Bautista ready for the season opener Rizla Suzuki MotoGP rider Álvaro Bautista is ready for the Qatar GP after completing a positive test, and escaping uninjured from a 250km/h crash, earlier this week. Bautista is eager to get back into the racing groove following some encouraging pre-season tests that have seen him and his crew work on many new settings and components for the Suzuki GSV-R, to make the machine more competitive in all conditions. The first round of the season is the only night race on the calendar and the hot desert sun will be replaced by thousands of watts of man-made light that will illuminate the 5,380m Losail International Circuit, giving this Grand Prix a very singular and atmospheric feeling. The Qatar race will also mark the 300th Grand Prix since the FIM, IRTA and Dorna joined forces in 1992 to manage the MotoGP World Championship. This will be celebrated at the event with the whole paddock being invited to take part in a special presentation. Bautista will take to the track for a unique three nights of practice and qualifying at this year’s Qatar Grand Prix. The first practice session will be at 19.55hrs local time (16.55 GMT) on Thursday, followed by two further practice sessions on Friday evening, before an hour of qualifying takes place on Saturday at 19.55 local time (16.55 GMT). Sunday’s 22-lap race will get underway at 22.00hrs local time (19.00hrs GMT). Álvaro Bautista: “This is where the action really starts and I’m looking forward to this weekend. I like to ride the bike and we’ve had some good tests, but I like to fight with other riders more and be out there racing. We’ve done a lot of good work throughout the winter and that should help us in different conditions and the cooler night temperatures at Qatar will give us a good chance to see how far we’ve come. I’m really focused on the new season and the whole crew and Suzuki are right behind me, which is a good feeling, we now need to get out there and get into the action.” More, from a press release issued by Mahindra Racing: Qatar debut for Mahindra Racing March 16, 2011, Mumbai: Mahindra Racing part of the US $7.1 billion Mahindra Group will make its race debut on March 17-20 at the 5.38km Losail International Circuit for round 1 of the 125cc MotoGP World Championship. Mahindra is the first Indian motorcycle manufacturer to enter a team into the prestigious MotoGP World Championship with its GP125 racing motorcycle, entered in the 125cc class. Produced by Mahindra’s Italy-based Engines Engineering division, the GP125 will be ridden by riders Danny Webb from Britain and Marcel Schrötter from Germany. Qatar is likely to present a tough debut venue. Its desert location means sand is often blown on to the track, making finding a good bike set-up difficult on the constantly changing surface. It is also the season’s only night race, held under floodlights, giving added difficulties to the riders. Speaking about Mahindra’s participation in the MotoGP Championships, Mr. Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group, said, “It is a matter of great pride for us to represent India in the world’s most prestigious two-wheeled race series. Mahindra Motorcycles will compete with the best in class, and it will be an ideal opportunity for us to showcase our strengths in the engineering and IT domains. MotoGP is the ultimate test for the finest talents in motorcycle racing and an immensely popular championship with a cult following. Our participation will also help us leverage the power of global branding for the Mahindra Group.” Team Principal Mufaddal Choonia heralds the team’s debut. “I am very proud to be part of the first Indian team in MotoGP racing. This is a big challenge for everyone involved and we are all working very hard to ensure we are competitive. “Mahindra are a US $7.1 billion multinational group, and we build three things: products, services and possibilities. We are new to the two-wheeler market and our entry in MotoGP shows our ambition. “Ultimately, we are not in the sport to make up the numbers, we are here to win. That might sound ambitious, but that’s the way we are. I know that this is a big task, but we are all focused and we are in the battle for the long term” said Choonia. Leading Mahindra’s charge is 19-year-old Danny Webb from Tunbridge Wells, England, who starts his fifth season in the category. “I think my experience and potential attracted the team to me, and the strength and back-up of the Mahindra Group combined with the expertise at Engines Engineering drew me to them. Qatar’s our first race together and we’re focused on improving steadily through the season. “I like the Qatar track but racing at night is an usual challenge. It’s a bit like being in a Playstation game, and you have to learn to ignore the shadows from the riders behind you as the floodlights makes it look like they are riding into you all the time. I’m confident we’ll do a good job.” Eighteen year-old Marcel Schrötter from Pflugdorf, Germany, is entering his second season in the category. “I’m looking forward to Qatar and it will be great to be racing again. I am still learning the GP125, and the bike is still being developed so it is difficult to know how well we will go in our first race but I will be pushing hard all the way.” Watching over activities during the four days action in Qatar is team manager, Nicola Casadei. “It is fair to say that testing was not as straight-forward as we hoped as we were interrupted by a lot of rain, but we have a good understanding of the bike. We know our strengths and we know where we have to improve. Qatar will give us a good gauge of where we sit relative to our rivals.” The Grand Prix of Qatar opens with practice sessions for the 125cc class on March 17-18, followed by qualifying on March 19 and the race on March 20. More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Extra Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard Now established as the curtain-raiser for the MotoGP season, Qatar’s Losail International Circuit again heralds a return to action on 20 March for motorcycle racing’s top category and for Bridgestone who return as the Official Tyre Supplier to the premier class for the third year. Following the Tohoku earthquake last week, Bridgestone has pledged support to the relief and recovery of its home nation and to those affected by the events of last Friday. At the moment Bridgestone is doing its best in this difficult situation to ensure that MotoGP tyre supply will be uninterrupted.. The Qatar Grand Prix, the season’s only night race, presents unique and unusual challenges for Bridgestone’s tyres. Night-time