Fiat Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo are fresh from the recent pre-season test and both last year's World Champion and the runner up are aiming to kick off their 2010 campaigns with a successful opening weekend.
Last year saw Rossi take his fourth title for Yamaha and the ninth of his career and, with 103 race wins already under his belt, the Italian hero has nothing left to do to cement his place in the history of the sport.
Despite 14 seasons in the World Championship the 31-year-old still has the same hunger and desire for victory as he did when he first started out and he claims that this year will be no different.
He has been in intimidating form during pre-season testing, finishing fastest on five out of six days, and he looks to have already found an excellent base setting for the 2010 YZR-M1.
Rossi has won only twice before in Qatar, last year he finished second after starting from the same spot. He will be looking to go one better this time and take his first victory in a night race.
Lorenzo gave his more experienced team-mate an exciting run for his money last season but the 22-year-old eventually settled for the runner up spot, an impressive feat nonetheless in just his second year in the premier class.
This year the Mallorcan's pre-season has been interrupted by a hand injury sustained in a fall with his motocross bike and he missed the second Sepang test, but he was back on board for the recent Qatar outing.
Although still not at 100%, he is well on the way back to full fitness after an intensive physiotherapy routine at home in Barcelona.
Qatar will always bring back memories of his thrilling 2008 MotoGP debut, when he burst onto the scene with a fantastic pole position and a second place finish, while last year saw him make a solid start to the season by finishing third behind his team-mate.
"Finally we're at the start of the season and we are all very excited," Valentino Rossi enthused. "The pre-season has gone well for me, our new M1 is good, Yamaha and Bridgestone have done a great job and we have been fast. We have only had six days on track so we still have work to do and things to learn about the new bike, but we are starting in good shape. I expect this season to be a big battle with many riders very strong, and I hope that we will show some good racing to the fans! Qatar hasn't been one of the best tracks for our bike in the last few years but at the test we went well so I hope this will continue again for the race."
Jorge Lorenzo on the other hand would like a few more weeks to heal but is happy to be able to make the starting grid, "I am not perfect yet, I still need more time to recover 100% from my injury, but at least I can ride in Qatar. I am very happy because we are so close now to the start of the season, it's been a long winter! Unfortunately, I had some troubles in training and hurt my hand, but these things happen. Qatar is a very special track for me, it was the place where I got my first podium in MotoGP in 2008! I know this time it will be more difficult, but I will try to be close to the action. I hope this year it doesn't rain like last year!"
Team manager Davide Brivio is also ready to go, "Our development in testing has gone very well and this is encouraging for us all. We were fast in Sepang but also in Qatar, more than a second faster than last year in fact, so we are going into the first race feeling confident that we can put up a fight. It hasn't been the best race for us previously but everyone is very focused and we will be looking to make a strong start to the campaign. The waiting is nearly over and we're ready, let's go racing!"
