Spain’s 2010 world champion Jorge Lorenzo, riding a Yamaha, won the season-opening Qatar MotoGP under the Losail floodlights on Sunday to record his first elite class victory at the desert venue.
Lorenzo finished ahead of Honda duo, Spain’s Dani Pedrosa and world champion Casey Stoner of Australia, after a three-way battle.
The Spaniard had started from pole position but lost the lead after three laps to Stoner who looked on course for a fifth victory in the MotoGP class in Qatar.
But, with just over three laps left, Lorenzo snatched the lead and kept his advantage to win by 0.832sec from Pedrosa with Stoner finishing almost three seconds off the pace.
Lorenzo was the third Spanish winner of the night.
Maverick Vinales, on a FTR Honda, won the Moto3 race ahead of Italy’s Romano Fenati, also on a FTR Honda, and Germany’s Sandro Cortese, on a KTM.
Compatriot Marc Marquez, on a Suter, won the Moto2 race with Italy’s Andrea Iannone, of the Speed Up team, in second with Spaniard Pol Espargaro, of Kalex, in third.