Qatar starts this Thursday

It's almost time for the first Grand Prix of the new season and it all starts on the moon, more or less, what with the Losail International Circuit in the middle of the desert in Dubai and the race run at night since 2008. Losail first hosted MotoGP in 2004 but it was so hot in the day that they built out a massive array of floodlights; last year at night it was still 27C/80F.

There was a certain amount of anticipation last year but in retrospect this year looks much more interesting. Last year was the first year of the CRT, the first new season without Marco Simoncelli, Casey Stoner defending his 2011 title after his dominating first season on the Repsol Honda, and the beginning of what was looking like a gloomy year for Valentino Rossi fans, year two on the challenging Ducati.

The 2012 race in retrospect was a little disappointing; Casey Stoner with all the promise and pole position, late in the race faded with arm pump, and got swallowed by the predictable and tenacious Jorge Lorenzo and by Dani Pedrosa only just beginning a season he'd later dominat. Nicki Hayden looked good in practice sessions and landed a surprising fifth on the grid (surprising in retrospect now given the upcoming difficulties for Ducati throughout the rest of the 2012) and finished sixth, and Rossi seemed miserable from the start, qualifying 12th and wrestling the bike the whole race including at least one off excursion..

This year we have a lot to look forward to.

• We know what CRTs are like now, and we know the Aprilias and Aleix Espargaro are strong but unlikely to ever threaten the podium; that mystery has turned into a good story, and we know that the edge between the slowest prototype riders and the fastest CRTs can easily be breached.
• Now that Stoner's officially gone there's a whole new leaders game. Lorenzo knows he's the defending champion but lost to Pedrosa 6 of the last 8 races last season. Pedrosa is quietly confident and clearly top of the charts fast. But now there are two aliens joining that fray. Rossi the trickster now knows to take nothing for granted, shaving off any hubris he might be burdened by, and he's still got all kinds of potential clearly shown by the pres-season testing, but finally on a bike he can love. And then add Marc Márquez who last year in Qatar rode an aggressive and controversial race to begin a year of triumph in Moto2. Pol Esparagaro will not miss him this season.
• And I should mention the new qualifying rules will be in effect (explained here) which adds a little pre-race color as well. But mostly:
• Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Rossi, and Márquez

First qualifier for MotoGP starts this Thursday.