MotoGP

Qatari GP: Series Thursday press conference

Stunning Qatar skyline welcomes MotoGP press conference After a five-month break the MotoGP World Championship returns this weekend at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, and Ben Spies, Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso and ...

Edited: Apr 10, 2010, 1:27 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Stunning Qatar skyline welcomes MotoGP press conference

After a five-month break the MotoGP World Championship returns this weekend at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, and Ben Spies, Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso and Alvaro Bautista all attended the pre-event press conference on Thursday.

Twelve months ago the opening round of the season was disrupted by torrential rain at the Losail International circuit, with the result that the MotoGP race was postponed and took place 24 hours later on the following evening. Fortunately, the weather forecast for this weekend is for almost perfect racing conditions for the opening Grand Prix of the 2010 season.

Casey Stoner, winner of the last three MotoGP races at the Losail circuit, joined Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) on Thursday afternoon for the first pre-event press conference of the new season.

Stoner impressed during pre-season testing with the new Desmosedici engine that he will campaign this season, but the Ducati Marlboro rider played down his chances of a fourth consecutive win on Sunday, saying he would be happy to leave Qatar having secured some good points in the race.

"It's been a very long winter without the tests that we've had in the past, but it's given me the chance to take my fitness up to the next level and sort out all the issues from last year," declared the Australian. "We've got a new engine for this season and, while we've lost a bit of top speed, with better acceleration out of the turns and less drop off in tyre performance towards the end of the race, we've not really lost that much. I've had some success at this track in the past, maybe it's because the track can be a bit dirty, which suits my riding style. If we can leave here with good points on Sunday night then I'll be happy."

Reigning MotoGP World Champion, Valentino Rossi, said he was also looking forward to getting the season underway with a run of three races in four weeks, starting this weekend in Qatar.

"Another season starting is always a good feeling and very exciting," stated the nine times World Champion. "We were fast here and in Sepang during testing, so the new bike looks good. Last year we had some great battles and, on paper, it looks like we could be in for the same this season. There are some new guys on the grid this season, so it will be fun."

Andrea Dovizioso, who finished the final pre-season Test at Losail as the third fastest rider, was also present. The Italian stated: "We have already started better than last year and are four to five-tenths from the best time. It's important to start the season in this way and we can still improve."

Friday evening sees the serious action commence with the first free practice sessions of 2010 for the three World Championship classes. The 125cc competitors are the first out on track at 8.00pm local time, followed by the all-new Moto2 class at 9.15pm and the MotoGP riders at 10.30pm.

-source: motogp

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Qatari GP: Repsol Honda preview

Next article Qatari GP: 125: Practice 1 times

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

What Kyle Larson needs to do to clinch NASCAR Cup title early at Martinsville

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Martinsville II

8 min

What Kyle Larson needs to do to clinch NASCAR Cup title early at Martinsville

Pedro Acosta fast but “feeling terrible” in Malaysian GP practice

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

43 min

Pedro Acosta fast but “feeling terrible” in Malaysian GP practice

Fabio Quartararo 19th and angry: “I’ve not struggled so much at Sepang in a long time”

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

1 h

Fabio Quartararo 19th and angry: “I’ve not struggled so much at Sepang in a long time”

"When I don't have pain, I gain," says Maverick Vinales after return to form in Malaysian MotoGP practice

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

1 h

"When I don't have pain, I gain," says Maverick Vinales after return to form in Malaysian MotoGP practice

Feature

Discover prime content

Is MotoGP’s title fight over after the Australian GP swing?

MotoGP

Australian GP

By Rachit Thukral

Is MotoGP’s title fight over after the Australian GP swing?

MotoGP riders could get what they want, and fast, if only they would stand together

MotoGP

Indonesian GP

By Richard Asher

MotoGP riders could get what they want, and fast, if only they would stand together

Five things we learned from MotoGP's brutal Indonesian Grand Prix

MotoGP

Indonesian GP

By Richard Asher

Five things we learned from MotoGP's brutal Indonesian Grand Prix

The contrasting tactics used by Ducati and Aprilia in MotoGP 2026 title fight

MotoGP

Japanese GP

By Rachit Thukral

The contrasting tactics used by Ducati and Aprilia in MotoGP 2026 title fight

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts