The MotoGP World Championship is to get an extra practice session should wet weather arrive following their one scheduled outing this evening.
2017 is the first year the prospect of racing in Qatar in the wet has been a realistic one, after safety officers Franco Uncini and Loris Capirossi suggested that racing on a wet surface under floodlights would not cause major visibility issues.
Previously, it was thought that the glare from the lights on the wet track would make riding almost impossible, and so no sessions have been run in wet conditions since the race changed to a night event in 2008.
Famously, the 2009 MotoGP season-opener was postponed to the Monday following a heavy downpour just moments before the grand prix was due to get underway.
The Moto2 and Moto3 fields have two sessions tonight, and both classes will be urged to go out on track should it rain at any point.
Last week’s test in Qatar for Moto2 and Moto3 was called off on two of the three days due to poor weather. Tyre supplier Dunlop were not informed in time to have more wet tyres ready, but have since flown some out for this weekend just in case.
Once all riders have tested the conditions, an immediate meeting of the Safety Commission will be held, where a decision will be made on whether it is indeed safe to run in wet weather under floodlights. The same plans will put into action over the rest of the weekend should rain fail to materialise.
Track action gets underway at 18:00 (GMT+3).
