Rizla Suzuki racers Loris Capirossi and Alvaro Bautista will both achieve personal landmarks at 2010’s opening Grand Prix in Qatar next Sunday.

Capirossi will celebrate his 300th Grand Prix start when the race gets underway on Sunday evening. He already holds the record for the most Grand Prix starts of any rider in the history of motorcycle racing – his 277th race at Misano in 2008 overtook the previous record held by Alex Barros – and the first race of 2010 will see the experienced Italian begin his 21st season – and third decade – at the pinnacle of Grand Prix racing.

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Bautista will also make his own personal landmark when the former 125cc World Champion -and the Suzuki factory’s latest recruit – makes his competitive debut in the MotoGP class. Bautista has impressed during his inaugural pre-season testing campaign on a MotoGP machine and is in confident mood ahead of the 18-race championship that lies ahead of him this year.

The 5,380m Losail International Circuit is situated just outside the city of Doha in Qatar and has now become the regular first race of the season. This year will see the third running of the race during the hours of darkness, as the race and all practice will take place beneath thousands of floodlights that illuminate the circuit to give an amazing and individual feel to the event.

Rizla Suzuki takes to the track on Friday evening for the first practice session, with two further hour-long sessions on Saturday. The 22-lap race is scheduled to get underway at 23.00hrs local time (20.00GMT) on Sunday 11th April. [Read More]