Too early to draw any conclusions from qualifying at Qatar, but at least we might expect all the fuss and nonsense about American Ryan Villopoto hammering Italian Antonio Cairoli to quieten down for a bit. For 24 hours at least.

Qualifying has wound up at Qatar and Cairoli smoked ’em under lights, while Villopoto finished down in eighth place in the qualifying race.

The danger here could be for anyone taking their eyes off the ball, because all the pre-season hype has led us to believe the MX1 class world championship battle will be just a two-horse race between Cairoli and Vollopoto.

Nobody should write off the obvious challenges presented by Belgian Clement Desalle, Frenchman Gautier Paulin, German Max Nagl or Belgian Kevin Strijbos, among others.

Desalle, Paulin, Nagl and Strijbos finished behind Cairoli this morning and that wrapped up the top five.

But tomorrow is what it is all about, the racing proper. Bring it on.

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