Espargaro: Ezpeleta said 'OK, we won't go'

Rain in Qatar forced the start of Sunday's season-opening MotoGP race to be delayed - twice.

While rain spots had soon cleared, when riders headed out for the next sighting lap, many of them ran wide at the same corner.

Some, including Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro, were then seen deep in discussion with officials on the grid.

Some riders clearly unhappy with the conditions #QatarGP #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/fnuo6xqWye-- Crash.net MotoGP (@crash_motogp) March 26, 2017

"We went to the front of the grid to talk with Carmelo Ezpeleta. We said, 'Three corners at the end of the track are super wet.' He said, 'OK, we won't go, don't worry!' And this gives you a lot of calm," Espargaro said.

"After another delay, they decided to give us two [warm-up] laps."

The two sighting laps allowed riders to fully evaluate if track conditions were safe. This time no-one objected and the race finally began 45-minutes later than planned. No-one fell in the opening laps.

"It was handled more than correctly," Espargaro said. "It was super tricky and Dorna for me did a great job. For me, it's the best sport in the world. Our opinion is important and this is great.

"It was not an easy weekend for them, but they did a great job."

All of Saturday's track action was cancelled due to drainage problems following heavy rain in the desert.

By Peter McLaren