Casey Stoner dominates Moto GP in Qatar

HASSAN AMMAR/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MotoGP rider and pole position winner Casey Stoner of Australia makes a turn during qualifying for the Grand Prix of Qatar at the Losail International Circuit near Doha, Qatar.

Larry Tate

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Aussie tough guy Casey Stoner blitzed the field this week to take the first Moto GP race of the season, held under the lights at the Losail Circuit in Qatar.

Despite the fact that Qatar is basically a hot and sandy desert wasteland, the first attempt at running the race was washed away by a massive thunderstorm.

While the bikes do race in the wet, it's impossible at Losail because of the blinding reflections from the floodlights off the wet pavement.

Stoner is still recovering from an off-season wrist operation and says he's not up to full fitness, which must be gloomy news for his competitors since he comfortably led every practice and qualifying session before clearing off in the race.

When complimented on his dominance, he said, "Yeah, but we (did the same thing) last year as well, (then) it took a turn for the worse, but this year I think with our package we've made sure that it's working at a lot of different circuits – it's working well."

He appears to still be the only person on earth who is able to ride the fearsome Marlboro Ducati Desmosedici to its potential.

Once the race finally got off Monday night, Stoner simply checked out by more than a second a lap. Rossi got within a couple of seconds by mid-race, but they both slowed as the race went on (Rossi more than Stoner) and Stoner eventually took the win by nearly eight seconds.

Stoner's new teammate, 2006 world champion Nicky Hayden of the U.S., has been struggling and was riding hurt after suffering a huge 200-plus km/h highside in qualifying.

In spite of that and a series of electronics and engine problems that slowed him, Hayden still came away from Qatar feeling positive. "It's been a tough weekend and we've had a lot of issues – obviously a 130 mph high-side doesn't help things but nothing really went smooth ... Hopefully the bad stuff is behind us now and Casey has shown the potential of the bike, so crazy as it sounds I'm leaving here in a really positive mood and looking forward to Motegi."

Yamaha came away happy, as defending world champion Valentino Rossi took second on the factory Fiat-sponsored bike ahead of his teammate Jorge Lorenzo, while Colin Edwards was fourth on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha.

Honda, on the other hand, was not happy at all, as new signing Andrea Dovizioso could only manage fourth while main man Dani Pedrosa, still recovering from a knee operation less than six weeks ago, bravely struggled to 11th, at least collecting a few valuable points.

Suzuki, the other major player, wasn't overly happy either, as Loris Capirossi crashed out while in the top six and Chris Vermeulen could only manage seventh. Both riders said that their bikes developed a severe front tire vibration.

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