Well, that was interesting.
It is a nice track for the racers. The traction is good, the track is wide with good passing areas. A rather long straightaway. No elevation changes to speak of. Wind can be a problem at times.
It is not a great track for spectators though. There are only 3 places to watch the track from
1. The main grandstands. This is the only place you can go if you have a regular ticket.
2. VIP Suites. Air-conditioned, glassed in suites above the pit garages. You have a view of pit lane and the start/finish/grid area. TVs in the suites for everything else.
3. VIP Grandstand. There is a grandstand in turn 10 with a shuttle bus for VIP occupents to get out there.
You can’t walk the track. There is a service road inside and one outside the track, but that is not open to spectators.
All in all, not a great spectator track.
The best reason to go to this race is that there is almost no one there. The paddock security is laughable. Pit security is tighter, but you can just walk right into the paddocks and look in the back of the garages.
Because of the lack of spectators, the riders and teams are really laid back. No one is rushing from the garage to the trailer to get away from the hordes. Very laid back. You will often see riders just stopping to chat to each other “out in the open”.
They stop for autographs and photos. They are very relaxed.
All in all a good trip. I am glad I went, but I probably wouldn’t go there again. There are other tracks I would rather visit.
(many of the pit photos were taken through the glass of the VIP suites, so there are some odd reflections and refractions)
One reply on “Qatar MotoGP”
“…Elias’s bike. (dunno why there is a little“74†on the tank.)”
it’s in memory of the japanese rider that was killed a couple years ago.
gooz