Qatar ready to host the start of a new season

After 120 days without racing the MotoGP World Championship fires up for another season this weekend in Qatar. The elite of motorcycle racing are ready to get back on track this Thursday for the start of an adventure that will reach its climax in November, having crossed four continents, fourteen countries and eighteen different racetracks in the search for three new World Champions. The chase for the Moto3 crown is wide open, with names such as Romano Fenati, Nicolo Bulega, Jorge Martín and Aron Canet all in the hat after a strong preseason. There can also be no ruling out the likes of Niccolò Antonelli or Joan Mir for a title quest that will have its first leader following Sunday night's opening battle.
The Mahindra Pull&Bear Aspar Team field two rookies this season, with Albert Arenas and Lorenzo dalla Porta taking their full-time places on the grid after making several appearances last season as either wildcards or replacement riders. Their final preparations were not helped by wet and windy conditions at the last test of preseason just a few days ago in Qatar but they are both excited about the advent of the new campaign. This will be the Spanish rider's third outing with the team after making two appearances in 2016, and he hopes to make it a progressively positive one from the moment free practice begins on Friday until the waving of the chequered flag on Sunday night. Lorenzo dalla Porta makes his debut as a Mahindra Pull&Bear Aspar rider with the aim of refining his riding style to the category as he hunts down a position in the lead pack. 

Albert Arenas:“We have a good base to work from at the Grand Prix of Qatar, but I still think we can improve a little, something that could help us set a single flying lap. As far as our work with tyres is concerned I feel ready, because during testing we have only used race rubber and that is something that will help me this weekend. The objective is to improve in every session that we go out onto the track, without worrying about setting a fast lap on Friday because the points get shared out on Sunday.”
Lorenzo Dalla Porta: “We are almost ready but I still need to work on my riding style. The Mahindra is ready for the Grand Prix. The objective for this first race of the season is to be faster than we were in the test and to run as close to the front as possible. I am excited to go racing and I think we can do a good job.”