Maverick Viñales drew first blood in the opening race of the 2017 MotoGP championship as he claimed a dramatic victory in a shortened Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Yamaha rider finished just half a second clear of second-placed Andrea Dovizioso for Ducati as the pair enjoyed an epic duel in the desert.
Viñales Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi completed the podium as he fought through the field from tenth on the grid to claim 16 points as he bids for a tenth title.
The race began with Andrea Iannone (Suzuki Ecstar) jumping into the lead before he was quickly passed by the flying rookie Johann Zarco of Yamaha Tech3. Zarco managed to open a lead as the chasing pack fought amongst themselves.
However it wasn't to last as he crashed out on lap 6, handing the lead to Dovizioso, whilst Vinñales quickly found himself dropping back down the field and into the clutches of Rossi.
Iannone was the next leader to fall, easing the pressure on Dovizioso out front. That left reigning champion Marc Marquez (Honda), Viñales and Rossi chasing the leading Desmosedici.
Viñales and Rossi were soon past Marquez and the pair began to hunt down the leader.
The #25 traded the lead with the #4 over several laps before managing to hold off the Italian on the penultimate lap and open a gap just big enough to claim the victory. Rossi meanwhile couldn't get close enough and finished two seconds down.
Marquez was fourth ahead of team-mate Dani Pedrosa, Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro, Pramac's Scott Redding and Marc VDS rider Jack Miller. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) and Jonas Folger (Yamaha Tech3) completed the top ten.
Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) crashed out of contention before rejoining and then suffering the same fate again, with Alvaro Bautista (Aspar) crashing out soon after, as well as Danilo Petrucci just 6 laps from the end.
Click here for full race results from the 2017 Qatar MotoGP race.
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