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The Qatar round is a unique one compared to the others on the calendar
Marc Márquez and Dani Pedrosa begin their sixth consecutive season as Repsol Honda teammates.
The reigning World Champion begins the defence of his crown at a circuit where in the past he has achieved two victories: One in Moto2 in 2012 and another in MotoGP in 2014. He holds three other podiums in Qatar: One in 125cc in 2010 and two in MotoGP, in 2013 and 2016.
Dani Pedrosa has six podium finishes in Qatar: Five in the premier class and one in 250cc-.
This weekend, Dani Pedrosa will take part in his 200th MotoGP race. Together with Giacomo Agostini, he is the only rider to have taken at least one victory in the premier class for 12 consecutive seasons.
Marc Márquez
“I’m really excited that the first race to has finally arrived. It looks like it’ll be a very competitive season, starting from the first race here in Qatar. Having tested here so recently, we know there are several riders who are already very fast, within only 2-3 hundredths, so the race could be exciting and anything can happen on Sunday. We’ve also worked well during the winter tests and now we look forward to getting started. The Qatar round is a unique one compared to the others on the calendar, and we’re aware that it’s not one of the easiest for us. Still, during the test we focused on trying to get as close as possible to the pace of our opponents on used tyres, and at the moment we’re not that far off. It will be a long season and we’ll continue working on our bike’s setup to try and make the best of every situation on race day.”
Dani Pedrosa
“We arrive at the first race in Qatar after an intense pre-season that saw us do a lot of work. It looks like this is going to be a very competitive year, with many candidates for the podium. Riders have been very competitive, as have the manufacturers. Therefore, more than ever we have to focus on our side of the garage in order to perform our best starting with the first race. I feel ready for this year’s challenge and so do my team. I’m really looking forward to getting on my bike on Friday!”