The Losail International Circuit will see history made this weekend as it opens its doors to the MotoGP World Championship, which arrives in the Middle East for the first time in its 55-year history.

Qatar has built an impressive complex in record time – less than a year – thanks to the unrelenting hard work of a thousand people and an investment of around 52 million dollars. The track, hidden away some 10 kilometres from the capital city of Doha, represents an oasis in the middle of the desert and an undiscovered paradise for the Grand Prix circus. Major emphasis has been put on safety and artificial grass has even been laid around the outside of the track itself to prevent it from becoming covered in sand. Qatar have supplied the facilities and the Circuito de la Comunidad Valenciana will provide all the track personnel to ensure that nothing is left at the mercy of inexperienced hands.

Only one man, former 500cc rider Randy Mamola, has completed a lap of the 5.4 kilometre circuit, which features a series of short straights and flowing corners and a one kilometre front straight; it promises to test the skill of the riders more than the power of their machines. Mamola, who rode a two-seat bike at the track’s inauguration on the 9th July, has given clues to anybody who has asked but it won’t be until Wednesday, when the riders complete a lap of the track by car, that they get their first real taste of what awaits them. The Grand Prix of Qatar, the thirteenth round of the season, takes place on Saturday and will be the first of three races in three weekends with Malaysia and Australia to follow.

The Telefónica MoviStar Honda MotoGP team will be trying everything they can to get back on the right path after two difficult weekends in Portugal and Japan. Sete Gibernau, fourth at Estoril and sixth at Motegi, sees the Qatar Grand Prix as a good opportunity to get back to the form he showed up to Brno and allowed him to cut back Valentino Rossi’s advantage at the top of the MotoGP World Championship. Colin Edwards is looking to bounce back from his first corner crash in Japan, where he was the victim of a rider pile-up caused by Loris Capirossi.

Extremely high temperatures in Qatar will put the riders’ physical condition to the test, as well as the performance of the tyres. Another of the big unknowns is the level of grip that the track will offer.

Motivation is also high in the Telefónica MoviStar Honda 250cc squad, with Daniel Pedrosa, who will celebrate on Wednesday his 19^th. birthday, on a mission to discover Losail with the cushion of a 47-point advantage at the top of the championship thanks to his latest victory ahead of Toni Elías and his team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama at Motegi. The Japanese rider heads to Qatar on top confidence and with the express intention of showing that his home podium can be repeated from here to the end of the season. Perhaps he can do it at a track that the whole field will have to learn this weekend – a situation Hiro has become all too familiar with this season.

THE RIDERS’ OPINION

SETE GIBERNAU (15)

“I only know the design of the circuit. It’s new and none of us, except Randy Mamola, have ridden there. I think there are a lot of European-style corners, but we won’t really get an idea until we get out there for the first time in the free practice on Thursday morning. I think the heat will be a problem for the tyres and the engine, and the sand is also something we’re all worried about. Personally, I just want to get back to working well as we were doing and be as competitive as we were before Portugal, where we started to have problems. The fact that this is a new circuit for everybody and nobody is going out with an advantage should motivate us to do a good job in qualifying and be as strong as possible for the race.”

COLIN EDWARDS (45)

“There’s not much I can say about this Grand Prix, apart from that I am looking forward to getting there - I think the job they’ve done is really impressive. I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike and forgetting about what happened in Japan. I honestly think I was well prepared for a really good race and what happened in the first corner was a shame. Everybody is talking about the heat and I think it will be a problem, not only for the riders but also for the tyres and probably the engine. In any case, it’ll be the same for everybody.”

DANI PEDROSA (26)

“It’s always nice to get to know new places and new circuits and Qatar could be really special because it’s so different to the places we already know. It will be a tough weekend because it will be so hot but in that sense it should prepare us for Malaysia. We’ll be working against the clock for the whole Grand Prix because it will be crucial to get an idea for the track in the first session and I guess we’ll all need a little more time than usual to find the best setting. On Wednesday they’re going to take us round the track in a car so we’ll really have to pay attention and pick up as many details as we can”.

HIROSHI AOYAMA (73)

“I would have raced at Qatar on the Monday after the race in Japan. To be on the podium for the first time this season at my home race was incredible. I’m really looking forward to getting back on the bike, riding in qualifying and racing. We’ve got three Grands Prix in a row now and I want a good finish to the season.”

THE 2004 SEASON SO FAR FOR THE TELEFÓNICA MOVISTAR RIDERS