FIRST NIGHT RACE IN MOTOGP HISTORY OPENS 2008 SEASON IN
QATAR
Just a few days after completing their preseason testing
schedule in Qatar, the Ducati Marlboro Team return to the
Losail International Circuit this weekend to begin their defence
of the MotoGP World Championship. Sunday 9th March 2008 will
go down in history as the date that a Grand Prix took place
at night for the first time ever.
The riders have already had the opportunity to get accustomed
to the peculiar conditions that will greet them at the circuit
thanks to two days of tests at the end of February, when they
rode their MotoGP machines under artificial lighting for the
first time. Casey Stoner adapted quickly to the unusual surroundings
whilst Marco Melandri made small but constant steps to improve
his feeling with the bike and circuit.
The same could be said for the entire winter testing programme
for the Ducati Marlboro Team, with the defending World Champion
on top form and satisfied with the job done on the GP8 and
with the Bridgestone tyres in all conditions at all of the
circuits in Malaysia, Australia, Spain and Qatar. Melandri,
meanwhile, has been focused on finding his own way forward,
concentrating on setting a consistent pace on race tyres as
opposed to worrying about a hot lap on soft rubber. He now
feels confident that he is ready for the start of the season.
Last year in Qatar Stoner made a stunning debut with Ducati,
taking an incredible maiden victory in MotoGP to become the
youngest Australian rider ever to do so and the first to register
wins in all three Grand Prix classes. Melandri battled from
tenth on the grid to take an impressive fifth place finish.
LIVIO SUPPO, MotoGP Project Director
"It has been a challenging winter but one that has been
full of satisfaction. Casey has proved himself to be the man
to beat and the level of confidence he has with the bike and
tyres is fantastic. Compared to this time last year he has
improved even more and it's a great pleasure to see that his
World Championship success has not taken anything away from
his desire to win. Marco has had to take a diametrically opposite
approach. He has preferred not to push too hard and to work
around the clock with his new team to completely understand
the characteristics of his new bike - we shouldn't forget
that Casey also struggled a little at the start to understand
how to make the most out of the potential of his Ducati. I
want to say a big 'thank you' to everybody at Ducati Corse:
the development work has been wonderful once again and Casey
is very satisfied with the evolution of the GP8 - Filippo's
'small step' theory is being rewarded. I also want to thank
our partners, who are supporting us in this new challenge.
Bridgestone have worked hard to maintain their competitiveness
and all of our technical partners, especially Shell, have
always known how to respond positively to our requests. It
is going to be really exciting to start the season under the
floodlights of Losail and to be amongst the first to contest
a World Championship race at night!"
CASEY STONER, Ducati Marlboro Team
"I'm happy that the races are starting up again and I'm
satisfied with the job myself and the team have been able
to do in the preseason tests. The Ducati engineers have made
a few small changes to the bike over the winter that have
produced a notable general improvement. The GP8 has better
acceleration in low revs and the set-up changes we made at
Phillip Island have improved its performance on the exit of
corners. The Bridgestone tyres have worked well at all of
the tracks we've tested at, including the night test in Qatar,
so from that perspective I'm also really happy. It is going
to be fun to race at night but for me it won't be a completely
new experience because I already did a couple of speedway
and dirt-track races at night when I was a junior back in
Australia. It will be different but I don't think it changes
the job for the rider, especially because we've already had
two days of tests last week to get used to the track conditions
and the lights. Temperature will be an important factor, though,
especially as far as the tyres are concerned because at 11
o'clock when we start qualifying and the race it is really
cold. We'll have to wait and see if the conditions are the
same as they were for the test."
MARCO MELANDRI, Ducati Marlboro Team
"I'm ready to start racing, in fact to be honest I can't
wait! We've worked hard over the winter to try and improve
my feeling with the bike and even though we still have work
to do I feel better now. I actually think that our potential
is much higher than we've shown up to now, also because in
all of the tests we have done we've concentrated on finding
a race setting on race tyres, not just one fast lap. It is
true that we are still lacking in some areas but we're ready
and prepared to work hard to improve. In Qatar we'll be racing
at night for the first time and I think it will be very exciting,
even though it will be an even tougher GP than usual for us
riders, especially because of the low temperature."
THE TRACK
Losail is the first Middle Eastern venue to have featured
on the MotoGP World Championship calendar, having hosted the
first Grand Prix of Qatar back in 2004. The circuit, located
in the desert outskirts of the capital city of Doha, features
a long straight measuring over one kilometre and a series
of flowing corners with frequent changes in direction. Obviously
this year the most important, and most spectacular, difference
is that the race will be taking place at night. The riders
only recently completed a two-day test, which not only gave
them the opportunity to finalise their bike set-up for the
circuit but also provided a taste of the conditions that are
likely to await them once the race gets underway.
Circuit Record: Casey Stoner (Ducati - 2007), 1'56.528, 166.208
km/h
Best Pole: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha - 2007 ), 1'55.002
Circuit Length: 5,380 km
MotoGP Race 2008: 22 laps (118,360 km)
MotoGP Schedule 2008: 23:00 Local Time - 21:00 CET
DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDERS
CASEY STONER
Age: 22 (born 16th October 1985, Southport - Queensland -
Australia)
Residence: Montecarlo
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP8
GP appearances: 95 (34xMotoGP, 31x250, 30x125)
GP victories: 17 (10xMotoGP, 5x250, 2x125)
First GP victory: Valencia, 2003 (125)
First GP: Great Britain, 2001 (125)
Pole positions: 10 (6xMotoGP, 2x250, 2x125)
First pole position: Italy, 2003 (125)
World titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2007)
MotoGP track record at Losail:
2007: Grid - 2nd; Race - 1st
2006: Grid- Pole; Race - 6th
MARCO MELANDRI
Age: 25 (born 7th August 1982 in Ravenna, Italy)
Residence: Derby, UK
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP8
GP appearances: 155 (79xMotoGP, 47x250, 29 x 125)
GP victories: 22 (5xMotoGP, 10x250, 7x125)
First GP victory: Holland, 1998 (125)
First GP: Czech Republic, 1997 (125)
Pole positions: 9 (6x250, 3x125)
First pole position: Germany, 1998 (125)
World titles: 1 (250, 2002)
MotoGP track record at Losail:
2007: Grid - 10th; Race - 5th
2006: Grid - 12th; Race - 5th
2005: Grid - 5th; Race - 2nd
2004: Grid - 16th; Race - DNF
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