temperatures are relatively cool at below 25 degrees Celsius, meaning that softer tyre compounds are required to generate good grip and feeling for the riders, however tyre wear is relatively high because of the nature of the tarmac.. Being located in the desert outside Qatar’s capital Doha, sand blown onto the circuit makes it very abrasive, demanding harder tyre compounds in order to provide sufficient durability. Bridgestone’s approach to these challenges remains unchanged from last year when tyre performance and rider feedback was good. This means the medium and extra hard compound slick tyres have been selected alongside the medium and hard rear slicks to provide a balance of cool-weather performance and good wear resistance. The circuit conditions also change throughout the course of each evening as the temperature starts to drop and the track becomes more slippery. The temperature differential can be sufficient to create high humidity and damp patches on track, and this is one of the main reasons that the race this year will start one hour earlier than in 2010, at 2200hrs local time. This year the MotoGP schedule has returned to three 45minute free practice sessions and one hour of qualifying, and at Losail the first practice session gets underway on Thursday 17 March at 1955hrs local time. Mikio Masunaga Vice President and Official Member of the Board, Bridgestone Corporation “We send our deepest condolences to the people suffering from last week’s terrible Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake Disaster. We sincerely hope that quality of life and a sense of normality can be restored for all those affected by this tragedy and Bridgestone group promise to help with the all-out relief and recovery effort. At this moment in the current situation we are working hard to ensure our MotoGP tyre supply is unaffected and I am confident that we will achieve this. Many Japanese manufacturers and personnel are involved in MotoGP and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families at this time. We will continue to provide our best support to all MotoGP teams and riders throughout 2011.” Hiroshi Yamada Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “This is perhaps the most publicised start to a season in recent times because of all the rider and team changes and I think we are in for a very exciting opening race and whole year. Last year our tyre allocation process worked fairly and was well supported by everyone so we will keep it the same this year, and pre-season testing has gone well so I am confident of another strong season as the Official Tyre Supplier to MotoGP in which we hope to continue playing our part in making the racing exciting and giving the riders safe and predictable tyres.” Hirohide Hamashima Director, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development “The Qatar GP is a totally different challenge for us because it is the only race of the year to be run at night and in the desert. By the time the bikes are on track under the spotlights, the track temperature is around the lowest of the year in dry conditions but the desert sand often blows across the circuit. The sand is not like you’d find on a beach but more closely resembles a powder which makes the surface slippery yet very abrasive which is a difficult situation to deal with. It is very tough for our tyres as they have to be soft enough to provide grip with the low track temperature but hard enough to resist wear and graining and have sufficient strength to cope with the heavy braking points. “This is the reason that we have selected the medium and extra hard compound front slick tyres for Losail instead of the usual consecutive pair of compounds. The medium compound gives good grip in the cool conditions when the track is clean, but when the track gets sandy the additional hardness of the extra hard compound provides the necessary durability and wear resistance to consistently cover race distance without graining.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Team: Everything is ready for the beginning of the 2011 Moto2 World Championship that will take place this weekend on the circuit of Losail in Qatar. This race will be held, as usual, at night time, with the track lit up by thousands of floodlights which makes for an emotional and peculiar first round. After a whole winter spent in developing the technical evolutions for the new season, the JiR Team tested the new MotoBI in the three Spanish sessions, that gave good responses and saw the top rider Alex De Angelis find a good feeling with the machine and stay consistently with the fastest riders. Now it’s time to see the result of the team’s testing efforts, facing time and competitors, to give life to what will be for sure a hard-fought class, thanks to the large number of participants and their competitiveness. Gianluca Montiron I’m happy to see the new season about to start, finally. During pre-season tests there have been different riders at the top of the classification, so it is very hard to make any prediction, but I believe the JiR project has a rider and machine package that is worthy to compete at the highest levels. I must be thankful for this to our sponsors who are supporting us financially, with whom we started not only a sportive project but also commercial initiatives and our technical partners who contributed to the MotoBI’s development during the whole winter. The high competitiveness of the Championship will make it long and hard, therefore it will be important to have consistent performances in all races and for this I believe De Angelis’ experience will play an important role. Alex DeAngelis Maybe for the first time ever we arrive to the beginning of the Championship with so few kilometers ran in tests as this year the weather has hampered things, so it’s hard to make any comparison. We tried to stick to our development plan, we still have some aspects we need to further investigate but we have already planned to solve them directly in Qatar. I’m confident because the basic technical direction has been chosen and it is satisfying, as we know the Moto2 class is very competitive and a few tenths of second could mean two or three rows forward or backward in the grid so it will be crucial to make good choices also for those aspects that are usually considered as details. I also appreciated the management’s decision to keep the 2010 machine available, so that we can always have a backup solution or a comparison in case of need. I can’t give an impression about competitors yet, as we had the official engines only in Jerez and it rained, what I know for sure is that each track