The Qatar Endurance Racing Team (QERT 95) members, Anthony West (right), Nasser Al Malki (second right) and Nina Prinz (left) celebrate their win in the second round of the 2012 FIM Endurance World Championship along with Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation President, Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, at Losail International Circuit in this June 2012 file photo.
BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) will reach a significant milestone this week when it stages the first round of the 2013 MotoGP World Championship.
This coming Sunday, the ‘new-look’ Losail International Circuit will welcome the bike family for the 10th edition of the Grand Prix of Qatar and QMMF is ready to mark the occasion with its own brand of pomp and pageantry at the $75m race track.
“It is going to be a special week for us and we will celebrate this race with our fans, the riders and the bike family overall,” QMMF President Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah said in an interview.
“Qatar was the first country in the Middle East to host a MotoGP leg in (October) 2004. Then a few years later (in 2008), QMMF staged the first-ever night race in MotoGP at the same venue,” Al Attiyah, the man responsible for creating a vibrant motor sport culture in the country, added.
“In between, Losail International Circuit won the award for the Best Grand Prix in 2008. We also brought the superbike riders for a few years and created an academy for young riders,” Al Attiyah said.
“Let’s not forget we have created our own racing teams. We stage championships for bikes and cars every season and we made our debut in Moto2 World Championship a couple of years ago,” the QMMF president said.
Al Attiyah said fans will be the biggest beneficiary following constructional changes at Losail Circuit which lights up under 5.4 million watts of Muscova floodlights, good enough to illuminate 70 football pitches.
“Yes we have made some changes. The new changes will help us market our races in the future and the future starts this week,” Al Attiyah said.
“The spectators will enjoy the races more as we have a new stand. Previously we had 5000 seats in the main grandstand. We have increased that to 8000 with addition of an extension on the new grandstand.
“Also, we have renovated the VIP Village. After nine years of glass view of the races, the fans in VIP Village can actually step out of the sealed enclosure and watch the action in the open. There’s a new balcony. Fans will be able to watch every single lap if they wanted to.
“They can dine and watch the race at the new reception area. From now on the VIP people won’t believe they are locked up in a box,” he pointed out.
A new footbridge will link the grandstand and the VIP Village leading the way for fans to go all the way to the paddock, Al Attiyah said.
Excerpts from the detailed chat with the QMMF President.
Question: Can you tell us about your expectations in the new season?
Answer: We are doing the necessary set-up for the 2013 season. We are in good shape. We put up a great show when we had the first big international event - the opening round of the World Motocross Championship (at the start of March). We are now ready for the MotoGP round this week. We have sufficient experience of staging so many top events. We can manage the set-up of top events very fast. We know what’s required and we know what to do. Our partners - the promoters, the companies, the suppliers, the volunteers ... we have a clear idea of what needs to be done.
Question: For this edition, you seem to have made a number of changes around the circuit. Can you tell us something about the new developments?
Answer: Yes, we have made some changes. The new changes will help us market our races in the future. The spectators will enjoy the races more as we have a new stand. Previously we had 5000 seats in the main grandstand. We have increased that to 8000 with addition of an extension on the new grandstand. The spectators - who are usually thrilled to see the start of any race - can be more relaxed now as we have created more space. Also, we have renovated the VIP Village. After nine years of glass view of the races, the fans in VIP Village can actually step out of the sealed enclosure and watch the action in the open. There’s a new balcony. Fans will be able to watch every single lap if they wanted to. They can dine and watch the race at the new reception area. From now the VIP people won’t believe they are locked up in a box. We have also connected the new VIP Village with the main grandstand by using the new footbridge. Now fans can go and buy merchandise near the grandstand. The new footbridge will help us filter fans in a better way. We can carry materials both ways. Now we don’t have to use cars to make the movement for various reasons.
Question: Can you tell us something about your plans this week?
Answer: We are ready to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Grand Prix of Qatar. We will do a special ceremony to mark the occasion. A dinner gala for more than 350 VIPs will be held at a local hotel. Riders, mechanics, guests and our promoters and clients will be in attendance. We have also made arrangement for fireworks at the end of the race (on April 7). We will play a video clip that will detail our journeys in the last 10 years. We will see in the movie how we created history of motor sport culture in this country. You will see how we have grown year-by-year. That will be really amazing. This is what we have come up with our promoters. There will be more surprises on the track. The fans attending the 10th edition will enjoy a great week of racing this year. Members of the FIM family will be here too to take part in our celebrations. Hopefully it will be one of the best races we’ve had. It will be an emotional week for us.
Question: A few years ago, Losail Circuit won an award from the bike family. That was an amazing achievement, getting an award in the first decade of the races.
Answer: As a beginner in this business, we are the youngest circuit in the world to win something like this. We are following a philosophy of developing the sport. We have the best quality people in our organisation team. We have built a good team. We travel a lot to check racing circuits. We learn from our travel around the world. We see how the world has evolved in motor sports. We have picked up new lessons from each circuit. We are learning from people who are more experienced than us. We have got into the business strong (and that’s how) we won the award. That comes by voting from riders, mechanics, officials. That doesn’t come with selection - the process involves voting. I was so happy at the time. This award is not for me; it is for all QMMF family. I hope this year also we fight for this. We have to chase our luck.
Question: Last year QMMF Racing Team managed two Moto2 podium finishes. What are you expectations this year?
Answer: It was interesting to build a new team. We got deep into this matter - racing and competing and trying to build a strong team at the same time. You have asked us how do we choose quality mechanics to go with the riders. We do a lot of research. The coordinators in the team do a lot of running around. The selections have to be done very carefully. The selections on riders are just as careful. We were thinking that for the first five years, we have to build a strong team. We were looking to compete with the 40 teams. Then we got an experienced rider in Anthony West. We were lucky. He has helped us a lot. We hope we can produce more good results this year. We know it is not easy. This is very important that we get good exposure for our team. But still we need a long time to create riders with character. Everybody in the MotoGP family knows that we are investing in our plans, in our teams. We are planning carefully. We never stop salaries for mechanics. We never stop payments to be made to suppliers. So everybody is relaxed. I am sure we will fight. Fighting is part of the enjoyment in this sport. THE PENINSULA
