The action here takes place at night under the floodlights of the brilliant Lusail International Circuit, which sits around 30km outside Doha - the exciting and evolving capital city of Qatar. Located in the Qatari desert, the Lusail circuit held its first event at the venue with the October 2004 Grand Prix of Qatar, won by Sete Gibernau. In 2008 Qatar celebrated the first floodlit Grand Prix in the history of the MotoGP™ World Championship and since 2007 Qatar has also hosted the season-opening race on the GP calendar.

Located in Western Asia, Qatar sits in the Persian Gulf - a small peninsula, with its sole land border of Saudi Arabia to the south. Across the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Peninsula, is the nearby island country, Bahrain. In this most exotic and intriguing part of the world, Qatar also shares maritime borders with the United Arab Emirates and Iran.

For anyone who has not visited the Arabian Peninsula, the ancient desert landscape, with its rapidly developing cities and infrastructure, is a wonder to behold.

Doha, Qatar’s breathtaking capital city is situated in the east of the country on the Persian Gulf coast. Qatar has a population of around 1.5 million, with roughly half the inhabitants residing in the capital, or its surrounding suburbs.

Doha was recognized in 2014 as one of the ‘New7Wonders Cities’ together with Vigan, La Paz, Durban, Havana, Beirut, and Kuala Lumpur.

In nomadic Arabic societies, desert travelers were always welcomed with food and drink. Communal dining is a tradition in Qatar, whilst the food enjoyed at big celebrations can also be sampled in local and international restaurants in and around Doha.

Qatari cuisine has Indian, Iranian and North African influences, with signature dishes including locally caught fish, spicy seafood and meat stews, roast lamb, boiled goat with seasoned rice and locally grown dates. Arabic coffee will also be offered.

When it comes to dress code, Qatar is fairly relaxed, but visitors are asked to demonstrate respect for the local culture and customs in public places, so avoid wearing overly revealing clothing. Context is key, so beachwear and casual wear is acceptable if you are lounging by the hotel pool.

Cash machines (ATMs) are to be found throughout Doha and the restaurants and shops usually take credit cards. Keep in mind that the working week for Qataris is from Sunday to Thursday, with most offices closed on Friday and Saturday.

Also, it is not permitted to bring alcohol into the country and alcohol is only usually available at international hotel bars and restaurants.