"Mmm, wonder what this big red switch is for?"
|
HISTORY WILL be made in less than two weeks time, when the MotoGP grid lines up for the first ever World Championship event on tarmac
to be staged at night under floodlights.
The Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar on Sunday March 9th is a milestone in sporting history. The first event of the 18 round MotoGP World Championship is the biggest sporting event to be staged under floodlights.
This week the MotoGP riders embark on a two day test at night to find out for the first time just what it is like to compete on 200 mph plus motorcycles under floodlights. Also the technicians will relish the opportunity to discover just what affect night time desert temperatures will have on engines and especially tyres.
The 125 cc and 250cc riders will also complete two nights of testing starting on Saturday.
The logistics
The logistics of lighting the 3.343 miles Losail International circuit are staggering.
The area floodlit is the equivalent of 70 FIFA size football pitches.
Three thousand five hundred lighting units have been installed.
The complete operation by the American company Murco has taken just 167 days.
The MotoGP race starts at 23.00 hrs local time and will be shown live on British television at 20.00 hrs on Sunday March 9th.
Five riders Loris Capirossi, Marco Melandri, Anthony West, Alex de Angelis and British rider James Toseland, who makes his MotoGP debut in Qatar, tested the floodlighting on the first three corners riding road bikes in November last year. The verdict was good but the real test comes on Thursday evening.
