The race is on!!

The first race of the 2010 season started today and what a cracker it was! After a long five-month wait the opening race of the new season finally commenced at Losail GP in Qatar. If this is a harbinger of what's to come in the next 17 races then we are all in for a total edge-of-the-seat ride.

It was full of drama (read: crashes and close passes). Casey Stoner, the 2007 champion and last year's runners-up, crashed out after leading the race, which left Valentino Rossi, the MotoGP legend, to finish race in first place, though not without a very tough challenge from his Italian compatriot, Andrea Dovizioso. Yamaha got the 1-2 finishes with Rossi's team-mate, Jorge Lorenzo, squeezed into the second place in the last few laps after spending most of the race in fourth position. The close battle was actually between the third and fourth finishes as Ducati rider, Nicky Hayden, passed by Dovizioso in final two lap but was nicked (pun intended!) by the Honda rider at the checkered flag. I am a big fan of the "Kentucky Kid" aka Nicky Hayden and was rooting for him for a podium finish but alas it wasn't meant to be. Still, what a great start for Hayden in his second season racing for Ducati. My other favorite rider, the American, Ben Spies, raced superbly in his debut season in MotoGP by finishing fifth. Spies, by the way, was the former twice champion of the World Superbike Championship. He's super fast and super talented and I see nothing but great things ahead of him in future races. Another MotoGP rookie, Hiroshi Aoyama, also did commendably in his debut race. Aoyama, who was last season's 250cc champion, finished in tenth place ahead of the other former 250cc riders who joined MotoGP this season, Marco Simoncelli and Alvaro Bautista. Wow, what a great race to start the new season!

Man, I cannot wait for the Sepang GP in Malaysia this September (if the usual schedule doesn't change). Last year's race in Sepang was extra special as I got to witness Rossi clinched his sixth MotoGP title in person. It was truly magical!