Gloomy weather: Heavy rains hit MotoGP action at LIC

Torrential rain yesterday afternoon wreaked havoc at the Grand Prix of Qatar - the MotoGP season's opening week - forcing the global bike family to call off the day's proceedings at the Losail International Circuit (LIC).

Yesterday's heavy downpour - that brought life to a standstill across Qatar around noon time - made everyone play the waiting game at LIC where Dorna and race officials decided to spike the events for the first time since 2009.  

Last night's decision - announced around 8:00pm - threw the weekend schedule into disarray with Friday's free practice times being used for today's grid positions.

The decision to spike yesterday's programme saw Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) securing his first pole for Yamaha. Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Andrea Iannone and reigning World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) will join Vinales on the front row.

With FIM President Vito Ippolito doing rounds of the facility along with Safety Commission riders Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri in a Safety Car, standing water was seen around different various bends on the LIC track where the season's first GP is held under lights.

The water puddles were hurriedly and efficiently cleared by the circuit staff - using blow dryers installed at the back of quad bikes - through the evening for about a couple of hours.

"When it rains here, there is also a strong wind and a lot of sand on the track," nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi, a four-time winner at the desert track, said.

Qatar's two-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah - looking relaxed while walking around the pits - was among the fans braving howling winds and at times spitting rain at LIC.

Riders and team officials were seen inspecting the venue for more than two hours as the expected news trickled out around 6:00pm that the first MotoGP free practice session was cancelled.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Pol Espargaro yesterday said: "We are so unlucky. I have spoken to a lot of people here. Some say it is normal to see such rains. Some said it is the first time it has rained here in March. The track is wet. I know organisers and Dorna are looking into it. Let's see what happens. We have to just wait."

Espargaro added: "This is the weakest track we faced. I mean this is part of this game. We arrived from Sepang feeling faster. But we couldn't be that fast. We have faced some electronics problems. This is not the best track for us but we will have to wait and see."

"It is little bit difficult. In the end we have to ride. Maybe we could skip the day. We will wait for Dorna's decision," Espargaro said.  

Bo Bendsneyder, the Dutch Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion in 2015, also sounded disappointed with the rain deluge at LIC.

"Yes, we have to wait and see though we would love to be riding," Bendsneyder said but added he was eager to start the 2017 season.

"Yeah I am feeling comfortable on the KTM bike. It suits my riding style. We did well in the test. We have a good base for the season," Bendsneyder said.

"We will try to win. In the end, we have to see what happens after the first race. I hope we can fight for a lot of podiums," he said.

British rider Danny Kent, with lightning adorning the Doha sky in the background, said: "I hope the weather makes up its mind and we get some action at last. Some corners are wet and some dry. There is so much water leaking onto the track."

Spain's Alvaro Bautista, a former 125 world champion, said: "Yes we have to see if we can race, in the test I had a good feeling. Two weeks ago I would have said I will fight for the podium. But the track condition has changed. Now our level is lower than how we were in the (pre-season) testing. I will try my maximum. That's our target for the season - to be in the top five all season."

Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso said: "There are many wet patches. I don't think there could be action. We can try on the wet (circuit) but it doesn't look like that."