There were plenty of changes for the MotoGP series, with cost cutting measures coming into effect for the third year of the 800cc four-stroke prototype formula. With the single tyre rule, there were six 2008 riders having to switch from Michelin to the now universal Bridgestones; but all competitors were now restricted to a choice between two rubber compounds per meeting, for dry conditions, and one for the wet. Together with a testing cut, the amount of practice at the Grands Prix had been slashed by around 40%; and the number of engines used will be restricted after round ten.

Personnel changes saw four of the regular series riders from 2008 make an exit and, with four men coming in, the full grid stayed at an uninspiringly low 18. The big moves were that Andrea Dovizioso graduated to a full works machine with Repsol Honda, after one year in a customer team, taking over from Nicky Hayden as he joined Marlboro Ducati. Also elsewhere for the new season was Spanish rider Toní Elías, who was returning to the Gresini Honda team he had been with for two years before spending last season on a customer Ducati.

Marco Melandri was also a mover, after a pretty ineffective time with Ducati, but instead of joining John Hopkins at Kawasaki Racing Team he ended up in a new outfit. Kawasaki had spent six and a bit years in MotoGP, with eight different full-time riders in that time. Their reward had been just four podium results, but no wins, and only ten more visits to the top six. The green bikes had started from the front row eight times, and shown consistently good qualifying form with some riders, but had never been true contenders. The company therefore decided to pull the plug on their MotoGP operations, but in fact the new non-works Hayate team had mostly the same personnel and indeed had new works machinery for Melandri. Hopkins had to cross over to World Superbike racing.

Coming in to the series was Spanish rider Sete Gibernau, who returned to MotoGP after two years off. The 36-year-old had previously raced for the Honda, Suzuki and Ducati works teams, but had been with the satellite Gresini Honda team in the years when he posed the greatest challenge to Valentino Rossi’s supremacy, which led to a bit of a falling out - apparently now in the past. Sete would be running the number 59, as Alex de Angelis runs with 15 (for a sixth season), which was also associated with Gibernau for eight seasons. Another number switch was for Jorge Lorenzo - after six years with 48 he now goes with the number 99.

Two men new to the class were Mika Kallio (26) and Yuki Takahashi (24), both up from the 250cc GPs. The Finnish rider had done long term service for the KTM team in both 125 and 250 racing, winning twelve times, and had been closest to a world title in the 2005 season. The Japanese rider is a Honda man who first had two podium results as a wildcard before joining the Scot team for full-time GP action, winning twice in 2006. He takes over from former 250 team-mate Dovizioso but therefore stays with Scot Racing.

The only Grand Prix novice for 2009 is Niccolò Canepa (20). He had raced for two years in the European Superstock 600 series, scoring ten podium results with Kawasaki and then Ducati machinery. In 2007 he was with the Italian make when securing the FIM Cup in the Superstock 1000 category, and after that had earned a World Superbike outing with Ducati Xerox at Brno in 2008, showing some pace on the bike. He joined Kallio in the Pramac Ducati team.

With all that said, it was high time for the on-track action, with the Qatar GP at Losail to be the second ever MotoGP race at night and under floodlights, following on from the 2008 season opener at the same venue. Casey Stoner’s new Marlboro-backed Ducati Desmosedici GP9, after the switch to carbon-fibre frame and swing-arm, set the pace in qualifying. It was the 16th MotoGP pole position for the 23-year-old Australian, who’d been on pole here in 2006, and then won the race in the next two years, becoming the lap record holder. His new team-mate was not so happy - a highside crash in qualifying meant that Hayden would start 16th.

The front row of the grid was completed by the two works Yamahas, again in the blue Fiat livery. 2008 champion Rossi (now 30) was second, with 21-year-old Lorenzo third. Three different makes filled row two, headed by Dovizioso (23) on the Honda. His team-mate Dani Pedrosa (also 23) was another man feeling somewhat second-hand, with knee and wrist injuries that helped to keep him back in P14. Rizla-backed Suzuki had showed improved off-season form, and 36-year-old veteran Loris Capirossi duly put the new GSV-R fifth, with Chris Vermeulen (26) in P8, the Australian sporting the black and gold helmet colours of former mentor Barry Sheene. Sixth went to Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team leader Colin Edwards (35).

There was said to be something of a lack of harmony in the French Tech 3 outfit, when 28-year-old rider James Toseland had asked for an off-season reallocation of the two chief mechanics - apparently because the Englishman had felt there was too much of a language barrier in his existing set-up. Edwards seemingly did not appreciate one of his crew being poached, but either way he was seven slots ahead of Toseland for this race. Between Edwards and Vermeulen, the two former Superbike stars, was seventh quickest Randy de Puniet (28) and his LCR Honda.

San Carlo Honda Gresini rider de Angelis (25) was ninth with his customer-spec RCV, whilst team-mate Elías (26) was behind him in 12th on a factory-spec machine. The first class rookie was tenth man Kallio, with Pramac partner Canepa 18th and last. Melandri (26) was in P11 with the Hayate Kawasaki - the same as his best effort with Ducati; Gibernau was in P15 for the new Grupo Francisco Hernando team with their Ducati; and Takahashi had the Scot Honda in P17.

On race day there was a torrential downpour just before the scheduled start, which not only led to standing water on the circuit but also meant there was a dangerous glare under the lights. But anyway the weather wasn’t about to let up, and in the end all concerned agreed that the best answer was to postpone the action for a day. In the desert surroundings, the rain had brought sand onto the surface, but track cleaning operations on Monday actually led to improved grip as the riders took to the circuit - and they all opted for the medium compound tyres over the soft ones.

