Luis Salom, Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin begin 2013 season in Losail, in the only night race of the year.

The Losail International Circuit is the venue from Thursday for the Qatar Grand Prix, the first race of 2013. The Red Bull KTM Ajo begins the campaign with a new lineup of Luis Salom, Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin. The unique conditions of this race, held at night for the sixth consecutive year, make this a special weekend for riders and fans alike. This will be the first of the seventeen races on the 2013 Moto3 calendar.

After a successful preseason, capped by Luis Salom recording the fastest time in the final test at Jerez, the Red Bull KTM Ajo team riders are raring to go to Qatar. Five months on from the final event of 2012, Luis Salom, Arthur Sissis and Zulfahmi Khairuddin will be onboard KTM machines and back in action on the world stage.

At 5.380km and with 16 corners, the Qatari track will put the new KTM Moto3 machine through its paces. Red Bull KTM Ajo defends the Moto3 title it won last year, whilst  individually Salom, Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Sissis will attempt to improve upon their results from the 2012 event: fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively.

Everything is ready for the Red Bull KTM Ajo team, on the eve of the season opener.

Circuit information – Losail International Circuit
Length: 5.380 metres
Width: 12 metres
Left corners: 6
Right corners: 10
Longest straight: 1.068 metres
Constructed: 2004

Luis Salom,
“Both the team and I arrive in Qatar ready to roll. I think if we have things clear, we can have a good race. This will be the third year that I race in Losail; in 2011 I finished eighth and I came fourth last year. So I hope to keep on improving and get a good result this weekend. Racing at night makes it a different GP to the rest, yet it is fun as it is a very fast and wide track with a slow corner. I can’t wait to ride the KTM and start the season.”

Arthur Sissis,
“The Qatar Grand Prix last year was my second race in the World Championship, and for the first time I was in the fight for the podium, so I have very fond memories of this circuit. I really like the layout and it’s fun, because it has some very fast corners ─especially in the last sector. I think it’s a circuit that fits perfectly with the KTM. Riding at night and with the entire circuit illuminated makes this Grand Prix even more appealing to me.”

Zulfahmi Khairuddin,
“The Losail circuit has good memories for me, after the good results last year. On Saturday we set a good qualifying time ─seventh─ and, on Sunday, we had a good race in which I finished sixth. I hope to feel the same this weekend, get times that are good enough to compete at the front and that the work done in the first race of the season be useful.”