Qtel brings GP Master 2006 series to Qatar

The agreement was signed by Qtel Executive Director - Group Communications ,Mr. Waleed Al Sayed and Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) President, Mr. Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Attiyah.

Mr. Waleed Al Sayed said,

"Qtel is looking forward to providing sports enthusiasts an exciting opportunity to see the legendary drivers as well as ex-Formula One racers of the GP Masters for the first time in Qatar. We know how much the people of Qatar enjoy sports and are proud to be the sole sponsors of this much-awaited MotoGP event."

The GP Masters is a series of MotoGP races that takes place in key venues across the world. Driver Eligibility for the GP Masters requires that the masters must have retired from all forms of open wheel racing, competed in F1 for two complete seasons, passed a medical examination, be more than 45 years on the 1st Jan for the season to follow, and have retired from F1 for two complete seasons.

Before coming to Qatar, the GP Masters series has been hosted in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Italy. Besides the legendary names that graced the inaugural race event in South Africa, the Losail Circuit will see ex-Formula One racers like Pierluigi Martini (Italy), Eric van de Poele (Belgium) and Alex Caffi (Italy) who will assume the role of Official Test & Safety Car driver for the series.

Provisional driver entry list for the opening round at Qtel GP Masters of Qatar 2006 includes Rene Arnoux (France), Eddie Cheever (USA), Christian Danner (Germany), Andrea de Cesaris (Italy), Emerson Fittipaldi (Brazil), Stefan Johansson (Sweden), Jan Lammers (Netherlands), Nigel Mansell (Britain), Eliseo Salazar (Chile), Hans Stuck (Germany), Riccardo Patrese (Italy), Patrick Tambay (France) and Derek Warwick (Britain).

Qtel has been a sponsor of previous MotoGP events in Qatar as well as the Qtel ATP Tour of Champions, Qatar Tennis Open championships (Exxon Mobil and TotalFina Elf) and the Gulf Cup Football championships; all of which have helped place Qatar on the global sports map.