Valentino Rossi held off the challenge of Andrea Dovizioso to take victory in the first MotoGP race of the season in Qatar.

The six-time world champion finished a distant second behind Marc Marquez in last year's title standings, but got his 2015 campaign off to the perfect start on Sunday.

The Yamaha rider became involved in an exciting tussle with Ducati's Dovizioso in the final stages of the race, and used all his experience to keep his compatriot at bay.

Rossi started eighth on the grid after a disappointing qualifying session, but worked his way through the field to take maximum points in Doha.

The Italian and Dovizioso - who started on pole - were involved in a four-way battle for the lead in the early stages of the race as Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Iannone also challenged.

However, those two fell off the pace and it was left to Dovizioso and Rossi to vie for supremacy before the latter claimed victory. Dovizioso's Ducati team-mate Iannone took third, meaning all three podium spots were occupied by Italians.

WHERE THE RACE WAS WON
Rossi passed Dovizioso on the penultimate lap and managed to hold off his compatriot to take the win.

OFF TO A FLYER
Dovizioso began on pole and used that to his advantage, getting away quickest to set himself up for a concerted challenge throughout the race.

HOT LAP
Rossi fifth-lap of 1:55.267 proved the quickest, although it was over a second slower than Dovizioso's effort to clinch pole on Saturday.

RACE TO FORGET
Marquez, who began the race in third, ran wide on the first corner and found himself dead last, before working his way back through the field to finish fifth.

RACE STAT TO REMEMBER
The top three of Rossi, Dovizioso and Iannone means the podium was made up entirely of Italians for the first time since Japan 2006.

IN THE POINTS
1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 42:35.717
2. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) +0.174
3. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) +2.250
4. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +2.707
5. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +7.036
6. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) +10.755
7. Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda) +12.384
8. Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) +12.914
9. Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) +13.031
10. Yonny Hernandez (Pramac Racing) +17.435

TITLE STANDINGS
1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 25
2. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 20
3. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 16
4. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 13
5. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) 11

NEXT UP
The riders move on to the United States for the Grand Prix of Americas - where Marquez triumphed last year - on April 12.