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A dramatic start to the season opener of the 2007 MotoGP race season in Qatar.
The RaceI don't know if it was the power of the Marlboro Ducati, or the drive coming off the corner, or the light weight of Casey Stoner, but the few times he was behind the Fiat Sponsored Yamaha of Valentino Rossi, Stoner made it look like Rossi was standing still as he passed him on the front straight. It was truly amazing to see how easy he made it look. Staying in front of Rossi is hard in and of itself. But when you're behind him, he can race like he's a mile wide, and makes it very difficult to pass. But Stoner found something. Perhaps it was a draft, perhaps sheer horsepower. But it was there, and it proved to be a success. One famous trait of the multi-time world champion Rossi is that when he's behind you, he makes you work to stay in front of him. If you show a sign of weakness, he'll pounce. If you make a mistake, he's there to cash in. Casey Stoner showed Rossi who was the boss in Qatar. Other notable races included the amazing finish by John Hopkins on his Rizla Suzuki. He managed to stay behind Dani Pedrosa's Repsol Honda to finish fourth, even after a serious high speed crash a month ago on this same track in which he sustained injuries that persisted into this race. You could see them being wrapped after the race, he looked like he was in considerable pain. It will be interesting to see how he progresses as he heals. Current World Champion Nicky Hayden, riding the other Repsol Honda, had a hard time keeping up with Chris Vermeulen on the other Rizla Suzuki, finished in a disappointing 8th place. The ChangesSeveral changes took place this year. The most notable was the switch from the monstrous 990cc engines to the smaller 800cc engines. The powers that be decided that the bigger engines were allowing the bikes to go too fast. (can you say NASCAR?). As it turns out, these smaller machines seem to be faster than their bigger predecessors. Several track records were broken. Another change of note is the fuel restriction. Limiting the bikes to 21 liters of fuel had many wondering if the racers would actually make it across the finish line. Turns out 21 liters was plenty. At least for this race. Lastly, there are tire restrictions, which didn't seem to play much into the grand scheme of things.
The copyright of the article MotoGP 2007 Round 1 Review in Motorcycles/Off-Road is owned by Matt Finley. Permission to republish MotoGP 2007 Round 1 Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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