Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) took victory in the first round of the MotoGP world championship in the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday evening in Lusail.
'Pecco' had a 1.329 lead over South African Brad Binder (KTM) at the finish. Third place went to Spaniard Jorge Martin (Ducati-Pramac) at 1.933, who had won the sprint race on Saturday. Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez rode his first GP on a Ducati-Gresini after eleven years with Honda. He took fourth place at 3,429. The Italian Enea Bastianini completed the top five at 5,153.
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Raul Fernandez made his debut at Trackhouse, one that will haunt him for a while. The Spaniard ultimately had to get a new engine, which was located all the way on the other side of the pit lane. Fernandez made a strong sprint towards his new machine, but saw everyone from the starting grid flash out of the first corner. The Spaniard also retired early afterward and fell outside the points in 22nd place.
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In the championship standings, including the result of Saturday's sprint race, Bagnaia has 31 points compared to 29 for Binder and 28 for Martin. The second GP of the season, in Portugal, will take place on Sunday, March 24 at the Portimao circuit. The sprint race is scheduled the day before on Saturday, March 23.