will be a race on its own therefore at the end of the season the winner will be probably who will be the most consistent. Being consistent means also to be able to interpret each race correctly and I feel confident on this because people in JiR Team are all experienced technicians. I’m looking forward to start racing again and I’m happy we start right in Qatar with the night time race, it is very emotional and I like very much the track. More, from a press release issued by FTR MOTO: FTR MOTO LOOKING FOR OPENING ROUND REPEAT FTR MOTO is hoping to get the 2011 Moto2 World Championship under way in the same manner as last year with a podium finish in Sunday night’s Qatar opening round. It was FTR-mounted Alex Debon finishing second a year ago under the lights of the Losail circuit 15 miles outside the country’s capital of Doha. Now FTR heads into this year’s first round with 10 riders carrying the hopes of the Buckingham company. Riding the unique M211 machines, BQR Team riders Esteve Rabat and Yonny Hernandez are joined in the same garage by Kenny Noyes with the American running with backing from GP Tech and FOGI Racing. Scottish youngster Kev Coghlan appears in the Debon-run Aeroport de Castello Team for his World Championship debut season. The Italian IODA Racing Project operation fields Simone Corsi and Mattia Pasini on FTRs while the 2010 race-winning Speed Up squad have placed their hopes, and their M211s, in the hands of youngsters Pol Espargaro and Valentin Debise. The Stop and Go Team has the second of the Hernandez brothers from Colombia, Santiago, paired with Thai tough guy Ratthapark Wilairot back in action and all set for his FTR debut after a serious road traffic accident in early December while at home in Thailand. “We had a really good time in our debut year last year,” recalled FTR’s Steve Bones. “But now it feels like we’re taking a big step forward. We’ve gone from four machines on the grid last year to 10 now, it’s exactly what we were hoping for for the Grand Prix paddock to confirm its belief in our machine. “We’ve made a lot of subtle changes and improved the machine for 2011 but it’s also thanks to the four riders we had last year that they were regularly on the pace and pushing our M210 to the maximum to ensure we received the very best and most accurate feedback. “From those four riders Alex Debon, Gabor Talmacsi, Karel Abraham and Andrea Iannone all of them finished on the podium and two of them won races, and there were a handful of fastest laps and pole positions the same again in 2011 is our initial target but we have to keep developing the M211 the World title is what we ultimately want.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Repsol Honda Team ready to start 2011 Championship The wait is over. Tomorrow the season officially starts under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. After very strong performances in the winter tests, where the Repsol Honda riders were on top of the time sheets both in Sepang and in Qatar, Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Casey Stoner are very confident for the opening round of the season. Casey Stoner, the fastest rider of the last Qatar pre-season test can boast the biggest numbers of victories at this track. The Australian has won the MotoGP race here three times in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and also the 250 once in 2005. Dani Pedrosa, fast and consistent during the whole winter test, is ready to face the Qatar race – where he has enjoyed two podiums at MotoGP level in 2007 and 2008, and also in 250 in 2004. He is confident that he and his machine are in good shape to have a strong start to the season. After good results in the pre-season, Andrea Dovizioso is looking forward to the first race of the Championship. Andrea has good memories of this track, finishing on the podium in the 3 classes. In 2010 he finished third after a very strong race and in 2008, on a Honda satellite bike, he finished fourth overtaking Valentino Rossi on the last lap of his first ever race in MotoGP. DANI PEDROSA “I’m really looking forward to start the season. We’ve been here for many days already and it’s time to start racing. Our expectations for the race are high after the results of the winter test. I think we did a good job, the bike was competitive in Sepang and when we have changed the circuit it kept the same level, so I’m very happy about that. We start this season with a competitive bike. The RCV212V hasn’t changed so much from the one we had for the second half of last season and I feel confident. Anyway, we need to be very concentrated because the race weekend will be very demanding with four days of testing, our rivals will improve and we will see how the conditions are, I expect very windy as it’s been during testing. Both the bike and I are in a good shape and I hope we can take this occasion to start the season strongly. I am very sorry for what is going on in Japan. I have been with Honda since the beginning of my career and I have many Japanese friends. My thoughts are with them and I really hope the situation will get better soon for all of Japan”. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO “Racing in Qatar is special because it’s the first round of the season and we race at night. I have good memories at this track, like my first race in MotoGP when I finished 4th or last year’s podium, and I look forward to start racing after a very positive winter preparation. Casey and Dani have raised the level, but compared to last year I feel more competitive. Here in Losail the bike slides a lot and it’s important to find the specific setting for this track. The race will be long and physically demanding but I am looking forward to start the Championship. Concerning the decision taken yesterday to postpone the GP of Japan I agree with it. The extent of the damages made by the earthquake and the tsunami are so big that it was not thinkable to have a GP there in few weeks. The priority of the Country in this moment is to take care of the people and recover fro m the situation. I feel very close to the Japanese people”. CASEY STONER “In this difficult time with the events in Japan, it is hard to go racing and this tragedy is at the front of all our minds. That said, it’s what we do, so we must concentrate to the best of our abilities to bring home a good result for Honda and all it’s employees. After a strong winter testing period, I’m very happy with the set-up we have found on the bike and I go into this race weekend looking for a good result. When the flag drops, we will see the true pace of all our competitors and know where we stand