KENNY Roberts Junior took 13th place and two points in Saturday's opening round of the 2007 MotoGP season in Qatar, the first race of the new 800cc era.

The result followed a frustrating weekend for the Banbury-based Team KR squad, who struggled to get the all-new KR212V machine up to speed. Kenny started the race from the sixth row of the grid, and in spite of strenuous efforts, was unable to improve his position significantly on a machine that lacked top speed.

The race was won by Australian Casey Stoner, his maiden victory on a Ducati which was significantly the fastest down the long straight of the 5.380km Losail circuit. Several times he overtook pole qualifier and second-placed finisher Valentino Rossi's Yamaha at that point.

Kenny's frustration was compounded by getting caught up with other riders who were faster in a straight line. Try as he might in the corners, he would lose it all again on the straight.

At the finish he managed to cross the line 100th of a second ahead of Toni Elias (Honda), but 300ths behind Olivier Jacque's Kawasaki.

The next race is in two weeks, when the MotoGP circus returns to Europe for the Spanish GP at Jerez.