(Photo of Fabio Di Giannantonio by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore)

It was tense. It was awesome. And it was won in style – defeating the reigning Champion over 22 laps of the Lusail International Circuit. Fabio Di Giannantonio (No. 49 Gresini Racing MotoGP™) trailed Francesco Bagnaia (No. 1 Ducati Lenovo Team) for much of the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar, picked his moment, made a decisive move for the lead, and then kept it together to become a MotoGP™ race winner. And all that in the unbelievable context and tension of #PECCOvsMARTIN. That context and tension was Bagnaia leading the way for much of the race and Jorge Martin (No. 89 Prima Pramac Racing) facing a comeback after a bad start, before then losing more positions too as he faded down to tenth. Bagnaia didn’t seem to know that either, as the #1 nearly opened the goal for himself as he tried to attack Diggia in return and sailed into the run-off at Turn 1. With the gap behind enough for him to get back on track in second, it was a heart-in-mouth moment but only a moment. Third place went to Luca Marini (No. 10 Mooney VR46 Racing Team) as he got his elbows out in the fight at the front and then found enough in the tank to hold off a charge from Maverick Viñales (No. 12 Aprilia Racing) over the final few laps. Watch the Extended Race Highlights from Motorsports on NBC here. (Thank you to MotoGP)