The calm before the MotoGP storm!

Bengaluru/Doha, March 15: The new FIM MotoGP World Championship is just a couple of days away and the excitement is just building up.

Before the sun goes down and the lights go out on Sunday (March 18) ahead of the first Grand Prix of the season, it was time for some of the riders on the grid to check out a photo exhibition and explore some local landmarks in the Qatari capital.

Defending champion Marc Marquez of Honda is eyeing his fifth world crown in the season in which Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso and Yamaha duo off the evergreen Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales are once again going to be his potential title challengers.

Photo exhibition

Bradley Smith (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Karel Abraham (Angel Nieto Team), Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing), Tom Lüthi (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Lorenzo Baldassari (Pons HP 40) and Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing) took a trip to the Katara Cultural Village in Doha.

The main agenda on the visit was to check out the "Speed & Rituals" photo exhibit by MotoGP photographers Gigi Soldano and Mirco Lazzari.

One for the album

Upon arrival the riders had a photo opportunity with the creative minds behind the exhibition, Gigi and Mirco, and once formalities were out of the way the riders set off to find their pictures on the walls of the Youth Hobbies Centre.

Bradley Smith was happy to spot a photo of himself, grinning, "There's a picture of me here, that's cool! It's great to be able to showcase the creativity of the photographers in MotoGP and to showcase MotoGP in a different light."

From veteran to rookie!

Meanwhile, 2018 MotoGP rookie Tom Luthi is determined to get his photo up there after his veteran career in the lower classes.

"I'm a little bit sad but it's ok, next year I'll be up there..." The Swiss rider is a 125cc world champion and has multiple Grand Prix victories, but hasn't yet taken on the premier class.

Photo opportunity

After wandering through the exhibition, the riders then moved on for more photo and media opportunities in the Amphitheatre overlooking the Persian Gulf, before one last photo stop in front of Katara's famous Pigeon Towers.

The riders now look forward to preparations ahead of the Grand Prix of Qatar, with free practice scheduled for 2.45pm local time (5.15pmIST) on Friday (March 16).