Saturday Race
Britain's Nigel
Mansell took 1st place at the Losail
International Raceway in Qatar at what many
have described as the hottest race in living
memory. The Doha desert heat produced almost
unbearable conditions as a track temperature
of 58 degrees was recorded at the start of
the event. A cock-pit temperature of 77
degrees was recorded with the highest
previously known to be 68 degrees! Mansell,
who started from pole, led the incident
packed race from the beginning and recorded
his second consecutive victory following his
win at the inaugural round in South Africa.
Germany ' s Christian Danner finished in
second place and Belgian debutant Eric Van
de Poele came home in 3rd. Eddie Cheever
(USA) was fourth, Warwick (Britain) fifth
and also making his GP Masters debut was
Pierluigi Martini who finished in 6th.
(6th) Pierluigi Martini: “A great
experience for me and one which I hope to
re-create very soon with this superb GP
Masters series. I was extremely happy in the
car today and drove a really enjoyable and
hard race. I remained close at all times to
the front runners but was losing some speed
down the main straight. I also made a
mistake during the safety car period and
lost position but in the bigger scheme of
things, I am very happy to have finished 6th
given that I never ever thought I would be
racing grand prix cars with these guys
again. Nobody appears to have lost any of
the speed, competitiveness or tenacity from
yester-year and that’s what is so amazing.
Thank you to everyone who has worked so
tirelessly on my car this weekend and
congratulations to GP Masters and QMMF for
pulling off a historical event in this
fabulous country.”
 |
MCSF Members Robert
Murphy and Ger Looney with Minardi
legend Pierluigi Martini at the MCSF
- Minardi Team Dinner in Faenza 2005 |
Friday Qualifying
Nigel Mansell grabbed pole
position for the first Qatar GP Masters
race. Track temps exceeded 60 degrees
which made hard work for the 15 "vets" in
action. Ex Minardi Boys Pierluigi Martini
and Andrea De Cesaris start 5th and 9th in
Saturdays race-
Pos Driver
Time
1. Mansell 1:46.926
2. Danner 1:47.281 + 0.355
3. Warwick 1:47.342 + 0.416
4. Patrese 1:47.445 + 0.519
5. Martini 1:47.717 + 0.791
6. Fittipaldi 1:47.822 + 0.896
7. Cheever 1:47.894 + 0.968
8. Johansson 1:48.208 + 1.282
9. De Cesaris 1:48.343 + 1.417
10. Stuck
1:48.423 + 1.497
11. Van De Poele 1:48.711 +
1.785
12. Salazar
1:49.832 + 2.906
13. Lammers
1:49.920 + 2.994
14. Arnoux
1:50.514 + 3.588
15. Tambay
1:50.516 + 3.590
Thursday
Practice
Fastest Time on
Day 1!!!!!
A soaring track
temperature of 52 degrees greeted the
drivers this afternoon as the debut 2006
Qtel Masters of Qatar got underway for the
second of today's free practice sessions.
The layout of the technically challenging
Losail International Raceway circuit has
since yesterday become more familiar to the
drivers and combined with improved grip, it
was Pierluigi Martini (Italy) who set the
quickest time of the day at 1.47.549s
thereby eclipsing this year's Moto GP pole
position time by almost 8 seconds! In
second place was Nigel Mansell (Britain),
followed by Eric Van de Poele (Belgium),
Christian Danner (Germany), Stefan Johansson
(Sweden) and Eddie Cheever (USA).
1st Pierluigi
Martini (Italy): "I am
extremely pleased to have set the best time
today but let's see what the rest of the
weekend brings. These are extremely quick
drivers and it will be far from easy to be
in P1 after tomorrow's all important
qualifying session. My last race was in
Sebring in 2000 and like so many of the
Masters, I never expected to see a day when
I would be sitting alongside such great
friends from the past. It really is a
pleasure to share the race track again with
such great names and especially in these
magnificent racing cars. These GP Masters
cars are much better to drive than the last
F1 car I drove and quicker too! I used a new
set of tyres today for my quick lap and
after 15 laps set the fastest time. Tomorrow
will be a lot harder for sure and I cannot
wait to get back out there."
Qatar’s Losail International Raceway is
world class!”
Unanimous vote of approval as preparations
begin for Qtel Masters of Qatar
Track temp: 46 degrees
Ambient temp: 36 degrees
Race Day: Sat 29th April
: The
eagerly awaited Qtel Masters of Qatar got
underway today with a two hour
Free Practice session at what drivers have
described as one of the best motor racing
circuits on the world stage. The
scorching desert heat generated a midday
track temperature of 46-degrees and with
temperatures expected to rise even
further ahead of Saturday’s race, the
demanding and unforgiving climate is the
only concern at what is an exceptionally
challenging, quick and rewarding driver’s
circuit. All the Masters (except Arnoux who
arrives tonight) were in action today
undertaking familiarisation laps and
understanding how best to set-up the 600bhp
cars ahead of this weekend’s first-ever
four wheeled motor race in Qatar.
Pierluigi Martini (Italy): “A
beautiful circuit but one which makes
achieving the correct balance very
important. There is a wide
range of corners here – some very quick and
some not so quick. Exiting the faster
corners, however, is where a good car
balance really pays off and we have been
working today on this area. I believe
everyone suffered today from understeer
issues but I am sure we’ll dial these out,
especially as more rubber gets laid down.
Right now, I feel very privileged about just
being here amongst some great friends. We’ll
see how competitive I am over the weekend
but the pressure is very different
now to when I was a professional driver. I
will still be looking to win of course but
with a smile on my face throughout the
weekend no matter what happens.”
FREE PRACTICE SESSION ONE (2 hours)
Driver Time Timed Laps
Mansell 1:49.315 23
Johansson 1:49.348 22
Danner 1:49.501 25
de Cesaris 1:49.973 28
Warwick 1:50.336 25
Stuck 1:50.586 19
Martini 1:50.770 28
Patrese 1:51.047 25
Salazar 1:51.047 29
Fittipaldi 1:51.064 19
Lammers 1:51.425 19
Cheever 1:52.775 21
Tambay 1:53.094 28
van de Poele 1:54.672 11
Caffi 1:55.709 5
THE TRACK
Located 10km outside the capital city of
Doha, the Losail International Circuit is
surrounded by desert landscape. Built in
record time, the track was today met by the
immediate approval of the Grand Prix Masters
drivers not only for the excellent
safety features (the run off areas are more
than adequate in an area where space is not
an issue) but also for the challenge it
proposes. The track has only one true
straight, measuring 1068m followed by a
series of varied corners which are all
linked
together and give drivers little chance to
rest in the searing heat.
A distinctive feature of the track is the
sequence of three fast right corners.
Another characteristic is how difficult it
is to
overtake – not because there aren’t enough
suitable points but because of the danger of
running off the racing line, due to the
conditions of the track.
TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Circuit name: Losail International Circuit
Opened: 2004
Latest modification: 2004
Length: 5,400m
Width: 12m
Pole position: Left
Right corners: 10
Left corners: 6
Longest straight: 1068m
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