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Image Gallery: 2016 Qatar MotoGP

Action photos from the opening round of the year at the Losail Circuit

March 21, 2016

The 2016 season gets underway with Movistar Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo getting the holeshot on his YZR-M1.Courtesy of Michelin

After what seemed like the longest off-season ever, the 2016 MotoGP season is finally underway. The opening round at the Losail Circuit in Qatar marks the beginning of a new era with spec electronics and the change to Michelin spec tires, but at the front of the pack it was the same riders as last year fighting for the podium. Scroll through the gallery below to see images of the top riders from the race, as well as their comments on how the race went for them.

Jorge Lorenzo pulled away from the battle for second to win the race by just over two seconds on his Movistar Yamaha YZR-M1. "We are there, in first position, without struggling and suffering and riding in the perfect way. For me, over all laps, this race has been one of the best of my whole career and that was why I was able to win and could make this little difference in the last three laps that gave me the victory. It was a little down and up with the tyres. We made the decision to put on the soft rear tyre, because with the hard one we couldn’t be so fast. The harder compound should become better and better, but I think what happened was the opposite. The softer tyre should get worse and worse, but it was faster and faster so this little difference was the difference between me and Dovizioso and Marquez. I was surprised how fast my pace was towards the end of the race."Courtesy of Yamaha

Ducati riders Andrea Dovizioso (4) and Andrea Iannone (29) battle for the lead early in the race.Courtesy of Ducati

After a low-key pre-season and qualifying sixth on the grid, Andrea Dovizioso challenged for the lead during the early stages of the race and finished second. "I finished last season without having a good feeling with my bike and so to do the first race at this pace, with all the regulation changes, means that we have really done a great job."Courtesy of Ducati

A last-lap charge for second place came up short for Marc Marquez, and the Repsol Honda rider finished in third place after qualifying second on the grid. "I'm happy with this third place because I know that we gave our all and just two weeks ago we were one second off the pace compared to the other guys on the podium. The race was faster than we expected and we had a great weekend, because we got 100% out of our performance at a circuit that we find hard. I spent much of the race behind Dovizioso because I couldn't pass him, and it was difficult to make up the ground lost with his better acceleration on the straight."Courtesy of Honda Racing Corp.

Movistar Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi could not match the pace of the leaders during the race, and finished in fourth position: "I was there but I was never in the real fight, I was always a little bit behind. We need a faster pace and maybe the tyre choice can make some difference, but we don’t know. Maybe with the soft tyre I could go faster or I could go slower."Courtesy of Yamaha

Dani Pedrosa, shown here battling with Maverick Vinales early in the race, finished the race in fifth position on his Repsol Honda RC213V, 12 seconds behind the battle for second at the flag. "It was a difficult race. I started well but I ran wide at the first corner. Nevertheless, I was only down in fifth or sixth place, which was a good position from which to follow the lead group, but my pace was not good enough and gradually I lost touch. The negative side to this race is the result and the distance from the winner, but the positive is that I learned more about the bike and maybe we can improve for the next race."Courtesy of Honda Racing Corp.

Suzuki Ecstar rider Maverick Vinales qualified on the front row and looked set for the GSX-RR's strongest finish yet, but could not match his practice pace during the race: "The whole weekend I had a very good feeling and my race-pace was around 1’55, while in the race I couldn’t make the same. Honestly, I’m not sure why; in the race I couldn’t find a proper feeling and I felt the bike sliding a lot, so we definitely need to see the data and understand what changed and happened. The positive thing is that for the whole weekend we have been very close to the top, maybe in the race we were a little unlucky because the weekend overall was very positive."Courtesy of Suzuki

Tech3 rider Pol Espargaro finished as first satellite rider in seventh place on his Yamaha YZR-M1. "Today the race was not easy, because I made some mistakes, especially at the start which didn’t go to plan. I was stuck behind some riders at the beginning and then I lost Maverick and Dani, which is a pity because at the end they had a very similar rhythm to me. It was a long GP but I am happy with the outcome especially after the battle at the end with my teammate."Courtesy of Tech3

Bradley Smith battled with his Tech3 teammate Espargaro in the latter stages of the race, but came up just a few hundredths of a second short at the finish. "It was fun chasing Pol with three laps to go and it’s been a while since we’ve had a really tough battle like that. On the last lap, I made the pass into the final corner, but the fact that he is four kilos lighter than me made the difference on the way to the line! It’s been a very tough weekend and we started on a difficult note on Thursday and Friday, yet the team did a fantastic job and kept on working hard."Courtesy of Yamaha

Ducati rider Andrea Iannone led the early laps of the race, but fell on lap 6. "Today I had a good feeling and I was able to be quick right from the start. In the early laps I wasn’t even pushing to the limit when I touched the white line in the long right-hander: the bike suddenly went away from me and unfortunately I was unable to do anything to avoid the crash. It was a pity because I think we could have fought for an important result in this race. During the weekend we were always fast and in amongst the leading positions but unfortunately this error of mine took me out of contention."Courtesy of Ducati