Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) took his first premier class conquest at the Losail International Circuit to open the 2012 MotoGP season in the best probable manner, after battling reigning World Champion Casey Stoner and the Australian's Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa for the period of the 22-lap race. It was as well a superb start to the new 1000cc era in MotoGP, as the CRT machines also made their debut in an action-packed race.
Starting from pole for the first time because the US Grand Prix last July, Lorenzo held the lead until the third lap before Stoner tacit first position with a pass on the start/finish straight. Lorenzo then followed Stoner for the majority of the race earlier than passing his rival with three laps to go, and he finally crossed the line 0.852s ahead of Pedrosa who placed second as Stoner ended the race third.
After a complicated weekend which had seen Pedrosa succeed in seventh the Spaniard shot from row three of the grid into third location on the opening lap, and on lap 20 passed his team-mate Stoner with a superb move on the brakes leaving into Turn 1 to take second. Stoner, who had won in Qatar for four of the past five seasons, took his 16th consecutive podium finish as he got his title defence underway.
