MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix 2016 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Jorge Lorenzo got his MotoGP title defence underway by powering to victory in Sunday's 2016 season opener at the Qatar Grand Prix, where Andrea Dovizioso finished second.

The Yamaha rider enjoyed a near-perfect display at Losail International Circuit, and Michelin Motorsport confirmed the No. 99 also collected a new circuit record in Doha to go along with his first-place gong:

The Spaniard came under heavy pressure from Ducati duo Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone, but Lorenzo ultimately carried through his momentum from the 2015 campaign to give his 2016 season a stellar push.

Here's a look at the results from the 2016 Qatar Grand Prix: 

Pos.	Points	Rider	Team	Time/Gap
Not Classified
1	25	Jorge Lorenzo	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	42'28.452
2	20	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati Team	+2.019
3	16	Marc Marquez	Repsol Honda Team	+2.287
4	13	Valentino Rossi	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	+2.387
5	11	Dani Pedrosa	Repsol Honda Team	+14.083
6	10	Maverick Vinales	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	+15.423
7	9	Pol Espargao	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	+18.629
8	8	Bradley Smith	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	+18.652
9	7	Hector Barbera	Avintia Racing	+21.160
10	6	Scott Redding	OCTO Pramac Yakhnich	+24.435
11	5	Aleix Espargaro	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	+35.847
12	4	Eugene Laverty	Aspar Team MotoGP	+41.756
13	3	Alvaro Bautista	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	+41.932
14	2	Jack Miller	Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS	+41.982
15	1	Tito Rabat	Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS	+54.953
Rider	Team
Stefan Bradl	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
Loris Baz	Avintia Racing
Cal Crutchlow	LCR Honda
Andrea Iannone	Ducati Team
Yonny Hernandez	Aspar Team MotoGP

And here's how the standings look following the first race of the 2016 campaign:

Pos.	Rider	Points
1	Jorge Lorenzo	25
2	Andrea Dovizioso	20
3	Marc Marquez	16
4	Valentino Rossi	13
5	Dani Pedrosa	11
6	Maverick Vinales	10
7	Pol Espargao	9
8	Bradley Smith	8
9	Hector Barbera	7
10	Scott Redding	6
11	Aleix Espargaro	5
12	Eugene Laverty	4
13	Alvaro Bautista	3
14	Jack Miller	2
15	Tito Rabat	1

Despite the fact that pole leader Lorenzo got off to a flying start in Doha, it wasn't long before Ducati's superior speed in the straights eventually saw the Italian duo of Dovizioso and Iannone take control.

Team competition certainly ran strong among the two, though, and Lorenzo was done a huge favour after Iannone challenged Dovizioso for the lead and eventually crashed out on Turn 13, according to MotoGP:

Marc Marquez also benefited from Iannone's ejection from the running as Lorenzo moved back to the head of the pack, accompanied by Valentino Rossi, who was struggling to break into the top three.

Cal Crutchlow followed Iannone into the list of riders who failed to complete the race after he went down with 16 laps to go; thankfully, both riders were uninjured:

Dovizioso continued to apply pressure on the top places, but his chances of pipping Lorenzo to the gold medal appeared to simmer four laps from the end when Marquez made his move into second.

The drama wasn't finished in the hunt for the runners-up place, however, and Dovizioso slipped in to reclaim second spot on the penultimate lap despite an audacious manoeuvre from Marquez to snag silver.

Lorenzo's finishing time of 42 minutes and 28.452 seconds led him to his third MotoGP victory at the Qatar Grand Prix but also makes him the most successful rider in the competition's history, having now claimed a total of six titles across three classifications.

Last year's winner, Rossi, collected his fourth-place finish behind Dovizioso and Marquez, who will hope their 2016 debuts can provide a platform for a title challenge in the months to come.