Maverick masterclass
IT ALL POINTED to a Ducati whitewash, poised to back up their preseason speed when new factory runner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) shattered the outright circuit record to seal a maiden MotoGP pole. Crucially, they showed top speed from another planet. Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) was clocked at a pupil-dilating 362km/h just before qualifying. With the Losail International Circuit’s front straight stretching to 1000m, it was hard to envision anyone living with them.
Yet come Sunday night, Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti was disappointed.
“We probably expected to have a rider on the top of the podium,” he said.
The start had done little to dispel the belief this was their race to lose. Four Ducatis swarmed the first turn in an almost laughable show of strength,
