Sports

Qatar MotoGP Washed Out by Rain

by Jordan Yerman | April 12, 2009 at 01:34 pm

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The opening round of MotoGP 2009 was due to take place today in Qatar, UAE, but has been canceled due to rain. The race may take place on Monday instead.

It's not the rain itself that's at issue (rain-soaked races are commonplace, and some riders even specialize in it), but, since the race was due to be held at night, the glare from the floodlights was too hazardous for the riders, who of course cannot look any other direction than the one in which they're going.

Nicole Billard is not amused, as she was really looking forward to watching.

Sunday's racing programme began with the 125cc race, which had to be stopped after just four laps because of the rain.

Aprilia rider Andrea Iannone has won the first 125GP of 2009, but will only be awarded half points after the race was stopped due to rain after just four laps.

The 250cc riders fared slightly better, with their race reduced from 20 to 13 laps because of earlier weather problems.

Spain's Hector Barbera won ahead of French pair Jules Cluzel and Mike Di Meglio, getting the crowd warmed up for the eagerly-anticipated main race.