Finally the race got going, with Stoner staying in front away from the line, and with Capirossi jumping to second, in front of the battling Fiat Yamahas. Lorenzo took third away from Rossi with a pass on the inside through a right-hander, and then came Vermeulen, Dovizioso, de Puniet, Melandri and Edwards. Casey was already starting to pull away as Valentino repaid the compliment and regained third from Jorge. Going over the start-finish line into lap two, Dovizioso went past Vermeulen for fifth, but Melandri was about to go straight ahead into the gravel rather than make the right-hander at turn one, although he would rejoin.

Stoner’s lead was growing as Rossi closed in on second man Capirossi, and behind them Dovizioso was starting to attack Lorenzo’s fourth position. Casey was already three seconds ahead when Valentino overtook Loris at turn one, with Andrea going in front of Jorge before setting about the blue Suzuki. Before long the new Repsol Honda man was through at turn one. A gap had evolved behind the second to fourth men, then came Vermeulen, Edwards, Pedrosa, de Puniet, de Angelis, Kallio, Toseland, Elías, Gibernau, Hayden, Takahashi, Canepa and Melandri.

Rossi’s pace after clearing his European rivals took him clear of them, and he began to chip into Stoner’s advantage, bringing it down to 2.4s. Dovizioso also managed to build an advantage over Capirossi, who was about to lose out again, this time to Lorenzo. Both Edwards and Pedrosa were making good progress, with Colin going past Vermeulen as Dani caught them both and also looked aggressive. French rider de Puniet was soon back in P11 after running seventh on lap one, at this stage passed by both de Angelis and Kallio.

Stoner’s lead over Rossi began to reduce towards two seconds, but things were about to change in the race for third. Lorenzo was now going faster than Dovizioso, and was soon in position to swap their order again, with a move on the brakes for the inside at turn one. Fifth man Capirossi had been caught by Edwards, but the Suzuki rider was about to bow out. Tyre durability was always going to be an issue under the more conservative one-make regime, and Loris was suffering with his front Bridgestone. That was the end of his machine that folded under him, with the rear then spinning round amid a shower of sparks that meant his race was over.

Stoner was 1.9s in front of Rossi, with a much bigger gap to Lorenzo, then Dovizioso with Edwards in tow. Pedrosa now headed a group of three, completed by Vermeulen and de Angelis, with Kallio on his own in a steady ninth. Toseland had managed a gravel trap excursion which dropped him to last position after Melandri overtook the Yamaha. Between Mika and Marco ran de Puniet, Elías, Gibernau, Hayden, Takahashi and Canepa - the last three each separate from their nearest rivals.

Race half-distance was approaching as the action centred on the group contesting sixth position. Vermeulen overtook Pedrosa with a move on the inside at a left-hander, and then Dani ran a bit wide towards the corner exit. Going to the inside of the Repsol bike, de Angelis was quite robust as he managed to physically push Pedrosa’s machine out onto the kerb. The Spaniard lost his position as he almost lost control of the Honda, but somehow he collected the potentially devastating wobble and managed to keep going. The incident would later be investigated, but no blame or sanction was attached to Alex.

Pedrosa now found himself just in front of Kallio and, with his injuries, was understandably more cautious in the second half of the race. Mika passed Dani in a right-hander, and soon the Repsol man would have some of the Honda customer team riders to worry about. Meanwhile, de Angelis was able to get the tow from Vermeulen’s Suzuki and go through to sixth on the inside at turn one. Ahead of him, Edwards had conserved his tyres and had still caught and passed Dovizioso for fourth.

With third man Lorenzo well out of touch, the possible race at the front was only going to be a two-way affair. However, now Stoner found the pace to increase his lead over Rossi again, taking it beyond three seconds. And that was the race over, as it had grown to five seconds with four laps remaining. Casey confirmed his personal superiority, together with the Ducati, at the Losail circuit. Rossi had a better start than in 2008, but said later that his tyres had been sliding in the latter stages, and in fact his team-mate had been going faster at the end.

Lorenzo secured third position in his first race on the Bridgestone tyres, and fourth went to Edwards, who had progressively out-distanced Dovizioso in the late race. In taking his GP points tally beyond 800, Colin had also given Yamaha the two-three-four, which meant the once dominant Honda had to make do with fifth and sixth. Dovizioso and de Angelis completed the six, all of whom were well strung out by the end - and Alex ran out of fuel on the slow down lap, getting a lift from Takahashi. Suzuki were seventh with Vermeulen, their pace not there for the race despite Capirossi’s typically fighting start.

New boy Kallio took a well deserved eighth on the second Ducati home, with three Honda riders behind him - Elías, de Puniet and then the battered Pedrosa. Dani had been in danger from twelfth man Hayden at the end, after the 2006 champion had got up to and then past Gibernau. Nicky was another to get faster as the race wore on, and he will look for an incident free next race to prolong this progress. Melandri advanced to P14 after his excursion, beating Takahashi, Toseland and final finisher Canepa. Capirossi was the only man not to finish.

2009 already looks like it will be all about Casey Stoner versus Valentino Rossi, although there will be others who won’t count themselves out of it at this early stage, not least Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden when they are fitter. For Ducati, this was their 25th race win in MotoGP, and 17 of those have gone to Stoner on the 800cc machine. If anyone can beat him then no doubt tyre performance will be a crucial part of the equation, and Fiat Yamaha in particular will want the Bridgestones to last longer on the YZR-M1. Will it go their way in the next race?

Standings after one race: Stoner 25; Rossi 20; Lorenzo 16; Edwards 13; Dovizioso 11; de Angelis 10; Vermeulen 9; Kallio 8; Elías 7; de Puniet 6.
Ducati 25; Yamaha 20; Honda 11; Suzuki 9; Kawasaki 2.

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