Since few hours now, there is a leading trio which is solidly racing in front of the rest of the pack at the 8 Hours of Doha. The leader is the recently crowned 2009 Qtel FIM Endurance World Champion, Yamaha Austria Racing Team, with Igor Jerman, Steve Martin and Gwen Giabbani. YART leads with a short gap over the British Yamaha Phase One Endurance, who had barely seen in such a great position this year. For the last race of the season, Phase One Endurance had recruit James Ellison, a very fast rider; Ellison is one of the big guys of the British Superbike and helped Phase One Endurance to start the race from pole position. Bolliger Team Switzerland is also doing a great race with Horst Saiger, Eric Mizera and Patric Muff. They hold thight their third position. A podium at the 8 Hours of Doha would be a great result for Bolliger Team Switzerland, as they could then finish the season at the second place of the world championship. However, the Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers has the very same target. At 5 pm local time, the Suzuki 18 of Stéphane Molinier, Jérôme Tangre et David Brière is just behind the Kawasaki Bolliger. A little bit further in the world championship, but still highly motivated is the Suzuki AM Moto Racing Competition on Suzuki, with Fabrice Auger, Cédric Tangre and Julien Millet. They are also involved into a battle for a final podium. In fifth place, the Suzuki Qatar Endurance Racing Team is once again the best Superstock machine so far. At mid-race, the three QERT machine are probably going to take it all. For now, the only one who can pretend to clinch a spot onto the Superstock podium is the Suzuki Endurance Moto 45. The Honda RMT 21 Racing Germany was a contender earlier in the race, but was then delayed by a slow puncture. They are in seventh position at 5 pm. Sixth on the starting grid, RT Racing Team Moto Virus had to come back into the pits after the first lap, to change a brake master-cylinder damaged after a collision with their main competitor for a final second place at the 2009 championship, the Suzuki Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers. RT Racing Team is currently in fourteenth place at 5 pm. The race started at 1 pm under a very bright sun. The pace was instantly very fast, as all the contenders for victory were in the same group after the first lap, even Gwen Giabbani, who started from ninth place on the grid on the Yamaha Austria Racing Team. Hugo Marchand did the holeshot on the Honda Michelin Power Research Team ahead of the Yamaha Phase One Endurance with James Ellison, the Yamaha Austria, the Yamaha BK Maco Moto Racing with Dani Ribalta and the Honda RMT 21 Racing Germany with Olivier Depoorter. In that group, the first machine to have troubles was the Yamaha BK Maco Moto Racing, who had to come back twice to the pits to solve a rear wheel axle problem. Towards the end of the first shift, the Honda Michelin had to come back to the pits for a while, as an oil leak was suspected from a broken screw in the crankshaft. The Yamaha BK Maco Moto Racing and the Honda Michelin had then to joined back the race at the back of the pack. The Honda Michelin is in thirteenth position at 5 pm. Unfortunately, the last race of the season did not last long for BK Maco Moto: after half an hour of race, Jason Pridmore had a serious crash and was found with a broken collarbone. That was over for the Slovakian Yamaha. The sunset just came over the Losail racetrack. The arrival will be done at 9 pm local time (GMT +3).