BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: The iconic Losail International Circuit, built at a reported cost of $75m, will present a new look when fans trudge in for the first round of the MX1 World Championship to be held tomorrow and the much-awaited MotoGP season-opener in April.
The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) - with expert help coming in from a construction giant - is currently busy giving finishing touches to a new grandstand that boasts an additional 2,500 seats at the 10-year-old race track.
The construction team has finished the footbridge linking the pit lane to the stands besides renovating the existing VIP balcony. Associated hard and soft landscaping work, however, will continue even after the first round of the MX1 World Championship.
According to Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, President of QMMF, Losail Circuit will house nearly 8,000 fans once the new grandstand is completed in the coming weeks.
“We are very close to finishing the new stand. It will be ready for the MotoGP (in April),” Al Attiyah said in an interview with The Peninsula.
“We are pushing hard to keep things ready in time so that we can celebrate our 10 edition of the MotoGP race in style,” he added.
Excerpts from a detailed chat with Al Attiyah, who is also the Vice President of FIM, the ruling body in bike racing.
Question: Tell us something about the new grandstand?
Answer: We have almost finalised every bit of the detail with the construction company that is heading the project. We are very close to finishing the new stand. It will be ready for the MotoGP (in April). Additional work on the balcony at the new grandstand will finish soon. The bridge linking the VIP Village and the grandstand is ready. That will help the access for people inside the VIP area to move around to the grandstand and vice versa. This will help people or fans who want to maybe pick up a merchandise, they will be able to do this with ease. The bridge will help us save time and money that we spend on going - let’s say from the VIP area to the grandstand. Previously we had to go all way through our main exit and then enter the grandstand from the parking area. For security purposes this new footbridge will help us filter fans in a better way. During mega events, there’s too much of traffic on both sides of the circuit. This will help us make things easier for the fans who have to walk from one spot to another. These two segments of the new circuit will be the attraction for the first MotoGP of the (new) season. We are pushing hard to keep things ready in time so that we can celebrate our 10th edition of the MotoGP races in style.
Question: What’s the seating capacity of the new stand?
Answer: We have 2,500 extra seats now. That will help us put things in order for the fans who assemble in one corner during the start of the races at a MotoGP leg. This time more fans will turn up and will not have to squeeze in one tight spot. We have 5,000 in the main grandstand and add another 2,500 - that takes the overall capacity to 7.500 seats. In all, we will be able to accommodate around 8,000 fans.
Question: How was your experience of the motocross earlier this month?
Answer: That was really good. We worked on many new angles on track because we were getting ready for this week’s first round of the FIM MX1 World Championship. My organisation team is busy making preparations for the main event (to be held on March 1 and 2). The trial event was stage to test our ability to stage a motocross leg and correct or minimize errors, if any. We got tons of soil shipped to our circuit. We had to build the fencing around the circuit. We had to build a VIP tent. Then there’s a spot for the officials of the race. At the same time, we started our national motocross championship. Initially we thought it was easy. But when we started the project we realised it was so much of work. But we managed. We could have had this (track) near Sealine Beach resort but it is easier to manage things inside the Losail Circuit. Also, we were requested by the Arab Motorsport Federation to include a race for riders from the region. So we had two races for the national championship and one for the Arab Championship. We touched many areas during the trial event. We tested the lighting system has been set up for the world championship round. We checked the camera positions. We had to do that because television viewing is different from daylight to night time. We checked the dark areas to accommodate TV crews.
Question: I believe you have delivered most of the project.
Answer: We are very happy that we have managed most of the work on time. You probably did not see much of the landscaping for the national round of motocross. But we will work on it after we are done with the world championship round. But this week you would obviously notice a lot of difference from what we saw two weeks ago. We are ready for the world championship leg. We have a lot of experienced people helping us out with the organization. The Chief of Marshals is from overseas and he has worked at such events in Latin America. We have trained our marshals also. The promoters (of this series) bring their own clerk of the course. So we have areas that need our attention so that we are strong for future events. It was a big challenge. We finished everything within two months. We’ve managed a new record. We have finished setting up a new motocross circuit in just two months. When we signed the agreement, it was nothing there. We are dealing with Talal company who are building the grandstand, the VIP balcony and the bridge at the circuit. We involved them because they are here. They have their own team. They are very active.
