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| About the Qatar MotoGP Qatar GP 11 April 2010, Doha, Qatar |
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Qatar was awarded the race in November 2003, and in December they started construction of the circuit and all its facilities.
A venue of firsts, 2007 saw it move to the now-traditional #1 slot; and the first race of the new 800cc bikes. This was the event that Casey Stoner set the MotoGP world on its ear; blasting past Rossi to clinch the race and ultimately the championship on his un-stoppable Ducati. We will never forget the image of him coming down that huge main straight... 2008 saw the introduction of the spectacular night race. This was better than we had even hoped: the bikes were spectacular under the lights (equivalent to the lighting of a small city!) and there were no adverse affects on the racing; apart from some issues with the cold desert night air leaving the surface colder than expected. (Bring a sweater, but not gravely required). Stoner once again proved how much he likes this track with a repeat performance of 2007. Unfortunately the rest of the season did not go quite the same way... Rossi took a disappointing 5th, getting passed in the finale by rookie Dovizioso! 2009 was the weirdest event we have been to... The first MotoGP race in 20 years to be rained out! Who would have thought it would happen in Qatar! The 125cc riders were awarded half points! We were overjoyed to see our supported 250cc racer Jules Cluzel take his and the team's first podium (the first in 13 years for team Matteoni); and most of our VIPs stayed on to Monday night to see the MotoGP night race. The circuit is 5.4km, making it the third longest in the GP tournament. The longest straight is 1.068km, which should have the racers hitting 330kph! The seventh turn (of a total of 16 curves) - a long sweeper - will allow speeds of up to 250kph, so should be pretty spectacular. It now hosts WSB as well as several other local events. See the official circuit web site here. The Qatar MotoGP contract will go through at least to 2016, so will we! Getting thereThe route to the circuit from the airport: drive through Al-Matar St. Take right on Toyota Tower then keep going through C-Ring road, keep driving along Corniche road all the way until reaching the Sheraton Hotel then take a left towards City Centre, drive to Al-Whada St, take a right to Istigl St, keep straight then take a left going to the Doha golf club. Take a right on the roundabout going north to Al-Khor highway till you get to Losail International Racetrack Parking is plentiful and easy. There are infrequent shuttle services between the paddock and grandstands but no connecting bridge or tunnel. See also our practical information (and downloadable map and directions ) The races
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FRIDAY |
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| Class | Free Practice | Qualifying Practice |
| 125 cc | 18:00 - 18:45 | 22:05 - 22:35 |
| MotoGP | 19:00 - 20:00 | 22:50 - 23:50 (free practice) |
| 250 cc | 20:15 - 21:15 | 00:05 - 00:50 |
SATURDAY |
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| Class | Free Practice | Qualifying Practice |
| 125 cc | 18:00 - 18:45 | 22:05 - 22:35 |
| MotoGP | 19:00 - 20:00 | 22:50 - 23:50 |
| 250 cc | 20:15 - 21:15 | 00:05 - 00:50 |
SUNDAY |
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| Class | Warm Up | Race | |||
| 125 cc | 17:40 - 18:00 | 20:00 (18 laps) | |||
| 250 cc | 18:10 - 18:30 | 21:15 (20 laps) | |||
| MotoGP | 18:40 - 19:05 | 23:00 (22 laps) | |||
Download our provisional weekend programme here.
| Year | Pos | MotoGP | 250 | 125 |
| 2004 2/Oct |
1st | Sete Gibernau (ES) Movistar Honda1 | Sebastian Porto (ARG) Aprilia | Jorge Lorenzo (ES) Derbi2 |
| 2nd | Colin Edwards (US) Movistar Honda | Dani Pedrosa (ES) Honda | Andrea Dovizioso (IT) Honda | |
| 3rd | Ruben Xaus (ES) D'Antin Ducati | Hiroshi Aoyama (JP) Honda | Alvaro Bautista (ES) Aprilia | |
| 2005 1/Oct |
1st | Valentino Rossi (IT) Gauloises Yamaha | Casey Stoner (AU) Carrera - LCR Aprilia | Gabor Talmacsi (HU) Red Bull KTM3 |
| 2nd | Marco Melandri (IT) Movistar Honda | Jorge Lorenzo (ES) Fortuna Honda | Mika Kallio (FI) Red Bull KTM | |
| 3rd | Nicky Hayden (US) Repsol Honda | Andrea Dovizioso (IT) Team Scot Honda | Marco Simoncelli (IT) Nocable.it Aprilia | |
| 2006 8/Apr |
1st | Valentino Rossi (IT) Camel Yamaha | Jorge Lorenzo (ES) Fortuna Aprilia | Alvaro Bautista (ES) MVA Aspar Aprilia |
| 2nd | Nicky Hayden (US) Repsol Honda | Andrea Dovizioso (IT) Humangest Aprilia | Mika Kallio (FI) Red Bull KTM | |
| 3rd | Loris Capirossi (IT) Ducati Marlboro | Roberto Locatelli (IT) Team Toth Aprilia | Sergio Gadea (ES) MVA Aspar Aprilia | |
| 2007 10/Mar |
1st | Casey Stoner (AU) Ducati Marlboro | Jorge Lorenzo (ES) Fortuna Aprilia | Hector Faubel (ES) Bancaja Aspar Aprilia |
| 2nd | Valentino Rossi (IT) Fiat Yamaha | Alex de Angelis (RSM) Master-MVA Aprilia | Gabor Talmacsi (HU) Bancaja Aspar Aprilia | |
| 3rd | Dani Pedrosa (ES) Repsol Honda | Hector Barbera (ES) Team Toth Aprilia | Lukas Pesek (CZ) Valsir Seedorf Derbi | |
| 2008 9/Mar Night |
1st | Casey Stoner (AU) Ducati Marlboro | Mattia Pasini (IT) Polaris World Aprilia4 | Sergio Gadea (ES) Bancaja Aspar Aprilia |
| 2nd | Jorge Lorenzo (ES) Fiat Yamaha | Hector Barbera (ES) Team Toth Aprilia | Joan Olive (ES) Belson Derbi | |
| 3rd | Dani Pedrosa (ES) Repsol Honda | Mika Kallio (FI) Red Bull KTM | Stefan Bradl (DE) Grizzly Gas Kiefer Aprilia | |
| 2009 12/Apr Night5 |
1st | Casey Stoner (AU) Ducati Marlboro | Hector Barbera (ES) Pepe World Aprilia | Andrea Iannone (IT) Ongetta ISPA Aprilia |
| 2nd | Valentino Rossi (IT) Fiat Yamaha | Jules Cluzel (FR) Matteoni Racing Aprilia | Julian Simon (ES) Bancaja Aspar Aprilia | |
| 3rd | Jorge Lorenzo (ES) Fiat Yamaha | Mike Di Meglio (FR) Mapfre Aspar Aprilia | Sandro Cortese (DE) Ajo Interwetten Derbi |