and I can’t wait. Usually, I feel comfortable here at the Losail circuit and I hope that this year – my first with the Repsol Honda Team, we can achieve a good result”. More, from a press release issued by Blusens Supermartxe by Paris Hilton Team: BLUSENS SUPERMARTXÉ by PARIS HILTON TEAM PILOTS ALREADY IN LOSAIL PREPARING FOR 2011 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OPENING TEST GP OF QATAR Losail, 16 March 2010. The MotoGP world championship will eventually get started this weekend with the GP of Qatar at Losail in what will be the ultimate season for the 125 cc class in the worldwide contest. This first event of the 2011 edition will mainly stand out by having three days of training session instead of the usual two. Thus two free sessions will be held on Thursday and another one on Friday. The warm-up and the trials which will determine the starting grid for the race on Sunday will be held on Saturday. As it has now become usual over the previous seasons the race will be run at night. Blusens SuperMartXé by Paris Hilton Team pilots will run this first race with different goals. Whereas Sergio Gadea aim at winning the race again as he did in 2008 and begin to compete for the title of champion in the 125cc class on a good foot, his team-mate Maverick Viñales is confident that he will achieve good results for a good debut in the world championship even though the track layout is unknown to him. 25 MAVERICK VIÑALES: “I am really glad and in the mood to start this world championship. I think we have been well prepared for this first event and the pre-season has been very positive. I have proven to myself I could compete with the leading pilots in the class on an equal footing and this enables me to expect this race with confidence and hope. On this occasion unlike during the tests we have taken over the last few months I am not familiar with the track but I am confident that we will be able to do well as we have been doing so far and to achieve good results which would be to end up in the top 10. I don’t have any reference regarding the layout but my technicians do and this will help us out. The fact to have three days of training will enable us to work with calm, ride more laps and get the right race pace. The fact to run at night will be a brand new experience but I don’t think it will be a hurdle. 33 SERGIO GADEA: “We have done a good pre-season and we are very happy with the job both mechanics and technicians have been doing. In Jerez we have managed to get over most problems I had riding my motorbike and this enables me to expect this debut event with more tranquility. This year is only about winning the world championship and that’s why my objective is to start the season by winning the GP of Qatar and if not, make the most of the race at least. The world championship is quite long but it’s always good to start well in order to be in good spirits and to score a proper amount of points. The fact to have three days of training session will enable us to work with calm and that’s better for us. I am in good physical shape I rode over 80 laps in the pre-season tests and was able to cope. I don’t think races are that demanding. I have been training at the gym and practising with a Metrakit on a go-kart track and I am really feeling in full fitness to run this first GP of the year. I really like Losail track and it’s really suitable for me. In 2008 I won the race with a broken collarbone and last year I made the most of the race in Moto2 class. Moreover it’s really nice to ride at night and I really enjoy it.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Losail floodlights to iluminate 2011 MotoGP season start MotoGP The wait for MotoGP fans around the world will finally end on Thursday when the first round of the 2011 season commences under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit with the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar. With the pre-season done and dusted the 17 premier class riders will step back on track at the venue just three days after completing the final pre-season Test there, as the business of racing gets underway. Defending World Champion Jorge Lorenzo is the man whose crown the remainder of the MotoGP field will be targeting, and a range of suitors have put their names forward as title candidates for 2011 during pre-season. The Repsol Honda trio of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso have all been strong in testing in the lead up to the new campaign, with the RC212V having been the fastest machine across the two Tests at Sepang and the Qatar meeting just passed. Stoner has a fearsome record at Losail having won for three years consecutively from 2007-2009, including on his Ducati debut, a feat he will be eager to repeat on the Honda and having topped the timesheet in the final pre-season Test there on Monday. Pedrosa has been fast and, importantly, fit in pre-season and will aim for a first podium finish at Losail since 2008, whilst Dovizioso opened his campaign last year with a closely fought third place at the track. Lorenzo himself has never finished off the rostrum when riding at Losail in the premier class, and took an impressive second place last season despite carrying a hand injury. The Factory Yamaha Racing rider’s new team-mate Ben Spies will be another man expecting to fight at the front in what promises to be a thrilling curtain raiser. No doubt a great deal of attention will centre around Valentino Rossi, whose pre-season travails have added to the anticipation surrounding his race debut on the Ducati Desmosedici. The Italian was victorious in Qatar last season but in the lead up to 2011 a recovering shoulder and continuous efforts to get comfortable on the GP11 have made his adaptation to the machine a subject of much interest, with team-mate Nicky Hayden heading into his third season on board with the factory Ducati team. San Carlo Honda Gresini pair Marco Simoncelli and Hiroshi Aoyama have enjoyed promising pre-season tests and will hope to convert those into results at the first round as they both enter their second season in the premier class. Other riders embarking on their sophomore MotoGP campaigns will be Álvaro Bautista, the sole rider for Rizla Suzuki this year, and Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar Team). Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards has been in good form on the M1 whilst on the Desmosedici Randy de Puniet and Loris Capirossi commence new phases in their premier class tenures with the Pramac Racing team. Toni Elías’ return to the MotoGP class will see the Moto2 World Champion tackling the 800cc RC212V of the LCR Honda team, and for MotoGP rookies Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) and Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) an exciting new chapter in their respective careers begins. The latter will go into the opening round nursing a finger injury on his left hand however, which he picked up in a crash on the final day of the Test on Monday. Moto2 After a thrilling inaugural season in 2010 the Moto2 category revs up for its second year in the World Championship in 2011, and on Thursday evening 38 ambitious riders will line up for the opening practice session. Round 1 of the 2011 campaign commences just ten days after the conclusion of the final pre-season Test which took place at Jerez, and where the 600cc Honda engines were in full symphony for the first, and only, time prior to Qatar. The leading figures at the three-day meeting were Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing), 2010 125 World Champion Marc Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol), Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project), Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing) and Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2), who were the highest placing riders on the timesheet. The quintet will all be keen to carry that form into the opening round, but a host of other candidates will also be intent on making strong starts to 2011. Last year’s Championship runner-up Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) and Andrea Iannone (Speed Master) who finished third will be amongst the expected challengers at the front, whilst Frenchman Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing) stood on the podium at Losail last year. Add to the mix names such as Mika Kallio (Marc VDS) and Aleix Espargaró (Pons Racing), both of whom have stepped down from MotoGP and will feel they have a point to prove, and riders who proved their progress last year in the category in Scott Redding (Marc VDS) and Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) and the first race promises another spectacular show. Alongside the names of those who displayed their talents last year on a frequent basis will be those of some exciting newcomers to the stage on a full-time basis, when the field lines up for FP1 on Thursday. Kenan Sofuoglu gave a hint of his ability in the final two rounds last year when riding as a replacement for the Technomag-CIP team, and the Turkish rider is on board with the French squad in 2011. Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing) and Kev Coghlan (Team Aeroport de Castelló) will also embark on their debut Moto2 World Championship campaigns. Also arriving in the Moto2 class as they graduate from the 125s are Pol Espargaró (HP Tuenti Speed Up), Bradley Smith (Tech 3), Randy Krummenacher (GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing) and Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX), whilst the likes of Kenny Noyes (Avintia-STX), Anthony West (MZ Racing), Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda Singha-SAG), Mike di Meglio (Tech 3), Claudio Corti (Italtrans) and Yonny Hernández (Blusens-STX) will all attempt to build on last season with a strong start in Qatar. Mashel Al Naimi will provide a home interest for Qatari fans as he starts his second season in the World Championship, and will be joined by wildcard compatriot Nasser Al Malki on the QMMF Racing Team for this round. 125cc The final season of the 125cc two-stroke category will also kick off as the pursuit of the title sees 31 riders pit their wits against one another. With 2010 Champion Marc Márquez departed for the Moto2 class, the chase for the vacated title will play out amongst a group of riders hungry to make the best possible start at Losail. One man brimming with confidence will be last year’s race winner and Championship runner-up Nico Terol, one of the main title favourites in 2011. The Spaniard’s primary threat is likely to come from within the same garage however, with Bankia Aspar team-mate and compatriot Héctor Faubel also holding winning experience at the circuit having taken victory in the 125 class in 2007. Faubel was also fastest at the Jerez Test ten days ago, where he finalised his preparations for his return to the category by finishing just ahead of Terol on the timesheet. German duo Sandro Cortese (Intact Racing Team Germany) and Jonas Folger (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) have both enjoyed strong pre-seasons, the former now heading into his seventh campaign and with a Qatar podium from 2009 to his name, whilst other riders with enough experience to expect to challenge will be Ajo Motorsport pair Efrén Vázquez (who placed second in Qatar last year) and Johann Zarco. Sergio Gadea’s (PEV-Blusens-SMX Paris Hilton) readjustment to the class having returned from Moto2 has given the Spaniard some food for thought, but he will nevertheless be expectant at the opening round. Aside from the more experienced heads there has also been a pre-season buzz surrounding the rookies who will initiate themselves on the World Championship scene this year. Spaniard Maverick Viñales (PEV-Blusens-SMX Paris Hilton) and Portuguese Miguel Oliveira (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica) have looked increasingly comfortable throughout the lead up to 2011, whilst Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup graduates Danny Kent (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) and Taylor Mackenzie (Phonica Racing) have also adapted well. All will hope that their progress continues under the floodlights in Qatar. Other riders to look out for in the opening round will be 2010 Rookie of the Year Alberto Moncayo (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica), Mahindra Racing duo Danny Webb and Marcel Schrötter as the Indian team makes its World Championship debut, and the first Indian rider to compete in the World Championship Sarath Kumar (WTR-Ten10 Racing). The Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar takes place across four days, starting on Thursday March 17th. The first practice session will be for the 125 category, and is scheduled to take place at 6pm local time. More, from a press release issued by Honda: HONDA RIDERS READY TO RACE The 2011 MotoGP World Championship will have a subdued kick-off this weekend under the desert lights in Qatar, with the ongoing tragedy in Japan weighing heavily on the hearts minds of the racing community. Everyone at Honda Motor Company has expressed their condolences to their fellow countrymen as they embark on what they hope will be another world championship. Following