Question: How do you think fans are going to react to what they will see this week and when they come for the MotoGP leg? None of this (new motocross track and grandstand) were there last year.
Answer: We are giving a new look to our circuit. If you see the bridge, you will get a different feel to the circuit as you move away to the new grandstand. And then we have the new VIP balcony. Fans will be amazed. For marketing purposes, we know our clients will look for better mileage with these new additions. Previously VIP guests used to watch the race action from behind a glass window. Now, they can be out in the open and see everything in front of them. You can take your food with you and yet watch the race. It will be a new experience for those in the VIP enclosure. We don’t want to lose in any way on the marketing front. We are very happy with the outcome of our plans. I have a professional group of people. My team has a great deal of experience in handling track and motocross events. We can do set-ups for events easily. We can plan our events with ease. The speed of my team is very impressive. They get a lot done and very quickly too.
Question: You have been exporting your expertise to other parts of the region.
Answer: Yes, we have been doing it. In fact, we will only be the second country in Asia to be hosting a motocross leg. Thailand is the other country hosting an event of this magnitude. In the Middle East, Qatar is the first and only country to get to host a world championship leg. So, yes we are taking the lead in motocross also. We were the first country to stage a night race in MotoGP. Now we will be the first event country to stage a motocross leg under lights. We are focusing to have such records. In MotoGP, we hosted the first night race after five editions of the day race. In motocross, we are jumping headlong into a night race with no previous experience. It is a big challenge. It has never happened before - the night race. We had 35 riders from 12 countries (during the trial event two weeks ago). They came from the US, Europe, the GCC and other countries. That was a good chance to check out medical teams and other safety areas that we take pride in. That number (35) was a good number for us to test our track and the ability of the medical teams, the marshals, We needed to do that to see how we react if there’s an accident or a mishap on the track. It is a new challenge. I am sure we will have good fun (this week). As you know, a week after the motocross, the QMMF will jump to the Porsche Challenge series. We have no time to breathe.
Question: If I ask you to recap what happened in the last nine years of activities at Losail Circuit, what would you say? What would you say about the motosport culture that you have created in this country?
Answer: We have reached a figure of 69 events a year. We started with the MotoGP in 2004 and now we have 69 events on our calendar of events. I am talking about major events. So that’s a lot of events to host for fans to come and watch. I am takling about auto and moto events. Mind you this calendar does not include some of the marketing side of activities. I am only talking of major activities. We started with MotoGP, the endurance, the Asian Road Racing Championship rounds at the circuit. Then we have staged Qatar International Rally, the cross-country races, the Bajas, the local rallies, the sprints for cars and bikes, enduro races and then we have track day activities.
Question: Did you think of all this in 2004?
Answer: I mean, we were always climbing higher and higher as our calendar of events became bigger and bigger every year. We are not pushing more than what we can handle. I know what we are already managing is crazy because if you check our calendar, we have no break for people.
Question: Who are the people you would like to thank for this amazing journey so far?
Answer: For sure, I want to thank everyone involved with us: the employees at the circuit and the people involved with the federation and the ones who are associated with our events. This includes the ministries who help us out with logistics and manpower, the media who has done so well with their coverage. We are one team. I am part of this team. My team is doing a great job. Sometimes I give them hard projects and they deliver. So I know I am pushing them hard. We are also doing a lot of projects around the circuit. To follow the steps on the engineering side is very hard. We are also doing activities for children by launching an academy. In short it has been a rollercoaster ride. Look at this calendar (shows a chart of events). This just shows the events in one month. You can also see the agenda for the entire season. THE PENINSULA
