From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN HEAD INTO THE UNKNOWN

The Marlboro Qatar Grand Prix is a history-making event – the first race in the 55-year history of the sport to be held in the Middle East. That is why Ducati Marlboro Team men Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss and their MotoGP rivals head into the unknown at Losail, the first of a gruelling series of three GPs on back-to-back weekends. None of the riders have ridden the impressive new track, which means they will all start from zero when practice commences on Thursday. Capirossi and Bayliss hope that this new beginning will help them leave behind the atrocious luck that has dogged them for much of this season. The pair have been fast at the last few races but ill luck has consistently prevented them from scoring the results the whole team deserves.

“There’s no doubt that our bikes are now competitive and much, much better than they were earlier in the season,” says Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “But in recent months we have lacked the luck to prove that, I’m sure we would already have scored a few podiums if we had been a little more fortunate. At Motegi we really thought we might have our best results of the season, even though we had a tough time there the previous year. Loris was very fast in practice and warm-up and Troy was fast in the race, but it all came to nothing. Despite that we are confident of going well at Losail. It’s a new circuit for everyone, so we’ll all start from the same level. We know we have good bikes and riders – sooner or later the luck must arrive.”

Only one man in the MotoGP paddock had ridden Losail before the MotoGP circus arrived for the historic event. Randy Mamola, winner of 13 500 GPs, who retired from racing at the end of 1992, rode the Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici two-seater bike at the track opening ceremony on July 9th, giving local VIPs and dignitaries some all-action outings on the bike.

“It’s amazing how much everyone in Qatar seems to be into the idea of having World Championship bike racing in their country,” says Mamola. “They’ve made an incredible effort with the track. It’s wide, born with safety in mind and it’s got lots of interesting corners to keep riders busy. The straight is fast – the bikes should do over 320kmh – and there’s plenty of great turns.”

CAPIROSSI FIGHTS FOR FITNESS

Loris Capirossi is battling to be fully fit for the Marlboro Qatar Grand Prix. A multiple pile-up at the first corner of the recent Japanese GP left the Italian with a fractured bone in his right foot, the foot he uses to control rear-wheel braking aboard his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP4.

“I have been undergoing plenty of therapy for the foot, so hopefully it won’t be a problem in Qatar,” said Capirossi. “Anyway, it’s going to be an interesting weekend for everyone because none of us knows anything about the track. Also, it’s our first GP in the desert, so we know the heat will make it a tough race. But the fact that it’s a brand-new circuit isn’t a concern – one hour is usually enough to learn somewhere new. These three back-to-back races aren’t a problem because we’re getting used to doing so much riding in a short time. The only worry is picking up an injury that might slow you at the next two races or even force you to miss them.”

BAYLISS AIMS TO MAKE AMENDS

Troy Bayliss is also hoping for a strong ride in Qatar after running out of luck at Motegi a fortnight back. The Australian was enjoying a furious ride through the pack – after losing time in the first-corner melee that claimed his team-mate – and had worked his way up to fifth when he slid off without injury.

“That crash was a real shame, because I know I was riding well,” said the Ducati Marlboro Team man. “I’d got held up when all those guys went down at the first turn and was working my way forward when I just slid off. Since then I’ve been training like mad to make sure I make up for it at Qatar. I’ve no real idea what Losail will be like but the map makes it look like it’s a flowing track, which is good. And it’s nice for me to go somewhere that no one else knows; since I started MotoGP I’ve been racing at loads of places I don’t really know, while the other guys have been racing them for years. Hopefully the track won’t be too sandy.”

THE TRACK

Losail is the only new venue on this year’s 16-race MotoGP World Championship calendar. The circuit was created after the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation reached an agreement with MotoGP rights holders Dorna in the summer of last year, the actual construction undertaken in a matter of months. The Qatar designers have done their utmost to design a safe track, even lining either side of circuit with artificial grass to prevent sand getting onto the surface. Dominated by a 1.1km straight, the remainder of Losail’s 5.4km is a sinuous high-speed switchback, with most corners leading into one another, rather than separated by shorter straights. This should make it the kind of circuit that rewards riding talent rather than engine horsepower. High ambient and track temperatures will ask much from riders, bikes and tyres, as well as the teams working hard in the high-tech pit-lane.

All bikes will race on Shell in Qatar. Our technical partner Shell has been integral in the development of the track surface material at the new Losail International Racetrack. As Abdi Kalamati, Shell’s bitumen Business Manager for Middle East, explains: “Race tracks must be ladi to incredibly tight tolerances, much tighter then on roads or even airport runways, they have to withstand extreme shear forces due to acceleration and braking and they are often in areas which experience climatic extremes. Shell Bitumen han been instrumental in developing ‘Polymer Modified Bitumen’ to withstand the demands of MotoGP racing in high temperature environment, and in fact we delivered 410 metric tons of our ‘Cariphalte’ Modified Bitumen to Losail”. So next weekend the Ducati Marlboro Team will be lubricated by Shell Advance, powered by Shell and racing on Shell!

LOSAIL DATA
Track length: 5.40km/3.35 miles
New circuit, no records

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS
LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 31 (April 4, 1973)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP4
GP victories: 23 (1xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
GP starts: 212 (42xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125)
Pole positions: 36 (3xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (125)
World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998)

TROY BAYLISS
Age: 35 (March 30, 1969)
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP4
First GP: Australia, 1997 (250)
GP starts: 29 (28xMotoGP, 1×250)
World Superbike victories: 22
World Championships: 1 (Superbike: 2001)