a very successful testing season, no one is more ready to celebrate the 300th grand prix of the Dorna era than Honda’s roster of world champions. Honda riders excelled in the limited pre-season testing by finishing fastest in each of the eight sessions over three tests. The final test finished just days ago here at the Losail International Circuit east of Doha, the capital of Qatar, and when it did, Repsol Honda teammates were fighting for supremacy. There was little between Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC212V) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) when the two-day test concluded on Monday evening. Stoner was a mere .064s better on his fastest lap of 1m, 55.681s, though he was more consistently in the ’55s. The 25-year-old Australian had an instant affinity for the desert circuit. In 2006, his first year in the premier class, the Honda-mounted Stoner arrived at the track after a difficult journey with little sustenance and earned his first pole position in only his second MotoGP race. Stoner then went on to lead the race for the first nine of 22 laps. The following year Stoner used his win in Qatar, one of ten victories in 18 races, as a springboard to capturing the 2007 MotoGP World Championship. He returned to Qatar the following year and won again, stretching his margin of victory by more than two seconds, which he would do again when he won the 2009 running of the race. Stoner was in the lead last year and pulling away when his front end slid out. Now, having finished with the fastest time at the test, Stoner is ready to get back to the top step of the podium. Pedrosa is no stranger to the podium in Qatar. The two-time 250cc World Champion finished third to Stoner in both 2007 and 2008. Having finished the test here with a near similar time to his new team-mate, Pedrosa is ready for the start of the season. In 2010, Pedrosa had his most successful season. The 25-year-old from Sabadell, Spain won four races, twice as many as he’d won during any of the previous four years of his MotoGP career. There were four further podiums and certain to be more before he suffered a broken collarbone at Honda’s home grand prix at Twin Ring Motegi. Pedrosa’s pre-season form confirms that his physical condition has returned to championship level, and he’ll need to be in top shape in such a talented field. Andrea Dovizioso, the former 125cc World Champion, enters his third year with the Repsol Honda team having had his most successful MotoGP season in 2010. Dovizioso finished on the podium seven times and finished with the most points of his MotoGP career, while equaling his career best overall finish of fifth. Yet Dovizioso wasn’t able to add a victory to his win in difficult conditions at Donington Park in 2009, though he came tantalizingly close more than once. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) enters his second season brimming with confidence from a successful test season. Simoncelli was the fastest of all riders at the second test in Sepang, narrowly in front of Pedrosa and Stoner, with Dovizioso fifth fastest. The combination of a year’s experience and improvements in the Honda RC212V had put Simoncelli among the class favourites. The 2008 250cc World Champion saw the potential in the 2011 race machine at the 2010 season-ending test after Valencia. The bike has more power than previous versions and “Super Sic” was comfortable from the start. Now he needs to maintain his progress as he enters his first full season on factory equipment. Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini), the last ever 250cc World Champion, also starts his sophomore season in the premier class. The top Japanese rider in the world championships made an impressive leap on the first day of the final test to set the third fastest time. Being among the leaders is nothing new for the nine-time race-winner who has spent most of his grand prix career in the Honda family and he plans to be there this year. The move to the San Carlo Gresini Honda team has been seamless and Aoyama gives the team much of the credit for his testing success. Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP) is the most recent world champion, having won the inaugural Moto2 World Championship in 2010. Prior to that the Spaniard spent five years in the MotoGP class, with three of those aboard Hondas. Now back in the top class, Elias has had a difficult pre-season adopting to the Honda RC212V, though he refuses to believe he’s gotten the most out of himself and the machine and expects to improve with more seat time. Losail International Circuit is 15 kms. east of Doha, one of the fastest growing cities in the world and the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The 5.38k track, with ten right hand corners and six lefts, was designed primarily for motorcycles with vast run-off areas known as “Uncini’s Beaches” for the IRTA safety rep, former 500cc World Champion Franco Uncini. The layout has a variety of corners and a long front straight, with near constant high speeds and changes of direction. One of the downsides is the desert location. Gusty winds blow sand across the surface, which can catch a rider out if he’s not paying attention, and which can also wreak havoc on tire life. The 1.068k front straight is one of the longest on the calendar, with speeds reaching close to 330kph in qualifying and just less during the race. An occasional tailwind can catch riders out, causing them to overrun the first corner until they adapt to the speed. What makes the front stretch compelling is that the finish line is towards the end of the straightaway, which lends itself to draft passing at the finish line, and graphically highlights the top speed discrepancies between the various machines. The 2011 running of the race marks the fifth year that the MotoGP season kicks off at night, as a concession to the daytime temperatures that average 35C ambient and much higher on the asphalt. The circuit, which won the 2008 IRTA Best Grand Prix of the Year award, prides itself on being the largest permanent venue sports-lighting project in the world, with 3600 fixtures. The lighting gives the track surface a unique look, with nighttime humidity affecting traction. For the first time in anyone’s memory, the grand prix weekend is spread out over four days, with practice beginning Thursday evening leading up to Sunday’s season-opener. The denizens of the paddock work deep into the night and sleep late in the morning, while enjoying Doha’s sandy beaches long into the afternoon. