Valencia MotoGP: Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi confirmed for Qatar night test

Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi have confirmed they will attend a special night test session at the Losail International circuit in Qatar later this month.

Plans for a historic night race in Qatar in 2008 will move a step closer when Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi carry out the first serious evaluation under floodlights on November 12, 2007.

Five riders are planned to ride production road bikes at the Doha track to test at selected corners which have been floodlit in preparation for the season’s opening MotoGP next year on March 9, 2008.

Safety Commission members Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi are definitely going to ride, while Dani Pedrosa, Marco Melandri and Anthony West are also expected to appear with bosses requesting a rider from each manufacturer to be present.

The test will be start at 7.45pm in the evening. Part of the experiment is expected to see part of the circuit soaked with water to give riders the chance to gauge the lights in the unlikely event that next year’s race in the desert is run in wet conditions.

It will be the only chance for riders to give initial feedback before the entire multi-million pound project is completed in time for the International Race Teams Association test session on February 16, 2008.

That will be the final make or break on whether Qatar creates history as the first MotoGP race to be run at night.

• Check out next week’s MCN (November 7, 2007) for the biggest new motorcycle issue set to feature 23 new bikes