FIM / Dorna – Official release on the rain delay | Qatar, MotoGP
- From: TRS Media | Published: April 12th, 2009 - 9:55 pm
FIM, IRTA, Dorna and the QMMF (Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation) have released the following statement on the MotoGP race postponement at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar.
Due to adverse weather conditions, the MotoGP race at the Commercial bank Grand Prix of Qatar has been postponed.
Following discussions between FIM, IRTA, Dorna and the QMMF, a proposal was put to the MotoGP teams to run the race tomorrow evening. Thanks to a huge effort from all parties concerned, and out of respect to fans of motorsport around the world, it has been decided that the race will take place on Monday 13th April, 2009.
The warm-up will run at 6.30pm local time (GMT+3), with the race scheduled to start at 9pm.
FIM Road-racing Commission President, Mr. Claude Danis stated, “For safety reasons it was not possible to race in the night due to the reflection of the lights on the track. This decision had already been taken a few years ago when we first decided to run a night race in Qatar. On behalf of the FIM I am very happy that we could postpone the race until tomorrow. It is important for the championship, especially at the first race, and I would like to thank Dorna, QMMF, IRTA and the MotoGP teams for helping reach this decision together.”
Dorna Sports CEO, Mr. Carmelo Ezpeleta added, “After the arrival of a large storm we had to cancel the race as it was unsafe. The QMMF offered us the choice to run the race tomorrow, and as it was a very important decision we wanted to consult with all the team managers. The postponement was accepted by a large majority. This has been an extraordinary decision in extraordinary circumstances.”
Rider Quotes:
Valentino Rossi
“This is a real disappointment because we were fired up to race and it was so close to the start! After the rain stopped the 125 race we thought we had escaped because the track then dried but then the rain came down even harder just in time for MotoGP. It’s so unlucky because you don’t expect this in the desert. After six months without racing and after two days of practice and so much work by everyone it’s very frustrating and this is why it was important to take the decision to race tomorrow. It will be strange because I don’t think there’s ever been a Monday race! It will also be hard to wait another day, and the pressure will be more, but I am happy that we will get the chance to ride. Of course now we have to keep our fingers crossed for the weather tomorrow, but the forecast says it will be ok. The other important thing is that something is done to clean the track, because it will be very dirty after this. Maybe we should all have a race with the hire cars in the morning!”
Jorge Lorenzo
“I am happy with the decision to race tomorrow because I really want to ride. For us it’s not such a big problem to delay, and it’s better than wasting a whole weekend’s work. I am disappointed because I was ready, but we cannot help the weather and unfortunately here it’s impossible to ride in the rain. It would have been a great pity not to have a race, so now we just need to stay focused.”
Dani Pedrosa
“This has been a really strange situation tonight. With such heavy rain it would definitely have been dangerous to ride under the floodlights, so the decision to cancel the race was the right one. At first we thought the race was going to be called off completely and I can’t say that this would have been bad for me personally because my condition is not 100 per cent. But we came to Qatar to race so we’ll come back and go for the maximum result tomorrow.”.”
Andrea Dovizioso
“For all the adrenalin that built up during practice and qualifying to be followed by the cancelled race was a real anti-climax. So I think it’s good that we race tomorrow night. There may be less grip after the rain that fell on the track tonight, but that will be the same for everybody. Also with the tires, the situation is equal for all the riders. From the team’s point of view, it will be really useful for us to get the race data, so I’m glad we’re coming back tomorrow.”
