During last month’s two day official tests in Qatar several riders fell at turn 2, with most riders putting the blame squarely on the night humidity and moisture coming through the track surface.
These incidents were taken into consideration by the Riders Safety Commission, with senior members Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi asking that the race scheduled for 11pm (Qatar time) be moved earlier up to avoid compromising rider safety.
Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta listened to the complaints saying they would discuss the possibility of moving the race earlier in evening and there would be no problems for TV stations in broadcasting the races in another time slot.
Carmelo Ezpeleta:“I’ve heard from the riders, and we’ve decided to look at the situation once in Qatar.
These four weeks may have changed the weather situation at Losail and got rid of the problem.
We’ll see whether it’s too damp at the scheduled time or if it’s possible to run safely.
I’ve made a round of phone calls to hear from the TVs and there shouldn’t be too much of a problem in case of a reschedule.
”In case that the MotoGP race should be rescheduled, the new Moto2 class would run first, followed by MotoGP and the sacrificial lamb would be the 125cc race that would be slotted at 11pm (Qatar time) as the 125’s are slower and the riders are at a lower risk of hurting themselves.
