Losail Circuit Sports Club (LCSC) has wrapped up an active racing season prior to the summer slowdown. During the last six months, the circuit was a beehive, hosting international and local championships, dedicating specific dates for training and track, and organising marketing events and community activities. The circuit season totalled around 140 days of activities and has capitalised on its floodlight system to host exclusive championships at night.
The newly-appointed management of LCSC is determined to position it as a regional hub for motorsports and an attractive destination for the local community, particularly for cycling and walking sports fans and activists.
Remarking on the new plans of the circuit, chairman Saud al-Attiyah said that “our key objective is to promote motor sport in the region in partnership with Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation, and engage the local community to actively participate in our activities”.
Among the signature international events organised this season was the prominent MXGP World Championship, which was held last February for the fourth time in Losail Track, and is the only MX Championship to be held at night and in the Middle East.
The Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar held last March for the 13th time is the only event in the MotoGP calendar to date that is held at night and the switch to night-time racing nine years ago has proven to be a continuing success.
The main attraction of the popular Qatar GP this year was the family fan zone created in the public area with free entertainment activities for the whole family. The activities were held in the grandstand area and included: ‘Go Karting Track’ supported by Mawater together with an exhibition of selective cars; ‘ATV Track’ for children supported by Batabit and Nomas Centre that run traditional activities like camel riding, falcons and Arabic coffee making, which were highly applauded by the visitors.
The circuit is heavily capitalising on its facilities and during the last Sealine Cross Country Rally in April, LCSC partnered with Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) — the organiser of the rally, as a logistics provider. LCSC support included circuit facilities to set up the bivouac and the service park. Participants took advantage of the circuit facilities; its pit garages, offices, and benefited from its closeness to Doha for accommodation compared to Sealine. And the final ceremony of Sealine Rally, was hosted at the circuit, where Mawater and Red Bull held a joint event in the VIP car park which included cars exhibitions and Stunt shows.
National championships held in the first half of 2016, included Losail 600 Cup for motorbikes and Qatar Touring Car Championship for cars. Both events were held in March, April and May.
Losail Circuit has also embarked on a systematic programme to increase the utilisation of the circuit facilities and track. Hence it increased the number of track days to three days per week for bikes and cars to be held on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Depending on monthly temperature, the track day can be in the morning or evening.
A new initiative started last January targeting Cycling, Running and Walking enthusiasts.  Initially, the track was opened for training only on Wednesdays but later due to high demand and positive feedback, a second day was added, on Sundays. On those days, the track is open from 17:00 to 20:30, and entrance is free of charges.
Last April, more than 200 women participated in ‘Women on Wheels’, spending the day at the circuit using the track for cycling and running.
As part of its continuous efforts to be a motorsport hub, LCSC hosted a series of marketing and launching activities such as the Qatar Motorshow press conference, Lexus Qatar Driving Event, Cadillac Driving event, McLaren Doha Driving Event, Mini Driving event, Ferrari Qatar, Porsche 911 Launch, Doha Dash Running event for the National Sport Day with more than 3,000 participants, and Yamaha, Aprilia and Ducati MotoGP Testing.
The club’s main target is to be an arena for motorsports in the community. Starting this May, Karting and Mini Moto track was opened on Thursdays and Fridays for the public until June 24 with special timings during Ramadan.
Talking about the increase in demand for the training days at the track, al-Attiyah said, “We have noticed that training days have become a big success. We received positive feedback from sports fans in Qatar. In the first half of this year, we had only 23 days without activities in the track, which means we are moving in the right direction in terms of facility’s capitalisation and traffic attraction. After the summer, we will have new plans on how to gear various activities to the local community.”

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