MotoGP Champion Marco Melandri to make Speedcar debut in Qatar

Dubai, February 10, 2009: MotoGP star Marco Melandri will be making his Speedcar Series debut at the Losail International Circuit on February 12-14, 2009.
 
The World Champion of the 2002 MotoGP (250 cc) will team up with Heinz Harald Frentzen driving for Team Lavaggi. The Italian biker will for the first time be racing a car on a permanent circuit having appeared in a touring car race at the Bologna Motor Show in 2006.
 
Melandri may be new to car racing but he is familiar with the Losail International Circuit having ridden on the track in the MotoGP. It will be of interest to see how his biking experience will help him in a Speedcar.
 
Fourteen drivers and seven teams will compete in Speedcar Series' first night race over the race weekend. The third leg of the season will also see 2 other new drivers, Qataris Ahamad Al Kuwari and Sheikh Fahad Al Thani join the fray.
 
The two local drivers will form the QMMF (Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation) team. Both drivers will have the advantage of having raced on the track before when competing in the Qatar National Road Racing Championship (QNRRCH).
 
The driver entry list Speedcar Series Season 2, Round 3 in Qatar is as follows:

Driver                 Country  Car No.  Team
Jacques Villeneuve     CAN      96       Durango
Christopher Zoechling  AUT      25       Durango
Jean Alesi             FRA      27       HPR
Marchy Lee             CHN      50       HPR
Johnny Herbert         GBR      69       JMB
Damien Pasini          FRA      13       JMB
Gianni Morbidelli      ITA      10       Palm Beach
Thomas Biagi           ITA      04       Palm Beach
Ahamad Al Kuwari       QAT      95       QMMF Team
Fahad Al Thani         QAT      59       QMMF Team
Marco Melandri         ITA      33       Team Lavaggi
Heinz Harald Frentzen  GER      80       Team Lavaggi
Vitantonio Liuzzi      ITA      20       UP Team
Hasher Al Maktoum      UAE      85       UP Team