The 2016 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix was the first of eighteen motorcycle races of the 2016 MotoGP season and the thirteenth running of the event. It was held before a crowd of 11,737 spectators at the Losail International Circuit near the Qatari capital city of Doha on 20 March 2016. Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo won the 22-lap race after starting from pole position. Andrea Dovizioso came second for Ducati, and Honda's Marc Márquez was third. In the junior classes, Kalex's Thomas Lüthi won the Moto2 race and Niccolò Antonelli on a Honda took the victory in the Moto3 round.
Lorenzo won the pole position by posting the fastest lap in qualifying and held the lead into the first corner. However, he was only able to hold on to first place until the end of the first lap. Andrea Iannone used the superior straight line speed advantage of his Ducati to move into the lead on the main straight. He led for the next five laps until teammate Dovizioso passed him for the lead at the start of lap six. Iannone retook the lead by forcing Dovizioso off the racing line at turn one, but Dovizioso regained the position four turns later. Lorenzo fell to third but returned to second when Iannone crashed lowside at turn thirteen on lap six. Lorenzo then regained the lead from Dovizioso at turn four on lap nine. Over the remaining thirteen laps, he opened up a healthy advantage at the front of the pack to claim his 41st MotoGP victory, and his 62nd in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
In the junior classes, Jonas Folger started from pole position in Moto2. He held the lead for the first two laps before he crashed and handed the position to Morbidelli. He was then passed by Lüthi. Morbidelli retook first place from Lüthi on the tenth lap and the two battled for the rest of the race. It ended in Lüthi's favour when Morbidelli was penalised twenty seconds for jumping the start. Moto3 had Romano Fenati of KTM begin from pole position and kept first place until teammate Brad Binder duelled him for the lead and Nicolò Bulega joined soon after. The race was decided by a last lap overtaking manoeuvre by Antonelli. He slipstreamed Binder on the main straight and pulled out of it to win by a photo finish with a gap of seven-thousands of a second.
The result of the first race of the season meant Lorenzo led the Riders' Championship with twenty-five points. Dovizioso was second on twenty points and Márquez placed third with sixteen points. Valentino Rossi on the other Yamaha and Dani Pedrosa on the second factory Honda completed the top five. In the Teams' Championship, Yamaha MotoGP lead with 38 points, followed by Honda with twenty-seven points and Ducati with twenty points. Tech 3 and Suzuki were fourth and fifth. Yamaha became the early leaders of the Constructors' Championship with twenty-five points; Ducati and Honda followed in second and third positions with twenty and sixteen points respectively with seventeen rounds left in the season.
MotoGP Background
The world governing body of motorcycle racing, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and the sport's commercial rights holder Dorna Sports confirmed the 2016 Qatar Grand Prix as part of MotoGP's 2016 schedule in February 2016. It was the thirteenth time the race was held and it was the season's sole night round. Qatar was the first of eighteen rounds scheduled by FIM. It took place at the sixteen-turn Losail International Circuit near Doha on 20 March 2016. The track was described as "a serious test of both rider and machine" due to its mixture of fast and slow corners. It is surrounded by the desert where dust and sand often cover the track. This affects tyre grip and how slippery the circuit becomes when riders go off the racing line. This race also saw Michelin take over from Bridgestone as MotoGP's official tyre supplier, returning for the first time since the 2008 Valencian Grand Prix. All bikes featured unified electronic packages in an attempt to reduce costs, close the deficit between the factory and satellite teams and bring a new focus on rider control.
Heading into the new season, some teams opted to keep the same line-up as the previous season; however, some teams changed riders. One of the main changes involved the début appearance of 2014 Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat on one of the two Marc VDS Racing bikes. Rabat took the place of Scott Redding who switched to Pramac Racing. 2014 Moto3 runner-up Jack Miller took his place at Marc VDS Racing as they expanded and ran a second motorbike for 2016. Yonny Hernández did not have his contract with Pramac Racing renewed. He moved to Aspar Team to replace 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden, who left MotoGP for the Superbike World Championship. AB Motoracing and Karel Abraham left MotoGP after five seasons and switched to the Superbike World Championship as did Alex de Angelis and Ioda Racing. Loris Baz moved to Avintia Racing to replace Mike Di Meglio who went to the FIM Endurance World Championship. The final change was Stefan Bradl who remained with Aprilia after riding for them as a replacement rider in 2015 when Marco Melandri left MotoGP during the middle of the season. Title holder Jorge Lorenzo stayed with Yamaha MotoGP after his title-winning campaign and was again joined by seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi.
