By Rizwan Rehmat

DOHA: Qatar’s iconic racing track - the Losail International Circuit - will make room for additional interesting sports activities all-year round a top official has said.

Khalid Al Remaihi Vice Chairman and Secretary General of Losail Circuit Sports Club (LCSC) said plans are being finalised to get the place buzzing with ‘new excitement’ as he charts out ways to engage communities for outdoor activities.

The dirt track inside LIC on Saturday launched the 2016 MXGP World Championship with a spectacular night race won by Tim Gajser.

“That (bringing fans in) definitely is one of the main objectives and goals in our strategy” Al Remaihi told The Peninsula during the MXGP extravaganza.

“We have already started the track for cycling and running activities (at Losail Circuit). That proved to be very popular with the our communities in Qatar” Al Remaihi said.

“We are looking to do more soft events. We want to convert this into all-round destination of activities and not just motor sport. This should be a destination for motor sport fans their families and their friends” Al Remaihi explained.

“They should all come here and enjoy their time out at Losail Circuit. It will be a place for all-year round activities” he said.

Built in record time of under a year the Losail Circuit has been home to a round of MotoGP race since September 2004. The iconic floodlit racing track hosts the only MotoGP round in the entire region.

Al Remaihi said his team won’t rush into a decision but rather work on a meticulous ‘master-plan’ to get the place going with non-stop entertainment.

“Like you heard during the week we take care great in hosting top events. That’s what we are known for that and hopefully God Willing we are ready to build on for the future” Al Remaihi said.

“This is not something we can’t actually discuss right now because we just got the responsibility handed over. We are working on strategic plans that will help us deliver on our objectives which include community engagement promoting sport and commercialising the venue in the most efficient ways possible” he added.

“We will say more once we have that strategy in place and once we have that master-plan finalised for the venue.

“We are not going to rush. What we are doing right now is delivering major events and maximising the accessibility of the venue for the Qatari youth or youngsters living in the region. So many participants from within the region come and feature in our events” Al Remaihi said

“So we are not jumping into anything right now. We are in planning mode. We believe planning properly will deliver what we want as our objectives in the most efficient ways possible.

“That’s the objective” he said

“We are very passionate about the sport in general and about the event that we staged at Losail Circuit. That gives us a lot of drive and enthusiasm to deliver on this major levels.

“Qatar as a country has proved to be more than capable of delivering. We are happy with the help of our young Qatari friends our team here at the club to deliver events on time with great professionalism” Al Remaihi said.The Peninsula