The racing heats up for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP is in the desert for this weekend’s race as the MotoGP spectacle heads to the heat of Qatar. John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen will need to draw on their reserves of stamina and fitness in the hot surroundings of the Losail International Circuit as the high temperatures will take their toll on riders and bikes alike. The race has been moved from its usual October date to earlier in the year to take advantage of the cooler conditions, but with forecasts of 30 degrees or more it looks like being anything but cool. The Losail circuit is situated in the rocky and flat desert terrain just outside Doha, the capital city of Qatar. The 5.380km circuit has a very interesting and demanding nature, but unlike most other tracks it has no chicanes and this has led to smooth and fast racing in recent years. The position of the circuit means that the surface can become very dusty and slippery as desert winds blow sand onto the track, this will make the choice of the correct tyres crucial. Suzuki and Bridgestone will be hoping that the added data from a test earlier in the year will prove vital as practice begins on Thursday morning. The Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar is one of only two Saturday races on the MotoGP calendar. Due to this Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will be taking to the track on Thursday for the first two practice sessions. A further free practice hour will be held on Friday morning with the qualifying session in the afternoon. Saturday’s 22 lap race will get underway at 15.00hrs local time (14.00hrs CET). Paul Denning Team Manager: “Qatar is a strange race all by itself on the MotoGP calendar – last year there were more bikes on the track than there were in the car park! We tested here earlier in the year and we will be hoping that the extra data we collected from that test will stand us in good stead for the race. Both the riders are full of confidence and determined to put on a good show at Qatar. John firmly believes that he should have had a better result at Jerez and is looking to move his season forward. Chris is really looking forward to the event as this is a track that he has raced on before and knows well from his WSB days, and he learnt a great deal in Jerez especially at the test on Monday. “We know we still have a lot of work to do and will be hoping that the performance of the GSV-R keeps improving, and that Bridgestone can continue their good form and bring us as good a tyre as we used at the Jerez test to cope with demanding conditions here in Qatar.”