Losail, 9 March: LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy De Puniet finished in 9th position the first ever World Championship night race at Qatar floodlit track. With a track temperature of 19° the premier class riders got underway the first GP of the 2008 season at 23:00 local time. Following on from an impressive practice sessions, Stoner won the opening round followed by Yamaha rider Lorenzo and HRC Spaniard Dani Pedrosa. .

After struggling for front end lack of grip in yesterday’s both sessions, the Frenchman aboard the Michelin-shod Honda RC212V nr. 14 started from the 5th position for the 22-lap event but he had a wrong feeling in the first two laps loosing the chance to catch the group ahead. Once he got a better feeling, the Frenchman managed to finish in the top 10 and this is his first ever time finish of the Qatar GP.

De Puniet: “After the good testing days of last week and the pace we had yesterday in race trim I was expecting something better. Honestly my start was not perfect but in the first two laps I rode the bike on the ice! I was not absolutely comfortable with the front and I struggled to stand up. Then the situation improved and I started to lap consistently fast overtaking a couple of riders. In the last 5 laps I tried my best to pass Capirossi but his bike acceleration was better than mine. By the way the top ten position is a positive result for me as this is the first ever time that I have finished this race”.

Race Classification:

1 Stoner (Ducati)
2 Lorenzo (Yamaha)
3 Pedrosa (Honda)
4 Dovizioso (Honda)
5 Rossi (Yamaha)
6 Toseland (Yamaha)
7 Edwards (Yamaha)
8 Capirossi (Suzuki)
9 De Puniet (Honda)
10 Hayden (Honda)
11 Melandri (Ducati)
12 Hopkins (kawasaki)
13 Nakano (Honda)
14 Elias (Ducati)
15 Guintoli (Ducati)
16 West (Kawasaki)
17 Vermeulen (Suzuki)

Out: De Angelis (Honda)