The opening round of 2009 got off to a rocky start when, just before the riders got ready to go on their sighting lap, rain started to pour down. Normally not a problem, just switch to rain tires and declare it a rain race from the start. Except that this race is in the middle of the desert in Qatar and run at night. Flood lights turn the pitch black desert into a bright oasis when the sun goes down. These same flood lights turn the dark black surface of the track into a mirror when rain falls, making it impossible to see and dangerous to race.

Race direction decided to postpone the race for twenty-two hours and try again on Monday. When the time to race once again came, there was no threat of rain or any adverse conditions. The night was crisp and beautiful, waiting to be rend apart by the sounds of eighteen 800cc MotoGP machines racing each other for glory.

The Race

There was a surreal sense of deja-vu as the riders and machines once again lined up under the ink black sky. As they came back from their sighting lap and the lights turned red, the 2009 MotoGP season officially got underway.

In the end, the race was decided almost entirely before the first corner. Casey Stoner got off to a rocket start as usual, tearing away from the crowd immediately. Valentino Rossi, on the other hand, got a bad start and fell two places to Loris Capirossi and Jorge Lorenzo. In the time it took Rossi to move back up into 2nd place, Stoner was already over 2 seconds ahead. In the coming laps Rossi was able to narrow the margin and keep it tight at 2 seconds, but just as he made some headway, his lap times started to suffer. Stoner was consistent and even handed while Rossi wore out his tires trying to catch up. After the mid-way point Rossi started to slip once again and decided to take 2nd position rather than risk losing the 20 points on an impossible charge.

Marco Melandri, whom everyone is watching with interest on his Hayate “Kawasaki”, slipped off track early on. James Toseland had a similar mishap later, but both riders managed to keep their bikes up and running with the only punishment for their mistakes being a ticket to the end of the line. Melandri fought back up into 14th place, 56 seconds off of Stoner, and Toseland settled at 16th.

Loris Capirossi, putting in a good show in the early stages of the race, came under pressure from Colin Edwards on lap 8 and lost the front end resulting in a low-side. Sliding off the track in a sea of sparks as his bike made it’s way into the gravel, he got up with no injuries and walked away.

A small battle between Chris Vermeulen, Dani Pedrosa, and Alex De Angelis almost resulted in tears when Pedrosa ran it a bit wide. De Angelis took the opportunity to slide past Pedrosa but he himself ran a bit wide as well. The two came together, De Angelis’s bike hitting Pedrosa square in his left, and injured, leg. Pedrosa, who had been doing very well given his injury, started to lose time after the incident and slipped back a couple of positions.

Same as it ever was

As the riders crossed the line for the final time in Qatar, there was a sense of disappointment in the air. Rules have been changed and Michelin has gone and been replaced by a single tire issued by Bridgestone. All to lower costs and bring the competition closer. Watching the riders cross the line it became clear that nothing had changed over the last season. Only two riders were within one second of each other, Nicky Hayden in 12th and Dani Pedrosa in 11th. Separated by .357 of a second. A small gap to be fair, but not really leaving anything up in the air. The gap between Stoner and Rossi sat at 7.771 seconds with another 8.473 seconds back to Lorenzo in 3rd.

This is only the first race of the season, and most of the riders still need time to adjust to their new Bridgestone tires. I imagine that over the next handful of races the gaps will narrow and the racing will get tighter as the teams and riders come to terms with the new rules and tires, but it can’t help but be wondered. Have Dorna and the FIM chased themselves into a hole?

I fear that MotoGP comes under an even more dangerous threat than the global economic meltdown if the racing stays the same and they keep chasing rule changes. I fear that MotoGP may be on a collison course with boredom.