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC212V) says: “In this difficult time with the events in Japan, it is hard to go racing and this tragedy is at the front of all our minds. That said, it’s what we do, so we must concentrate to be the best of our abilities to bring home a good result for Honda and all its employees. After a strong winter testing period, I’m very happy with the set-up we have found on the bike and I go into this race weekend looking for a good result. When the flag drops, we will see the true pace of all our competitors and know where we stand I can’t wait. Usually I feel comfortable here at the Losail circuit and I hope that this year, my first with the Repsol Honda team, we can achieve a good result.” Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) says: “I’m really looking forward to start the season. we’ve been here for many days already and it’s time to start racing. Our expectations for the race are high after the results of the winter test. I think we did a good job, the bike was competitive in Sepang and when we have changed the circuit it kept the same level, so I’m very happy about that. We start this season with a competitive bike. The RC212V hasn’t changed so much fro the one we had for the second half of last season and I feel confident. Anyway, we need to be very concentrated because the race weekend will be very demanding with four days of testing. Our rivals will improve and we will see how the conditions are, I expect very wind, as it’s been during testing. Both the bike and I are in good shape. And I hope we can take this occasion to start the season strongly. I am very sorry for what is going on in Japan. I have been with Honda since the beginning of my career and I have many Japanese friends. My thought are with them and I really hope the situation will get better soon for all of Japan.” Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) says: “Racing in Qatar is special because it’s the first round of the season and we race at night. I have good memories at this track, like my first race in MotoGP when I finished fourth or last year’s podium, and I look forward to start racing after a very positive winter preparation. Casey and Dani have raised the level, but compared to last year I feel more competitive. Here in Losail, the bike slides a lot and it’s important to find the specific setting for this track. The race will be long and physically demanding but I am looking forward to starting the championship. Concerning the decision taken yesterday to postpone the GP of Japan, I agree with it. The extent of the damage made by the earthquake the tsunami are so big that it was not thinkable to have a GP there in a few weeks. The priority of the country in this moment is to take care of the people and recover from the situation. I feel very close to the Japanese people.” Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Gresini Honda RC212V) says: “Things start getting serious on Thursday and I am really looking forward to getting out on track and reaping the fruit of all the hard work we have done during winter testing. Out in Malaysia and more recently here in Qatar I have been able to see that Honda have produced a great bike, I have improved as a rider and my team has also improved on last year. As a result I am really happy and confident that we have the tools to be competitive from the first race. Right from the first test at Valencia I realised that the 2011 bike had a good competitive base and that has been proved. The bike is powerful, fast and I can ride it as I want I feel really good in the saddle. Honda have done a great job and they have given me a lot of support. I am in good shape and keen to pick up where we left off last season and build on those results. A podium would be fantastic but to be able to fight on level terms with the top five would also be a great start. I am confident and will give my best to achieve it.” Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Gresini Honda RC212V) says: “I am happy and satisfied with the vibe within the team. This important relationship has allowed me to set some good lap times during the winter and now I can’t wait to get out there in a Grand Prix and see if all our hard work pays off with results. I have confidence, I feel in great form and the bike is powerful, fast and capable of taking me to good results. I have a well prepared team who I have already found a perfect feeling with and I am confident we can run with the best in the field. We have done a great job during winter testing and we are ready for the challenge. I hope we can give Team San Carlo Honda Gresini lots to be excited about.” Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP) says: “During the test session here we have changed many things on the bike to find the proper setting and some things work in the right way some others not. Thanks to new timing we will have more time to adjust the bike for the race on Sunday. I know it won’t be easy but I knew the adaptation period to his bike would have been long. I am confident because the team is doing a very good job and I am very stubborn. I like this track and the atmosphere is unique. We will see what is going to happen in the next days.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Marlboro: THE LIGHTS GO ON IN QATAR FOR THE 2011 MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP The MotoGP World Championship will start on Thursday at Losail International Circuit, with the first free-practice sessions planned for 6:00 p.m. for the 125cc class, 6:55 p.m. for Moto2, and 7:55 for MotoGP. Although the usual work of preparing for the Grand Prix has begun at the circuit, the entire paddock is closely following the news on the terrible moment that Japan is currently experiencing. On Tuesday, the International Motorcycling Federation made the official announcement that the Motegi Grand Prix, originally scheduled for 24 April, has been postponed to 2 October. Every member of the Ducati Marlboro Team wishes the best for the colleagues of the paddock’s sizeable Japanese contingent. For the team and for Ducati, tomorrow is doubly important because March 17 is when Italy will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification. Since January, the fairings of Valentino Rossi’s and Nicky Hayden’s Ducati Desmosedici GP11s have worn the official logo created for this event: three waving Italian flags representing the three Jubilees of 1911, 1961, 2011 , a link between generations. VALENTINO ROSSI, Ducati Marlboro Team “For the first practice session in Qatar, we’ll start with the settings that we found on the last day of the test, because our final lap time notwithstanding, they weren’t bad. In fact, I think I could