The opening round of the 2009 Moto GP motorcycle racing season started with the opening round of the Qatar motorcycle Grand_Prix. The event had originally been scheduled to take place on the weekend of April 10-12, 2009 at the Losail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar. Unfortunately, the meeting had to be extended to April 13, due to torrential rain which delayed the start of the meeting by one day. That fact that the races were due to be held under floodlight to meet worldwide TV obligations made the race even more dangerous.
The 125cc motorcycle race went ahead at the advertised time, although rain was still expected. After the third lap, the rain came pelting down and the race had to be postponed. Shortly after, it was decided to consider the race completed and Andrea Lannone, who was leading at the time the red flag was produced, was declared the winner.
Since the riders failed to complete two thirds of the full race distance, only half points were awarded. Julián Simón was fortunate with this decision as he had come off his motorcycle after the red flag was shown, but managed to remount and return to the track to claim second place.
The 250cc race then started 40 minutes after it was originally scheduled, but the original race distance was reduced from 20 laps 13 laps, to not delay to the main MotoGP event. Spaniard Hector Barbera came in first and Frenchman Jules Cluzel came a surprising second.
The MotoGP race was started at the scheduled time, but on the formation lap, rain began to fall heavily and the race was deferred to the following day, with safety in mind. The start time was also moved from 11pm to 9pm local time to attempt to complete the meeting at a sensible hour.
Pole position occupier, Australian Casey Stoner came in first for 25 points on the Ducati, while Valentino Rossi on the Yamaha bike, experiencing tyre issues, finished second. Third was Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo picking up 16 points but 16 seconds of the first place time.
