Circuit info
Length: 5.380 m. / 3,343 miles
Width: 12m
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 10
Longest straight: 1.068 m. / 0,664 miles
Constructed: 2004
Modified:
Introduction:
The fabulous Losail International Circuit lies on the outskirts of Doha, the capital city of Qatar. Built in little over a year, the track cost $58 million USD and required round-the-clock dedication from almost 1,000 workers in order to get it ready for the inaugural event - the Marlboro Grand Prix of Qatar on the 2nd October 2004.
The track itself is a flowing layout of 5.4 kilometres, surrounded by artificial grass designed to prevent sand from the neighbouring desert from blowing onto the circuit. The main straight is over a kilometre in length and there is a good mix of medium and high-speed corners, including a couple of quick left-handers which has proved particularly popular with the riders.
In 2008 Qatar celebrated the first night time Grand Prix in history, following the construction of permanent outdoor lighting. The switch to night time racing was a success and has continued to be so, with the Qatar event now established as one of the most spectacular on the MotoGP calendar.
Ellison pleased with "positive" weekend
Aboard the CRT-specification Aprilia ART, the 31-year-old Cumbrian and the PBM UK team headed by Phil Borley, continued their on-going development work at the Losail circuit and emerged with an 18th place at the end of the race held under the floodlights on Sunday evening.
Although there is still a vast amount of work to be done, the former World Endurance champion and double European Superstock champion has made huge strides as the team establishes themselves in MotoGP which will eventually lead to an all-British challenge over the next couple of seasons.
James Ellison:
"All things considered it's been a positive weekend as we have gathered more valuable information in the race than we have in the few days we have tested before Qatar. I understand how the bike, tyres and brakes need to be ridden now but it is seriously like riding on a knife edge so finding the limit without crashing is tough. You need to brake super-hard to generate the heat in the discs and also at the same time deform the tyre enough to generate the heat in it for the corner entry. But if you carry the brakes into the turn, the tyre folds and you get understeer, or even crash like I did, let off too early and you get chatter, if you get it just right it grips and carries you round the corner. We're talking fractions of a second difference in timing and 0.5-2bar difference in brake pressure so as you can imagine getting it right every corner of every lap will take time. The whole team have had a gruelling weekend with the time schedule of night racing and unscheduled tip off but have stayed positive throughout. I'd like to say a big thank you to all of them for their hard work and I now look forward to learning and pushing forward in Jerez."
"All things considered it's been a positive weekend as we have gathered more valuable information in the race than we have in the few days we have tested before Qatar. I understand how the bike, tyres and brakes need to be ridden now but it is seriously like riding on a knife edge so finding the limit without crashing is tough. You need to brake super-hard to generate the heat in the discs and also at the same time deform the tyre enough to generate the heat in it for the corner entry. But if you carry the brakes into the turn, the tyre folds and you get understeer, or even crash like I did, let off too early and you get chatter, if you get it just right it grips and carries you round the corner. We're talking fractions of a second difference in timing and 0.5-2bar difference in brake pressure so as you can imagine getting it right every corner of every lap will take time. The whole team have had a gruelling weekend with the time schedule of night racing and unscheduled tip off but have stayed positive throughout. I'd like to say a big thank you to all of them for their hard work and I now look forward to learning and pushing forward in Jerez."
Paul Bird:
"It's slow progress but it will pay dividends eventually and hopefully we will be challenging a bit further up the CRT order soon. It will take us few races to get up to speed as we haven't had the testing or development of the established teams but it was important to get a finish in Qatar. We'll continue working hard and hope to improve further in Jerez."
"It's slow progress but it will pay dividends eventually and hopefully we will be challenging a bit further up the CRT order soon. It will take us few races to get up to speed as we haven't had the testing or development of the established teams but it was important to get a finish in Qatar. We'll continue working hard and hope to improve further in Jerez."