have gone faster if the strength hadn’t left my shoulder almost without warning before I had even tried the soft tires. The race weekend has sessions of 45 minutes and one hour, so it should be easier from that point of view. Naturally, my shoulder isn’t the only issue: if we want to have a good race, we know that in addition to me being physically ready, we’ll have to find some solutions that will help us be faster and improve our pace. In any event, the debut with Ducati brings a lot of motivation, and Sunday will definitely be very emotional. A greeting to all the Italians who will be celebrating the 150th year of Italy’s unification tomorrow: we know there are a lot of you supporting us, and although we probably won’t yet be at our best by Sunday, we’ll give it our best effort. I’m also thinking of everyone in Japan who is living through this very difficult moment. What happened is truly frightening, but Japan’s people are very strong and capable of reacting. We’re all behind you.” NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati Marlboro Team “Well, it’s time to go racing now! We obviously wouldn’t have minded a bit more testing, but I’m looking forward to starting another season. We’ll have four days here for the race weekend, so there’s still time to check some more options. During the test, there were parts of the track where I was pretty fast, and a couple of long, fast corners where I was losing a pretty good chunk of time. Our focus will be to try and get the bike to steer a bit better through those spots. Hopefully as the track gets cleaned up more, it will help us a bit more than some of the others. Everyone is really tight on times, and I think that’s pretty cool. I like how competitive it is, and we know it’s going to be like that all season. Finally, I’d like to let everyone in Japan know the world is with them in this difficult time. I’ve worked with many Japanese companies over the years, so I have a lot of friends and fans there. Stay strong; we’re thinking of you”. VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager “Tomorrow, practice starts for the Grand Prix, and we’ll try to apply everything we’ve learned during winter testing. With Valentino, we weren’t able to completely use all of the days at our disposal, and because of that, we still haven’t found all the solutions for an optimal setup for him. He still won’t be at 100% physically for a couple more months, but we know that when the starting light goes off, he’ll give everything he has and more! In the meantime, we’ll continue working without pause to improve the bike, because the others have made a lot of progress and the level is very high. Nicky is progressing and compared to Malaysia, he has found some promising solutions here in Qatar that we can work on for the race. Sunday will be very important and emotional for us and for all motorcycle racing enthusiasts””Italian and otherwise””and that gives us even more motivation and desire to do well.” LOSAIL CIRCUIT RECORDS Circuit Record: Casey Stoner (Ducati 2008), 1’55.153, 168.193 Km/h Best Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha 2008), 1’53.927, 170.003 Km/h Circuit Length: 5,380 km MotoGP Race 2011: 22 laps (118,360 km) MotoGP Schedule 2011 : 22:00 Local Time Number of laps: 22 Total race distance: 118,360 km PODIUM 2010: 1st Valentino Rossi, 2nd Jorge Lorenzo, 3rd Andrea Dovizioso POLE 2010: Casey Stoner ( Ducati – 2010) 1’55.007 168.407 Km/h DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM’S BEST RESULTS AT LOSAIL 2010: 4th (Hayden) 2009: 1st (Stoner) 2008: 1st (Stoner) 2007: 1st (Stoner) 2006: 3rd (Capirossi) 2005: 6th (Checa) 2004: DNF DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER INFO Age: 32 (born 16 February 1979 in Pesaro, Italy) Residency: Tavullia (Pesaro, Italy) Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP11 Racing Number: 46 First GP: Malaysian GP, 1996 (125cc) GP Appearances: 240 (180xMotoGP, 30x250cc, 30x125cc) First GP Win: Czech Republic GP, 1996 (125cc) GP wins: 105 (79xMotoGP, 14x250c, 12x125cc) First Pole: Czech Republic GP, 1996 (125cc) Pole: 59 (49xMotoGP, 5x250cc, 5x125cc) World Titles: 9 (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 6 x MotoGP) Rossi’s MotoGP track record at Losail 2010: Grid: 2nd; Race: 1st 2009: Grid: 2nd; Race: 2nd 2008: Grid: 7th; Race: 5th 2007: Grid: 1st; Race: 2nd 2006: Grid: 6th; Race: 1st 2005: Grid: 3rd; Race: 1st 2004: Grid: 23rd; Race: DNF NICKY HAYDEN Age: 29 (born 30th July 1981 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA) Residency: Owensboro, USA Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP11 Number: 69 GP Appearances: 134 (134xMotoGP) First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP wins: 3 (3xMotoGP) First GP win: USA, 2005 (MotoGP) Pole positions: 5 (5xMotoGP) First pole: USA, 2005 (MotoGP) World titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2006) Hayden’s MotoGP track record at Losail 2010: Grid: 9th; Race: 4th 2009: Grid:16th; Race: 12th 2008: Grid: 6th; Race: 10th 2007: Grid: 9th; Race: 8th 2006: Grid: 4th; Race: 2nd 2005: Grid: 8th; Race: 3rd 2004: Grid: 4th; Race: 5th More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: Loris and Randy are ready for the first official session of the MotoGP on the Losail circuit. Concluded on the last day of 2011 winter testing, for Ducati Racing Team is time to get serious. Randy De Puniet, Pramac Racing Team Rider “There was much anticipation for this season. The test in Malaysia had not gone as we all hoped. In Qatar we worked differently. The Ducati is responding well. We tried many different solutions changing tires to understand the various reactions. We are on track. Losail takes me well, I hope to get good results. My personal goal is to vacation to be able to do better than they did last season”. Loris Capirossi, Pramac Racing Team Rider “Unfortunately, these last days of testing did not go as hoped, but I think that we can improve and get good results. We know we can be competitive, I can’t wait to be able to show on the track. My goal is simple: get number 100 on the podium. I’m at 99th, the goal is not so far away”. Fabiano Sterlacchini, Pramac Racing Team Director. “The budget of the latter-day test is positive, we did tests that have yielded good results, unfortunately the type of track is not easy to deal with. We had two crashes, we have some compromise but we believe for the race. For half turn we had the best time of all the Ducati’s, after the fall it was difficult to trace. We tried experimental tires, some drivers have found a benefit, others less so. With Loris we are not in trouble, we are confident”.