Qatar confirms Monday race if rain strikes again

The opening round of the 2010 MotoGP world championship will be held at night on Monday, April 12 if the scheduled race on the previous night is postponed.

Teams have already been notified of the Monday night race plan after the opening round of the 2009 premier class campaign was postponed due to torrential rain.

Due to visibility problems caused by the reflection of rain off the floodlights, practice or racing is prohibited in wet conditions at the Losail International Circuit.

When heavy rain fell just seconds prior to the start of last year’s race, chaos ensued with no contingency plan in place.

Several meetings took place before it was decided to race on the Monday night with Losail International Circuit management contributing to the costs of the paddock remaining in Doha for at least one more day.

The postponement last season caused a logistical nightmare, with hundreds of flights, hotel bookings and hire cars needing to be altered.

MCN understands though that a Monday staging of the opening race is only for the MotoGP class. So if rain disrupts the 125GP and Moto2 races on April 11 then they will be cancelled and not delayed until Monday evening.

Winter testing for the 2010 campaign concludes at the Losail International Circuit on Friday.

Australian factory Ducati rider Casey Stoner will be chasing a fourth successive victory in the season opener.