Five of the most legendary MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix
Qatar is home to some of the most iconic races in recent memory, here are my five best races from this iconic venue.
Shehryar Bin Shahid 6th March 2024
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The Losail circuit is one of the most anticipated venues in MotoGP, as it holds a distinction for being the only night-time race on the calendar. The venue has also hosted the inaugural grand prix for every season since 2007 (with the exception of 2023 of course, when it was scheduled as the second-last venue due to reparations and resurfacing).
In this article we are going to be looking into our five best races from the Doha circuit.
5- 2021 Grand Prix of Qatar and Doha: Yamahas surge through the field as Ducatis fumble later on:
Qatar hosted two races back-to-back to kick things off in 2021. Both races were very much similar, with the Yamahas demonstrating incredible late-race pace to win both races. And since both races were very similar, I’ve decided to place them both in fifth place on my list.
In the first race, it was Vinales, who won the race after spending majority of his race being engulfed in the mid-pack alongside teammate Quartararo. Both riders were struggling early on to match the pace of the Ducatis who were difficult to keep behind due to Yamaha’s woeful speed deficit on the straights, but once the Ducatis went out of steam, it was Vinales who pounced at the opportunity.
With a far superior pace compared to the rest of the field, Vinales was able to make several passes in quick succession before taking the lead from Francesco Bagnaia and clearing off into the distance.
Behind Top Gun, the Suzukis were also on fire, with Joan Mir and Alex Rins scything their way through the Ducati-fielded bikes.
Joan Mir found his way into second place in the final laps but wasn’t able to distance himself from the Ducatis of Johann Zarco and Francesco Bagnaia out of the final corner, thus leaving him vulnerable to being blitzed by both Ducatis in the run to the finish line. Agonizingly, Mir wouldn’t even finish on the podium despite exiting the last corner in second place.
In the second race, however, the roles would switch, as this time it would be Fabio Quartararo who would best the field by overtaking the likes of rookie sensation and poleman Jorge Martin for the win. Johann Zarco would once again finish in second after a last-lap pass on his young Spanish teammate.
4- 2014 Grand Prix of Qatar: Rossi vs Marquez for an epic showdown:
Marc Marquez slotted himself on pole, but it was Jorge Lorenzo who got the holeshot—but it wouldn’t last long, as the Spaniard would end up crashing on lap one. This would inherit the lead to LCR Honda’s Stephan Bradl who would end up being a second victim to leading the Qatar circuit as he would find himself crashing on lap 9.
This would leave Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez in the lead, and the two would tussle it out till the end for the race win, with Marc Marquez emerging as the eventual victor.
The defending world champion would go on to win ten races in a row and secure the championship with a few rounds to spare.
3- 2017 Grand Prix of Qatar: Maverick Vinales wins his Yamaha debut in mixed conditions as Rossi makes a splendid comeback:
Going into the 2017 season, Maverick Vinales was the talk of the town as the Spaniard was in hot form after dominating the preseason tests.
The Spaniard would find himself on pole after setting the fastest lap in combined practice sessions, due to the cancellation of Saturday’s qualifying session, which was marred by heavy rain.
However, it wouldn’t be smooth sailing in the race for the Spaniard, who was expected to run away at the front. Light drizzles would still be a factor on race day, which was rescheduled to take place several hours earlier to prevent full rainy conditions.
When the race started, it was rookie Johann Zarco who led earlier on and was able to immediately distance himself from the rest of the field.
The Frenchman was brave in tricky conditions where everyone else was struggling, but he would see an unfortunate end to his amazing performance on lap 6 as he would crash on turn 2, thus bringing a premature end to his dream of being the first rookie to win on a premier-class debut since Max Biaggi in 1998.
Maverick Vinales was struggling early on in fifth place, but once the track conditions stabilized, the Spaniard was able to string together some incredibly fast laps to claw his way back into contention. After a flurry of moves on Iannone and Marquez, Vinales was able to get past race leader Andrea Dovizioso for the win.
Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi also had an incredible comeback performance to finish third after starting from a lowly thirteenth place on the grid.
2- 2015 Grand Prix of Qatar: Yamaha vs Ducati showdown!
2015 was the year when the ‘Bologna Bullets’ really came into the picture as the bikes to beat in Qatar, with Hondas close behind in qualifying.
However, once the lights went out, it was Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo who emerged as the closest challenger to the Ducatis in second place, being sandwiched between Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone.
Lorenzo would pounce for the lead and would lead for most of the race. Meanwhile, there was another Movistar Yamaha that was making major progress through the field in the form of Valentino Rossi.
The Italian produced one of his finest comeback performances of his career after qualifying in the third row and would find himself rapidly closing in on the front trio. Eventually, Rossi would get himself into the mix.
Lorenzo, who was leading for most of the race, would face a helmet malfunction and would drop three positions later on after struggling to deal with the issue.
Valentino Rossi would replace Jorge Lorenzo as the closest challenger to Andrea Dovizioso for the win and would emerge victorious after a to-and-fro battle till the end.
1- 2018 and 19 Grand Prix of Qatar: Dovizioso vs Marquez last corner battles!
I know… I’ve listed seven races instead of five, but how can you blame me if Qatar produces some incredible deja vu races, like the 2021 races, or in this case, the same last lap, last corner passes by Andrea Dovizioso on Marc Marquez for the win.
2018 and 2019 showdown between Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez has to be the best one on our list and it’s hard to differentiate between the two, so both of them will go as the number one best Qatar race on my list. Both races are a must-watch for every MotoGP fan!
In a typical Qatar fashion, both races paced very slowly early on, as riders gelled into their intended race rhythms after dealing with dust and dew early on, before going all-in in the final laps.
Andrea Dovizioso expertly managed the race at the front once he got into the lead, despite being attacked by Marc Marquez in both races.
But in a typical deja vu fashion, both races would see Marquez make a desperate lunge down the inside of Andrea Dovizioso in the final corner of the final lap, only for Andrea Dovizioso to make a switchback maneuver to reovertake Marquez for a photo finish win.
These are my ”five” best races from the Losail International Circuit. What are yours? Let us know in the comments below!
