Change Of Guard

Maverick Vinales’ win at Losail could signal the start of a new era

- Michael Scott

By the skin of its teeth! The first MotoGP race of the year was so fraught that it almost didn’t happen. When it did get going, more than 40 minutes late, and still under the threat of sudden termination, it was a marvel. And the rain that caused all the trouble held off, until just a few minutes after the race finished, when it poured down once again.

With three different leaders and a full-frontal battle right until the final lap, it was something of a relief when the rider who had dominated testing and practice came good. But Maverick Vinales took his first win for Movistar Yamaha with a combination of patience and aggression.

The race itself only just managed to find a big enough window in the weather, after the whole of the previous day had been lost to flooding rain. The earlier Moto2 and Moto3 races were dry, but echoes of the one-day postponement of 2009 came with spots of rain as MotoGP lined up on the grid for the scheduled start at 9pm.

A delay was announced, bikes still on the grid, and by 9:15 the small but vocal crowd was whistling and baying in displeasure. The riders went out for an exploratory lap, and came back shaking their heads, after many of them had run straight at sodden Turns 13 and 14. Another delay was announced, and the rain had taken a break.

Finally at 9:40 they ran two warm-up laps, and found the track dry enough for a race shortened from 22 to 20 laps.

Maverick’s first display was of patience, after surviving a first-corner collision with fast-starting Johann Zarco. He finished the first lap fourth, and seemed content to bide his time as new star Zarco blazed bright then crashed to earth.

“It was quite slippery, and quite difficult in the early laps,” he said. “Slowly I got more confidence, and when I caught Marquez I decided it was time to push.”

Only on lap 14 did Vinales take to the front, and from then on he had to fight to stay there.