The press considered Lorenzo the favourite to retain his championship because of his pace in pre-season testing. They considered his teammate Rossi and Honda's Marc Márquez, who won the title in 2013 and 2014, to be his main rivals over the course of the season. Lorenzo said he felt strong and competitive. He spoke of his satisfaction of adapting well to the Michelin tyres and knew a good position in Qatar would demonstrate his quick race pace, "I would like to start this 2016 season in the best way possible, especially compared to the beginning of 2015. Let‘s go into this race fighting and enjoy it!" Márquez was down on pace in pre-season testing because Honda was struggling to adapt to the new electronics package for the RC213V's aggressive engine package. He aimed to win the championship and said he would use what he learned from his rivalry with Rossi the previous year, "This year will be an interesting season because everything looks closer and compared to the past there is more balance. We will try to fight for the championship and use the experience from last year from the beginning of the season to the end and fight again for the title until Valencia. The Qatar circuit doesn’t suit me and my Honda, but we can play around our technical difficulties with motivation."
Practice and qualifying
Four practice sessions were held before the Sunday race. The first session on Thursday evening lasted 45 minutes and the two following identically timed sessions took place on Friday evening. The fourth session on Saturday evening ran for half an hour. Lorenzo set the fastest lap of the first practice at one minute and 55.440 seconds early on, followed by teammate Rossi, Andrea Iannone, Héctor Barberá, Maverick Viñales, Pol Espargaró, Pedrosa, Márquez, Andrea Dovizioso and Redding. Bradley Smith was the only rider to crash in the session when he lost control of the front of his bike and fell at turn thirteen with two minutes left. Early in the second practice session, Iannone set the quickest time of one minute and 55.388 seconds. Márquez improved for second and Redding placed third in the session's closing minutes. Viñales, Dovizioso, Pedrosa, Rossi, Barberá, Lorenzo and Danilo Petrucci filled positions four to ten. Cal Crutchlow crashed at turn fifteen after losing control of his bike's front. Loris Baz went down heavily at turn thirteen soon after. Iannone continued to run fast and set the fastest lap of the day in the third practice session at one minute and 54.639 seconds. Lorenzo, Márquez. Dovizioso, Viñales, Pedrosa, Rossi, Barberá, Redding and Pol Espargaró followed in the top ten. Smith crashed for a second time entering turn six and Miller lost control of his bike at turn nine later on.
Petrucci fractured three metacarpal bones in his right hand in a pre-season testing accident at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. He opted not to wear a protective cast because he had little arm feeling after completing two laps of the Qatar track. Petrucci was in pain after the third practice and underwent an x-ray which revealed a dislocated bone segment in his third metacarpal due to some fractures sealed by surgery re-opening under the stress of riding. He withdrew from the race, and his team did not employ a replacement rider. Before Saturday's action started, a moment of silence was held for Tunisian motorcyclist Taoufik Gattouchi who died from injuries he sustained in a multi-bike accident in the Losail 600 Cup support race. Lorenzo topped the final practice with a one minute and 55.301 seconds lap. Márquez, Dovizioso, Rossi, Iannone, Crutchlow, Pol Espargaró, Viñales, Redding and Smith completed the top ten ahead of qualifying. Miller crashed leaving turn fifteen early on but remounted and continued. Baz then fell off his bike at turn seven but was not injured. The third rider to fall was Redding when he crashed at turn sixteen but was unhurt and returned to the pit lane. Bradl lost control of his bike's front and crashed at turn two. Trackside marshals recovered him unhurt.
At the end of fourth practice, Rossi created tension within Yamaha. He was on a fast lap, and his teammate Lorenzo was on the inside line which led to Rossi slowing. Television cameras showed him remonstrating with Lorenzo after the latter left the pit lane before they continued round the circuit. They stopped on the start/finish straight and the conservation continued at their practice starts. Rossi alleged Lorenzo did not notice him and likened the situation to the penalty point he received on his race licence after qualifying for the 2015 San Marino and Rimini's Coast Grand Prix when he was deemed to have impeded him. Lorenzo claimed he was trying his best not to impede Rossi and argued he could not go anywhere else but the gravel trap.
Saturday evening's qualifying session was divided into two parts. The two sessions lasted fifteen minutes each. The slowest riders in the first three practice sessions competed in the first part. The second part included the combined top ten quickest participants from the opening trio of practice sessions. The first session had the fastest two riders progress into the second which determined pole position to twelfth. Riders had to qualify within 107% of the pole position lap time to ensure their qualification for the race. All riders ran twice with most entering the pit lane with five minutes left in the crash-free second qualifying session and pushed immediately due to optimum track conditions. On his first run in clear air, Lorenzo claimed a record-breaking, 62nd career pole position and his 36th in MotoGP with a time of one minute and 54.543 seconds but could not improve due to a rider error. Márquez took second and could not claim pole because he miscalculated his best lap time which he began just after qualifying ended. Márquez executed a wheelie because his front tyre locked due to a possible brake malfunction and veered left into the gravel trap during a practice start. Viñales made it an all-Spanish front row on his final lap and took his second first row start since the 2015 Catalan Grand Prix Iannone was fourth after losing two-tenths of a second when Redding delayed him in the closing complex of corners on his final timed lap. Rossi took fifth having moved up the grid during qualifying.