MotoGP: Marquez beats Rossi in breathtaking opener

Marc Marquez beat Valentino Rossi to claim victory as Jorge Lorenzo crashed out on the first lap of a sensational, breathless Qatar Grand Prix.

Dani Pedrosa completed the podium, while Stefan Bradl, Andrea Iannone, Bradley Smith and Alvaro Bautista all crashed out while running inside the top five.

The drama started on the first lap, as Lorenzo leapt from fifth to the lead before Turn 1, and then set a blistering pace as he attempted to establish an early gap.

Before one lap had been completed however his race was wrecked, as he lost the front at Turn 15 and crashed heavily into the gravel.

Bradley Smith inherited the lead, only to suffer his own wobble which allowed Stefan Bradl and polesitter Marc Marquez to slip by.

The order swung once more when Iannone fell from fourth and then Bradl dropped his LCR Honda at Turn 6, allowing Marquez to hit the front.

Rossi, though, picked off the Spaniard at Turn 15, in what was just the first of a sequence of attacks and counters between the pair that lasted all the way until the flag.

After several aborted attempts, Marquez eventually reclaimed the lead at three-quarter distance, but he was unable to break Rossi and came under increasing pressure from the Italian.

With two laps to go that climaxed as Rossi hit the front once more at Turn 4.

Marquez responded in typically aggressive fashion, but was repassed - and then fought back once more - over the final turns.

Rossi remained locked onto Marquez's wheel throughout the final lap, but was unable to mount a serious attack and came home second, just 0.259s splitting the pair at the flag.

Marquez's victory, which comes just six weeks after he broke his leg, gives him an early points lead in his 2014 title defence.

Pedrosa secured third, but only after another dramatic fall when Bautista - who made a poor start but was otherwise a permanent fixture at the front - fell at Turn 2 two laps from the finish.

Smith, running a secure fifth, had slipped up at the same turn just three laps previously.

The attrition meant Aleix Espargaro was able to come through to finish fourth ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow.

2013 Moto2 runner-up Scott Redding meanwhile just beat 2006 world champion Nicky Hayden to seventh.

The duo, both riding Honda's Open machine, were separated by just 0.035s at the finish.

Qatar Grand Prix - 22 laps:

Pos Rider              Team/Bike                  Time/Gap
 1. Marc Marquez       Honda                    42m40.561s
 2. Valentino Rossi    Yamaha                      +0.259s
 3. Dani Pedrosa       Honda                       +3.370s
 4. Aleix Espargaro    Forward Yamaha             +11.623s
 5. Andrea Dovizioso   Ducati                     +12.159s
 6. Cal Crutchlow      Ducati                     +28.526s
 7. Scott Redding      Gresini Honda              +32.593s
 8. Nicky Hayden       Aspar Honda                +32.628s
 9. Colin Edwards      Forward Yamaha             +39.547s
10. Andrea Iannone     Pramac Ducati              +43.360s
11. Hiroshi Aoyama     Aspar Honda                +46.595s
12. Yonny Hernandez    Pramac Ducati              +46.688s
13. Karel Abraham      Cardion Honda              +50.581s
14. Danilo Petrucci    Ioda Aprilia             +1m03.127s
15. Broc Parkes        PBM Aprilia              +1m14.386s
16. Michael Laverty    PBM Aprilia              +1m32.593s
17. Mike di Meglio     Avintia FTR-Kawasaki     +1m36.085s

Retirements:

    Alvaro Bautista    Gresini Honda               20 laps
    Bradley Smith      Tech 3 Yamaha               18 laps
    Pol Espargaro      Tech 3 Yamaha               17 laps
    Stefan Bradl       LCR Honda                    8 laps
    Hector Barbera     Avintia FTR-Kawasaki         4 laps
    Jorge Lorenzo      Yamaha                       0 laps