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New Qatari circuit opened

The new Losail International Circuit has been officially opened in the Middle East state of Qatar. The US$74m, 5.4km venue will stage local, regional and international car and motorcycle races, including a Marlboro-sponsored MotoGP event this October, and World Superbike events starting in 2005. There are no immediate plans for F1, which the chairman of the Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation described as "boring"

Sheikh Nasser bin Khalifah Alatieh set out his vision for the future of the circuit during a media conference in the Le Meridien Commodore hotel in Beirut, Lebanon. He said: "We have secured a long-term commitment from MotoGP and we will be concentrating on that for the upcoming five years. F1 races have become boring to the media because they lack true competition. Michael Schumacher starts up the race, bypasses the opposition, and stays in first place until he wins. If the racing is not exciting, then the public will not watch it. Motorcycle and other automobile championships are more exciting."

The new circuit features a 1068m main straight and 16 corners.

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