Rain causes MotoGP to be delayed
LOSAIL, Qatar (AFP) — Torrential rain caused the season-opening Qatar MotoGP to be cancelled on Sunday, leaving officials and teams in a frenzy before deciding to race on Monday instead at this floodlit desert venue.
Monsoon-like conditions, accompanied by swirling winds, arrived just moments before Australia's Casey Stoner, on pole position, was due to lead defending world champion Valentino Rossi and the other riders away on the warm-up lap.
"It's just unlucky with the weather," said Australian Ducati rider Stoner, the 2007 world champion, who was bidding for a third successive win here.
"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."
After lengthy negotiations, it was decided to reschedule the race for Monday night at 1900GMT. [21:00 Qatar Time]
read the full article here...
We arrived at exactly 11PM last night... LOL..
To all - dont forget to bring your jackets, wind breakers, caps and umbrella... just incase.. FINGER CROSSED!!!!
To all pinoy!-- mag alay na tayo ng itlog!
See you all tonight!!!
Goodluck to all!!!
Salud for Casey!!!
If the rain had come 4 minutes later it would have been abandoned !!!!. At least we will see a race tonight. FINGERS CROSSED.
There was loads of space whaiQL. The area around the start/finish line was understandably crowded, but the further down the stand you went from there the more space there was.
tnx 2 d info.
Arrived at 10.35, I couldn't find spots for my family last night..did they sell tickets overcapacity?
I assume tickets used yesterday are valid today.
Are tickets still available at the gate, or did they sell out?
...but kids are free (mine are 8 and 5 years old).
is the entrance free?
The water reflects the light from the floodlights, causing a lot of glare. In heavy rain, like last night, the glare can be so bad that the race track looks like a mirror...we saw that in the Formula 1 Sepang (Malaysia) race and they had to halt that too.
Yes tallg is correct regarding the timing..
The timings are
9pm Qatari time
8pm Central European time CET
7pm GMT
So depends on which part of the world you are in to refere the timings..
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HE WHO DARES WINS
enjoyed Rains post 11.30 on the corniche!!!
Saw great slips of Bikes on the lusail tracks; whatever was the reasons; organisers should reconsider such events; we should NOT forget the death of an Equestrian rider during last Doha Asian games, who lost his life bcoz of this rains.
The race is at 9pm I have looked on the moto GP web site the officals at the track last night did not have a clue what was going to happen, anyway it is bank holiday in England weekend so of course it rains LOL
The FIM would have allowed Qatar to run a night race because the chances of rain in April in Qatar at the exact time of the race are probably pretty slim!
I agree that it seems odd to have awarded points for the 125cc race after only 4 laps.
As stated already, the issue with racing at night in the rain is the glare from the floodlights reflecting back up off the track. FIM have always stated that racing wont take place if it rains at Qatar. This wasn't a spur of the moment decision.
The total race was a disaster, as an FIM international licence holder the regulations state that a race can be stopped and declared "Wet" during the race. This happened in the 125cc after 4 laps, it was stopped for safety reasons.
The riders then get to change their tyres to whatever they want but thats it, if they choose wets and the race line dries there are no more stoppages.
What happened here is that after only 4 laps it was decalsed complete. A race must complete 2/3 distance i.e. if its a 15 lap race at least 10 laps must be completed. This didnt happen and if I were a team I would be protesting the FIM (Unless you won of course)
The visibility thing is understandable, but if this were the case and it was known then why did the FIM even allow Qatar to convert the circuit and run a night race? It should have been rejected on this alone.
As for visibility I have raced in the UK and Europe with wet conditions worse than last night. Visibility becomes a problem because of spray so you cant see the bike infront. I have never seen a race abandoned on the start line because of rain.
To reschedule the race will be easier said than done, the majority of Marshalls here in Qatar are volenteers. Even the FIM marshalls who are flown in do this for a hobby and have to return to hame as they have jobs too.
My guess is that it wont happen due to lack of marshalls and medics and will be stopped on safety grounds again.
Get rid of the lights and get us back to normal day racing, the Superbike would have went ahead last month if it rained!!
Nidge
It's definitely rescheduled for 9pm tonight, local time; http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2009/Joint+statement+on+Qatar+race+postponement
nice photos tallg...tnx
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KEEP MOVING!!!
I read it was reschedule for 8 - I think the masses might need confirmation!
I was in the VIP Parade!
Awesome shots Tallg....
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Have Courage To Live.
Anyone Can Die.
tallg
Awesome shots there !!!
Damn the rain!!!
We got to Losail at half 10, and despite the lightening flashes that still punctuated the sky it seemed like the rain had passed by and all was set for the main event, the MotoGP race.
The bikes were all on the starting grid ready to race;
but then with only 2 minutes left before the scheduled start time of 11pm it started spitting with rain. And before long the light shower became a torrential down pour;
The crowd hung around, hoping that the rain would pass and the race would be able to start after the track dried out, but it wasn't to be and around half 11 they announced that the race wasn't going to take place.
It's been rescheduled for 9pm tonight, but unfortunately we have prior plans so wont be able make it.
Damn the rain!!!
Yes, I saw Khanan on Al Jazeera Sports 2!
I hope they abandon this stupid night race. So we Doharites can also go and watch it in a sensible time..
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HE WHO DARES WINS
was there yesterday...but left a bit early...
and yeah MD is right..
____________________________________________________
Have Courage To Live.
Anyone Can Die.
was there yesterday...but left a bit early...
and yeah MD is right..
____________________________________________________
Have Courage To Live.
Anyone Can Die.
The rain is not the problem, they have "wet" tires. The problem was the glare of the floodlights reflected on the wet surface making it impossible for the riders to judge the track. Therefore somebody noted:" This probably was the last flood lighted event."
from what i read on the BBC website it was more an issue with the glare from the floodlights in the standing water and if the race had been in the daytime they almost certainly would have raced. the european races are often done in wet conditions
they have to.. with that rain, it's gonna be an accident waiting to happen had they pushed through with it..
Now that the race is on at a reasonable time i might consider going. is there any news on ticket prices for this evening?