Rule change for BMW Award.

It was also announced that a brand new M3 Cabrio will be up for grabs in the BMW M Award, for the year's best qualifier in the MotoGP class.

New rules will apply for 2008 making the BMW M Award follow the standard points system used by the MotoGP World Championship for race positions - 25 points for pole position, 20 for second etc - rather than combined lap times.

This change, coupled with the decision to run the contest only in qualifying sessions - results of the BMW session at the official pre-season test are no longer included - means that riders who miss a round for any reason will still be in the running for the new car.

MotoGP rookie Jorge Lorenzo currently leads the BMW Award after scoring a perfect 50 points from the first two qualifying sessions of 2008. Fellow Yamaha rider Colin Edwards is second on 32 points after two third place grid positions.

Some MotoGP riders are already owners of the new 420hp V8 M3.