout has to go out for Bradley, who rode amazingly, and Scott Redding who finished a stunning seventh, beating Nicky Hayden, and Cal who finished sixth. Just!
Moto2 and with Sam Lowes in an impressive fifth spot and Gino Rea in 24th, could WSS champion Sam bring home some MotoGP silverware? He'd have to get to the grid first, what was Sam doing off the track before the race even started? A hectic first few laps saw a few riders hit the dirt, but thankfully neither of the Brits. While Gino ran into machine issues, Sam settled into the pack and by mid race was holding eighth. The race was eventually won by Rabat from Nakagami and Kallio. Lowes finished a brilliant seventh.
... but Marquez took the win eventually
Moto3 saw Danny Kent and John McPhee both qualifying in the top seven so it looked like a Brit podium may possibly be on the cards. Qatar is all about the slipstream for Moto3 and both Brits got good starts, putting them in the main pack as Jack Miller and Alex Marquez broke clear. Having led the entire race, in the final laps Miller and Marquez were caught by the pack and the last lap saw five riders all in with a shot of victory. A mistake by Marquez let Miller escape for the win (awesome victory wheelie) with Marquez in second and Vazquez third. McPhee scooped 11th while Kent was 13th.
MotoGP
1. Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)
2. Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP)
3. Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team)
Moto2
1. Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team)
2. Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia)
3. Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team)
Moto3
1: Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
2: Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
3: Vazquez (SaxoPrint-RTG)
Cal Crutchlow (MotoGP) - 6
Bradley Smith (MotoGP) - DNF
Michael Laverty (MotoGP) -
Scott Redding (MotoGP) - 7
Sam Lowes (Moto2) - 7
Gino Rea - (Moto2) - DNF
John McPhee (Moto3) - 11
Danny Kent (Moto3) - 13