Marc Marquez makes winning start to MotoGP season with victory in Qatar
Youngest world champion comes back from a fractured leg and outduels Valentino Rossi to the finish
MotoGP's youngest world champion, Marc Marquez, won the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday after a thrilling duel in Doha with the old master of motorcycling, Italian Valentino Rossi.
Starting from pole position at the Losail circuit only six weeks after he broke his leg in a training accident, the 21-year-old Spaniard crossed the finish line a mere 0.259 of a second ahead of the 35-year-old great.
Dani Pedrosa, Marquez's teammate and compatriot, was a distant third.
I didn't think about the leg, I didn't think about the injury. I pushed 100 per cent
Marquez's leg, fractured when he fell off a dirt bike near his home last month, had been the rider's biggest worry with the Spaniard barely able to walk a week ago, but he looked comfortable throughout.
"I enjoyed that race a lot," he smiled. "After the injury and everything I did not expect that result, honestly.
"But yesterday I had a good feeling and today, the last lap with Valentino, I didn't think about the leg, I didn't think about the injury. I pushed 100 per cent."
In the end it was the resurgent Rossi, seven times champion in the top category of motorcycling but seemingly entering the twilight of his career, who posed the biggest threat of the night.
Starting from 10th place on the grid, the Italian was leading after nine laps with early leaders Jorge Lorenzo and Stefan Bradl both crashing out into the gravel in a shower of sparks.