Moto GP 2009.

Casey Stoner scores treble win in Qatar



Casey Stoner completed a hat-trick of victories under the floodlights at
Losail as he scorched to a runaway victory over reigning World MotoGP
Champion Valentino Rossi in the Qatar opening round.

Riding Ducati, the Australian had claimed pole by half a second from Rossi,
and then, having the frustration of seeing the race postponed for a day
because of torrential rain, Stoner was a man in a hurry, making the perfect
start, and the powering relentlessly clear of the pack.

Rossi moved his Fiat Yamaha into second place on the third lap, at the expense
of Loris Capirossi who minutes later crashed spectacularly out of
contention. Stoner by then was running two seconds clear, and Rossi had him
in his sights, but not for long before the Ducati rider opened up the power,
topping 200mph on the straight, to extend his winning advantage to almost
eight seconds.
That left Rossi a distant second, but well clear of his team-mate Jorge
Lorenzo while Colin Edwards took fourth place on an evening when his Monster
Tech3 Yamaha teamster James Toseland, following an excursion into the
trackside gravel finished at the back of the pack.

Those dukes are quick...

Will be interesting to see how the next few races play out as the teams gather new tire data...