Another championship-winning rookie comes in the form of Tech 3 Yamaha’s James Toseland, a two-time world champion in superbike racing. The Briton knows the circuit well on a four-stroke, was one of the first riders to try out the floodlights at the end of last year and took a highly positive second place in the standings at the Official Test, meaning he will not get a better chance to make an early mark on the MotoGP series.

The Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar takes place on Sunday 9th March, at 11pm local time. The 125cc and 250cc races precede the MotoGP class, at 8pm and 9.15pm respectively. Practice sessions begin on the evening of Friday 7th March.

250cc

With the departure of last year’s top three in the 250cc class, the quarter liter category title race has been blasted wide open in 2008. The form riders in preseason testing have come from the KTM camp, with Mika Kallio clocking fast times at a number of visits to Jerez and Valencia. The Finn was the winner of the final round of 2007, and his maiden appearance in 250cc at Qatar last year could have seen him on the rostrum were it not for some untimely mechanical problems.

Kallio’s teammate Hiroshi Aoyama has also had his fair share of misfortune in Qatar. The Japanese rider had been expected to star at the race last year after recording KTM’s then-best ever dry result of fifth in 2006, but crashed out on lap two and suffered a nasty finger injury. He will be one of the expected title contenders this year as the Austrian factory’s machines look stronger than ever.

Heading the Aprilia charge is Mapfre Aspar rider Alvaro Bautista, already a proven race-winner in the 250cc class. The Spaniard is joined in the garage this year by countryman Hector Faubel, one of a cluster of debutants that also includes 125cc success stories Lukas Pesek and Mattia Pasini.

Also on top of the range Aprilia machinery in 2008 are Emmi Caffe Latte’s Thomas Luthi, who came so close to a podium finish in his maiden 250cc race at Losail last year, Lotus Aprilia’s returning Alex Debon, and Hector Barbera, with all three expected to push for success in Qatar.

125cc

125cc World Champion Gabor Talmacsi continues in the lower cylinder category this year, and will open his title defence at the track where he took pole position and second place last season. Eying up his title are a string of competitors looking to make 2008 their own, including KTM’s Tomoyoshi Koyama, WRB man Simone Corsi, Polaris World newcomer and the fastest rider so far at the first 125cc Qatar night test Bradley Smith and Talmacsi’s own team-mate, Sergio Gadea.

Circuit Info

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 on the 2nd October 2004. The track itself is a flowing layout of 5.4 kilometers, surrounded by artificial grass designed to prevent sand from the neighboring desert from blowing onto the circuit. The main straight is over a kilometer 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.

Further investment was required for the lighting project, which was completed under six months after the agreement to run races at night at Losail. This was key to making the track available year round, and features state-of-the-art technology to ensure shadows are at a minimum and visibility is perfect at high speed.