Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar 2012

Posted on Apr 02, 2012 by Nick Harris

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN PREPARE FOR BATTLE IN QATAR
Seven British riders prepare for battle at the opening round of the 2012 MotoGP™ World Championship, the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar under the floodlights at the Losail International circuit on Sunday

Spearheading the strongest British challenge for over a decade in the toughest and most demanding 18 round World Championship challenge is Isle of Man based Midlander Cal Crutchlow. Last year he was Rookie of the Year in the MotoGP™ World Championship and returns for his second season after some very impressive pre-season testing on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine.

He is joined by Cumbrian James Ellison who makes a welcome return to the Championship riding the Paul Bird Motorsport ART machine in the new CRT category.

Grand Prix winners Bradley Smith and Scott Redding will be challenging for at least podium finishes in the very competitive Moto2™ class. They are joined by Gino Rea who makes his grand prix debut on Sunday riding the Gresini Moriwaki machine.

Danny Kent and Danny Webb will start the very first Moto3™ World Championship race. Wiltshire teenager Kent has looked superb in testing for the new Championship which replaces the 125 cc Championship.

Bradley Smith
Tech 3 Racing Moto2 Team
Born 28/11/1990 Oxford
Grand Prix wins: Three 125cc Spain, Italy 2009 and Valencia 2010
2009 Runner-up 125 cc World Championship, nine Pole positions.
Position 2011: Seventh Moto2 World Championship
Twitter: @BradleySmith38
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BradleySmith38 

 “It was a very positive final test at Jerez, despite the crash at the end at Turn 12. It was a very fast crash and I'm just thankful I've got away with just a few bumps and bruises and I will be 100% fit and ready to go in Qatar. We have improved the overall balance of the bike, particularly with stability on the brakes and corner entry. The Tech 3 Racing Team has been working unbelievably hard throughout the winter and at every test we have improved the bike. I'm a lot more confident on this new bike, so I am looking forward to going to Qatar and starting the season with a strong result.”

KEEPING AHEAD OF THE GAME – RULE CHANGES
The MotoGP™ World Championship never stands still and to keep ahead of the game in these tough economic times the Championship sees a number of rule changes this season.

The engine capacity in the MotoGP Class has been increased from 800cc to 1000cc.

A new CRT category has been introduced to the MotoGP class to attract more teams who can use tuned production engines in prototype frames.

The 125 cc class has been replaced by the Moto3™ World Championship which uses single cylinder 250 cc engines from any manufacturer.

TELEVISION TIMES
Friday 6 April
1600 – 1900 British Eurosport Live Free Practice Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP

Saturday 7 April
1600 – 1900 BBC Red Button/British Eurosport Live Qualifying Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP

Sunday 8 April
1700 – 1925 BBC Red Button/British Eurosport Live Moto3 and Moto2     
1930 – 2100 BBC Red Button Live MotoGP
2325 – 0055 BBC 1/BBC HD MotoGP Race Repeat