Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi claimed the first victory of the 2015 MotoGP season following a thrilling battle with Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso.
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Rossi’s Yamaha finished just 0.174sec ahead of the hard-charging Ducati of Dovizioso in what was a most entertaining battle at the Losail circuit.
Andrea Iannone came home in third to make it an all-Italian podium, while Rossi’s teammate Jorge Lorenzo finished fourth.
Rossi told MotoGP.com that his fight for victory with Dovizioso was his “best battle ever” in his long and distiguised career in the sport.
It looked as though Dovizioso would pass Rossi on the final lap as he tried everything to get around the veteran rider, but Rossi always had the answer, shutting the door on the Ducati man at every attempt of an overtake.
The two countrymen fought hammer and tong right until the end of the race, with Rossi claiming the win by a whisker under lights in Qatar.
Check out the finish below!
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