Opulence is the name of the...
Opulence is the name of the game in downtown Doha, with mega-yachts moored outside the grounds of the city's many five-star hotels.
By the time MotoGP season kicked off under the lights in the desert outside the Qatari capital of Doha for the third year in a row, the novelty of racing at night had worn off. In its place were concerns about the nighttime humidity that slickened the track and caused a number of crashes in pre-season testing and prompted an extraordinary meeting with the riders about possibly changing race times. That was never going to happen (not with television satellite time booked), but it was important that the sport's management appeared to care. So with the MotoGP race certain to start at 11:00 p.m., everyone was left to consider just how silly it is to race 240-horsepower motorcycles at night in the desert-in April.
 |  It's almost midnight in Qatar,...  It's almost midnight in Qatar, and qualifying for the MotoGP grid positions is still in progress. |  In contrast to the opulence...  In contrast to the opulence of downtown Doha, the local souq (market) areas are a much more unpretentious representation of the local culture, with small shops and cafes among the mud-walled buildings and cobblestone walkways. |
The Qatari desert's humidity...
The Qatari desert's humidity at night was cited as the reason for a spate of unexplained crashes (claiming several riders in Turn Two, including Ben Spies and Casey Stoner) during preseason testing, leading to suggestions on running the MotoGP race earlier.
Welcome to Qatar, where day is night and night is day and the only people functioning normally have vampire blood in their veins. Qatar is a constitutional monarchy that sticks out like a thumb from Saudi Arabia about 100 miles into the Persian Gulf. The Muslim emirate is about the size of Connecticut, but with vastly different demographics. There is a 3-to-1 man-to-woman ratio among the 1.67 million residents. Because of the vast reserves of oil and natural gas, Qatar ranks either first or second in GDP per capita in the world, depending on whom you believe. Cookie-cutter communities of mini-castles, all in light colors, are sprouting up on the outskirts of town. The building boom in the center of the city continues. Qatar is a major business hub for Western companies and works hard to be a player on the world stage. But there's a vast discrepancy in wealth between the native born and the immigrant workers, most of whom come from southern Asia.
The Losail International Circuit may be one of the safest in the world, specifically designed for motorcycles and the world's best-lit permanent sporting facility, but that doesn't make it much of a favorite, not with the riders-who tolerate the race for its foothold in the Arab world-nor the fans, whose numbers are by far the slimmest of the year. Officially the number was 7000-plus, but no official would confirm this with a straight face.
The reason we come to this place halfway between Europe and Asia is because of oil and natural gas money-lots of hydrocarbon cash that guarantees that everything is first class. A small example: The catering in the media center is done by the Ritz-Carlton Doha where rooms go for $340 a night, before tax.
The paddock at Losail is a...
The paddock at Losail is a veritable ghost town compared to other GPs. ""The best grand prix of the year?" asked Rossi about the circuit's recent award from Dorna. "No. Is the best grand prix for the quiet in the paddock for sure."
When I first came here in '06, no one in town knew that the track or race existed. Little has changed. There are virtually no signs for the Losail International Circuit. You find the track by following the signs to the shooting range on the 1A highway, but not before passing the cutout of a local in native dress imploring you to slow down: "Don't speed. Death is fastest," he warns. The speed limit is 120 kph-about 75 mph-and when I exceed it, my rented Mitsubishi Lancer begins to beep. Everyone knows the locations of the two speed cameras, so it's a race from one to the next to the exit.
The weekend begins on Thursday, when members of all three world championship classes (MotoGP, the new Moto2 class, and the 125cc category) reconvene for the first time in five months. Most of the team members arrive on Wednesday and the better-heeled head to the beach. The factory teams stay at the four- and five-star hotels on the Corniche and spend their mornings and early afternoons on the beach, or at one of the mega-malls. The riders who make it to the track mill about in the heat while crates are unpacked and the machines readied for the first day of business.