Rizla Suzuki MotoGP was left frustrated at the postponement of the Qatar Grand Prix this evening. Adverse weather conditions in the form of torrential rain meant that is was unsafe for Loris Capirossi, Chris Vermeulen and the rest of the MotoGP field to start the race – even though they were all lined up ready to go. A decision has been made to delay the 22-lap race until tomorrow (Monday 13th April) at 21.00hrs local time (18.00hrs GMT), when Capirossi and Vermeulen will start the race from fifth and seventh on the grid respectively. More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: QATAR RACE POSTPONED AFTER DESERT DOWNPOUR A violent and prolonged desert rainstorm that began just minutes before the race was due to start caused the opening Grand Prix of the season to be postponed tonight. The reflection of the floodlights on a wet track means it is impossible to ride in the rain at Qatar and the huge amount of water on track, coupled with high winds, rendered racing impossible. The race will now be run tomorrow (Monday) evening at 2100 local time (2000 CET), with warm-up at 1830. Valentino Rossi “This is a real disappointment because we were fired up to race and it was so close to the start! After the rain stopped the 125 race we thought we had escaped because the track then dried but then the rain came down even harder just in time for MotoGP. It’s so unlucky because you don’t expect this in the desert. After six months without racing and after two days of practice and so much work by everyone it’s very frustrating and this is why it was important to take the decision to race tomorrow. It will be strange because I don’t think there’s ever been a Monday race! It will also be hard to wait another day, and the pressure will be more, but I am happy that we will get the chance to ride. Of course now we have to keep our fingers crossed for the weather tomorrow, but the forecast says it will be ok. The other important thing is that something is done to clean the track, because it will be very dirty after this. Maybe we should all have a race with the hire cars in the morning!” Jorge Lorenzo “I am happy with the decision to race tomorrow because I really want to ride. For us it’s not such a big problem to delay, and it’s better than wasting a whole weekend’s work. I am disappointed because I was ready, but we cannot help the weather and unfortunately here it’s impossible to ride in the rain. It would have been a great pity not to have a race, so now we just need to stay focused.” Fiat Yamaha Team Lin Jarvis Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing “Obviously we’re disappointed not to race tonight under normal circumstances, but due to this totally bizarre situation of such incredibly heavy rain in the desert, we can’t! It’s a great pity for all the fans at home and those here. After considerable internal discussion with Masahiko Nakajima, Davide Brivio, Daniele Romagnoli and of course Valentino and Jorge, Fiat Yamaha’s decision was to fully support the proposal to race tomorrow. We have put in so much effort, with a test here first and then these five days of work, that we feel it’s important to stay and put on a race and a show. Obviously it causes great inconvenience for everyone from a logistical point of view because we have to change flights and hotels for all of our staff, but we are ready to do it for the good of our sport.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Qatar grand prix postponed until Monday 13 April GP1 Qatar Race Losail International Circuit, Sunday 12 April 2009 The season-opening round in Qatar was postponed tonight due to torrential rain that fell moments before the start of the warm-up lap. The Qatari race was scheduled to be run at night, under the glow of powerful spotlights. On the rain-soaked track, the reflective glare from these lights significantly reduced rider visibility so the decision was taken to abandon Sunday’s running. The race has been rescheduled for Monday 13 April at 2100hrs local time, following a warm-up session at 1830hrs. More, from a press release issued jointly by FIM and Dorna Communications: MotoGP race at Qatar is postponed Due to adverse weather conditions, the MotoGP race at the Commercial bank Grand Prix of Qatar has been postponed. Following discussions between FIM, IRTA, Dorna and the QMMF, a proposal was put to the MotoGP teams to run the race tomorrow evening. Thanks to a huge effort from all parties concerned, and out of respect to fans of motorsport around the world, it has been decided that the race will take place on Monday 13th April, 2009. The warm-up will run at 6.30pm local time (GMT+3), with the race scheduled to start at 9pm. FIM Road-racing Commission President, Mr. Claude Danis stated, “For safety reasons it was not possible to race in the night due to the reflection of the lights on the track. This decision had already been taken a few years ago when we first decided to run a night race in Qatar. On behalf of the FIM I am very happy that we could postpone the race until tomorrow. It is important for the championship, especially at the first race, and I would like to thank Dorna, QMMF, IRTA and the MotoGP teams for helping reach this decision together.” Dorna Sports CEO, Mr. Carmelo Ezpeleta added, “After the arrival of a large storm we had to cancel the race as it was unsafe. The QMMF offered us the choice to run the race tomorrow, and as it was a very important decision we wanted to consult with all the team managers. The postponement was accepted by a large majority. This has been an extraordinary decision in extraordinary circumstances. More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: RAIN CAUSES QATAR NIGHT RACE TO BE POSTPONED TO MONDAY The eagerly-awaited Grand Prix of Qatar that was due to start at 23.00 today under the floodlights of the Losail circuit near Doha had to be postponed because of rain. Just as the Repsol Honda riders and the rest of the grid were about to start the formation lap, heavy rain began to fall in the desert, creating a mirror-like track surface. The riders have not ridden in full wet conditions under the floodlights that surround the 5.380km (3.343-mile) Losail circuit and the dazzling effect of the lights’ reflection was considered a genuine safety hazard. After much deliberation, with the rain continuing to fall, the organisers decided to postpone the race by a day. So the MotoGP season opener is now planned to start at 21.00 on Monday, with the warm-up at 18.30. Dani Pedrosa “This has been a really strange situation tonight. With such heavy rain it would definitely have been dangerous to ride under the floodlights, so the decision to cancel the race was the right one. At first we thought the race was going to be called off completely and I can’t say that this would have been bad for me personally because my condition is not 100 per cent. But we came to Qatar to race so we’ll come back and go for the maximum result tomorrow.”.” Andrea Dovizioso “For all the adrenalin that built up during practice and qualifying to be followed by the cancelled race was a real anti-climax. So I think it’s good that we race tomorrow night. There may be less grip after the rain that fell on the track tonight, but that will be the same for everybody. Also with the tyres, the situation is equal for all the riders. From the team’s point of view, it will be really useful for us to get the race data, so I’m glad we’re coming back tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: A rare rainstorm at the Losail International Circuit on Sunday evening saw the first MotoGP contest of the 2009 season postponed in Qatar, with the race now set to take place at 9pm local time on Monday after a warm-up session at 6.30pm. After shortened 250cc and 125cc races earlier in the evening on Sunday, the MotoGP race -which was due to start at 11pm local time- had to be cancelled due to a heavy rainstorm in the desert that made it unsafe to ride at the 5.380km circuit in nighttime conditions. 250cc A dramatic, shortened 250cc contest ended with Héctor Barberá taking maximum points on his debut with the Pepe World Team, the Spaniard making an amazing comeback following a back injury in Japan last year which cut short his season. The start of the race was delayed due to rain and shortened to 13 laps with the intention of running the MotoGP race in its scheduled 11pm slot. Once it did start Barberá got away well from fourth on the grid and battled for the lead with surprise package Jules Cluzel (Matteoni Racing). Barberá eventually came out on top but Cluzel joined him on the podium for the first time in his career after a great race from 13th on the grid. Completing the podium was Cluzel’s compatriot Mike di Meglio (Mapfre Aspar), the 125cc World Champion enjoying a brilliant 250cc debut and securing third place on the last lap. The top six also featured Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing Team), Raffaele de Rosa (Scot Racing Team) and Thomas Luthi (Emmi-Caffe Latte) who all finished within half a second of Di Meglio. Just behind that group was poleman and title candidate Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar) who could not recover from being clipped on the first corner and failed to take advantage of the absence of injured World Champion Marco Simoncelli. 125cc Just four laps into the 125cc race a rain shower at the desert track interrupted proceedings, with leader Andrea Iannone declared as the winner after a restart was ruled out. Italian Ongetta I.S.P.A. Team Iannone rider got away from third on the grid and battled over the four laps with Bancaja Aspar’s Julián Simón, who was second when the red flag came out. The riders were awarded half points in the World Championship standings due to the short duration of the race, meaning that Iannone left Qatar with 12.5 points whilst Simón took home 10. Completing the podium was Ajo Interwetten’s Sandro Cortese, who started fifth and had made it up to third before the rain entered the equation. Also in the top five were Pol Espargaró and Bradley Smith. Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi joined Race Direction delegates who went out to inspect the track to see if the race could be restarted, but the surface was deemed too wet to allow further 125cc racing to take place. According to the record books it was therefore the shortest ever race in the history of the World Championship. More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: GRAND PRIX OF QATAR POSTPONED AFTER FREAK RAINSTORM A torrential desert downpour just sixty seconds before the start of the opening race of the season at Losail means it has been postponed until Monday, with the warm-up set to take place at 1830h local time and the race at 2100h, following a meeting between the teams. The circuit organisers have promised to use three special machines to clear the track from 8am in preparation for the rescheduled race. The Ducati Marlboro Team will line up with both his riders, with Nicky Hayden having been passed fit to race on Sunday.