Next year, MotoGP will make history by conducting the first ever night race at the Losail International Circuit for the 2008 Qatar Grand Prix. The 2008 season will start with a throttling night race on March 9th. Dorna Sports, holder of commercial rights to MotoGP has confirmed this during a recent press conference.
Carmelo Ezpeleta Ezpeleta, President of Dorna said: "Changing the Qatar race to a night time schedule allows for a better synchronisation with European television schedules, where the race can be made available in the primetime Sunday slot. This is obviously a big boost for the broadcasters, and a landmark moment for MotoGP.”
Five MotoGP riders has recently participated in a testing conducted at the circuit. They include Loris Capirossi (Suzuki), Marco Melandri (Ducati), James Toseland (Yamaha), Anthony West (Kawasaki) and Alex de Angelis (Honda). All of these riders are in favor of conducting a night race next season.
Suzuki rider Loris Capirossi commented:
"It’s going to be exciting to race under the floodlights. The difference from when we first tested here at night is amazing. Back then I wasn’t too sure what was possible, but the lighting is perfect out there!"
Musco will be in charged for the lighting stuff on the race track. Joe Crookham head of Musco also commented: “This is obviously a major project for Qatar and we are proud to be able to say we will hold the first Grand Prix event under lights. Whilst this is great for the country’s image as a whole, it also means our track can be used in the hot summer months and we hope this opens up more opportunities for other motorsports events in the future.
“The system will incorporate over 3700 separate light sources across every section of the circuit, which will eliminate shadowing on the track and in the run-off areas. The quality of the light is the same as any premium lighting system at any other major sporting venue. Based on our experience in other motorsports events, the riders will be able to see as well as during daytime and may even come to prefer it.” he added.
Watch out for this exciting night race next year. Anyway, I got to look for some motorcycle parts and Jeep bumper on the web.