Stoner questions Qatar restart

Australia's Casey Stoner has questioned the decision to run the season-opening Qatar MotoGP race a day after it was washed out.

The race, due to have begun on Sunday night, was re-scheduled for 9pm Monday local time (2am Tuesday Perth time) after it was cancelled when torrential rain fell just minutes before the start.

Stoner had dominated all practice and qualifying sessions on his Ducati and had been set to start the race from pole position.

But officials had no choice but to cancel the race, leading to an organisational headache and massive extra costs in a sport desperate to save money.

"It's just unlucky with the weather,'' said Stoner, the 2007 world champion, who was bidding for a third successive win in Qatar.

"It can be a good idea or it can be a bad idea to race on Monday. A lot of money has been spent on keeping people here at a time when we are trying to cut costs.

"It's disappointing it's happened like this.''

"We wait six months for the first race of the season. But when you decide to have a night race, it's risky. No-one expected these conditions in Qatar."

Circuit organisers were preparing to use three special machines to clear the track of excess water throughout the day.

Qatar race live, postponed to Monday night

Grand Prix of Qatar was stopped at Losail International Circuit

A rare rainstorm at the Losail International Circuit on Sunday evening saw the first MotoGP race of the year put back to Monday at 9pm local time.

After the season-opening Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar was interrupted by rain on Sunday evening the MotoGP race had to be postponed and will now be run on Monday evening at 9pm local time, with an additional warm-up session beforehand at 6.30pm.
After shortened 250cc and 125cc races earlier in the evening the heavy rainstorm in the Arabian desert at 11pm on Sunday evening made it unsafe for the MotoGP riders to go out onto the 5.380km floodlit circuit.

FIM, IRTA, Dorna and the QMMF (Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation) have released the following statement on the MotoGP race postponement at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar.

Due to adverse weather conditions, the MotoGP race at the Commercial bank Grand Prix of Qatar has been postponed.

Following discussions between FIM, IRTA, Dorna and the QMMF, a proposal was put to the MotoGP teams to run the race tomorrow evening. Thanks to a huge effort from all parties concerned, and out of respect to fans of motorsport around the world, it has been decided that the race will take place on Monday 13th April, 2009.

The warm-up will run at 6.30pm local time (GMT+3), with the race scheduled to start at 9pm.

FIM Road-racing Commission President, Mr. Claude Danis stated, “For safety reasons it was not possible to race in the night due to the reflection of the lights on the track. This decision had already been taken a few years ago when we first decided to run a night race in Qatar. On behalf of the FIM I am very happy that we could postpone the race until tomorrow. It is important for the championship, especially at the first race, and I would like to thank Dorna, QMMF, IRTA and the MotoGP teams for helping reach this decision together.”

Dorna Sports CEO, Mr. Carmelo Ezpeleta added, “After the arrival of a large storm we had to cancel the race as it was unsafe. The QMMF offered us the choice to run the race tomorrow, and as it was a very important decision we wanted to consult with all the team managers. The postponement was accepted by a large majority. This has been an extraordinary decision in extraordinary circumstances.”

MotoGP Rules Cut Costs and Practices

The Grand Prix Commission has announced significant rules changes for the upcoming 2009 season. The amendments are twofold, including new bike restrictions and a reduced track schedule at each round.

First the schedule change. Friday morning practice sessions have been dropped altogether. Instead there will be one afternoon practice session, followed on Saturday by a morning practice and afternoon qualifying session. The traditional hour-long session time has also been trimmed to 45 minutes. All told, 105 minutes have been stripped out of the MotoGP program. The 20-minute Sunday warm up is unchanged.

MotoGP machines are not permitted brake disc or pads made of “ceramic composite materials.” And internal electronics have been stymied, with electronic suspension control and launch control forbidden. Other tech modifications include a new rule that only five engines may be used during the season’s final eight races (beginning with the August round at Brno).

Although it is not explicitly stated in the FIM release announcing the rule changes, the move has been made to trim competition costs.

The official FIM rule changes are listed below:

1. Standard time schedule

Friday

• 13:05-13:45 125cc Free Practice 1
• 14:05-14:50 MotoGP Free Practice 1
• 15:05-15:50 250cc Free Practice 1

Saturday

• 09:05-09:45 125cc Free Practice 2
• 10:05-10:50 MotoGP Free Practice 2
• 11:05-11:50 250cc Free Practice 2
• 13:05-13:45 125cc Qualifying Practice
• 14:05-14:50 MotoGP Qualifying Practice
• 15:05-15:50 250cc Qualifying Practice

Sunday

• 08:40-09:00 125cc Warm Up
• 09:10-09:30 250cc Warm Up
• 09:40-10:00 MotoGP Warm Up
• 11:00 125cc Race
• 12:15 250cc Race
• 14:00 MotoGP Race

2. From Czech GP, maximum 5 engines can be used in 8 races. No changing of parts will be permitted except daily maintenance.

3. Ceramic composite materials are not permitted for brakes disc or pads.

4. Launch control system is not permitted.

5. Electronic controlled suspension is not permitted.

6. Only 2 post race tests at Catalunya and Czech GP for development purposes using test riders only are permitted.

Articles by: Bart Madson
www.motorcycle-usa.com

Melandri Back on Kawasaki in MotoGP

Kawasaki Racing's Marco Melandri testing in Valencia,
shortly before Kawasaki pulled the plug on their MotoGP team.

Kawasaki announces that after constructive talks between Kawasaki, Dorna and other involved parties, a new one-rider Team will participate in the 2009 MotoGP Championship season.

This decision was made after negotiations that followed Kawasaki’s January 2009 announcement to suspend its factory supported MotoGP activities due to the economic crisis. Rider for the new MotoGP team will be the Italian Marco Melandri.

The team will be equipped with Kawasaki motorcycles and supporting materials.

That Kawasaki has come to this new team approach is the result of on the one hand the need for a strong reduction of MotoGP racing investments and on the other hand the necessity to come to constructive solutions for all related parties.

The new team will disclose more details about its 2009 season’s plans on a short notice.

Courtesy of Kawasaki Racing