Viñales, Yamaha shine in Qatar again

Doha: It’s been a Ducati stranglehold in recent years, but a repeat of 2017 sees Top Gun take season-opener honours under the lights  

“We are back.” Those were the rousing words of Maverick Viañles (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) straight after he performed arguably his best premier class performance to date to claim victory at the 2021 Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar. And he’s not wrong. The Losail International Circuit has only seen one manufacturer win there in the last two seasons. That is, of course, Ducati. Heading into the opening race of 2021, the Italian manufacturer in the capable hands of Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Lenovo Team teammate Jack Miller and Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) were favourites to continue the trend. What very few people expected was a Viñales victory. Not because he isn’t capable, but because Ducati’s straight-line speed and off the mark advantage seemed a bit too much to overcome for the Yamahas, especially after what we saw in 2020. Many were proved wrong.