In the opening phases of the race on Sunday evening under the powerful Losail lights it was world champion Jorge Lorenzo acting the role of aggressor; very much in recognition of the fact that he had to stamp some ground in the early laps before Stoner could disappear. Unfortunately for the Spaniard as Stoner’s Honda lightened so his speed increased and the Australian – who had topped the time sheets all weekend – was relatively untroubled in his run as leader for 11 of the 22 laps.

‘This morning in warm up we had a few issues getting a good feeling with the bike carrying a full tank of fuel and this issue also affected us in the early part of the race,’ said the winner ‘but we knew as the fuel level decreased and the tyres aged, that our bike would come back to us.’

Remarkably Stoner became the first Honda rider to win the opening round of the championship since Valentino Rossi back in 2003. (Photo courtesy of Honda Pro Images)