MotoGP Champion Marco Melandri to make Speedcar debut in Qatar

The World Champion of the 2002 MotoGP (250 cc) will team up with Heinz Harald Frentzen driving for Team Lavaggi. The Italian biker will for the first time be racing a car on a permanent circuit having appeared in a touring car race at the Bologna Motor Show in 2006.

Melandri may be new to car racing but he is familiar with the Losail International Circuit having ridden on the track in the MotoGP. It will be of interest to see how his biking experience will help him in a Speedcar.

Fourteen drivers and seven teams will compete in Speedcar Series' first night race over the race weekend. The third leg of the season will also see 2 other new drivers, Qataris Ahamad Al Kuwari and Sheikh Fahad Al Thani join the fray.

The two local drivers will form the QMMF (Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation) team. Both drivers will have the advantage of having raced on the track before when competing in the Qatar National Road Racing Championship (QNRRCH).