The following is from Honda…
After the fresh conditions of Phillip Island two weeks ago, the premier class men are now set for the wearying cauldron that is Sepang in mid-October. With temperatures nudging 40-degrees and with a humidity factor around 80%, this is never a place for the frail in body.
But the vast body of riders have huge experience of this long, fast track through the amount of testing performed here at the back-end of each season and during the shakedown tests at the beginning of each year too.
The 5.548km Sepang track has two long straights, fast open turns, one left/right flick, and a tight left turn onto the start/finish straight. Hard braking at the end of the two straights requires a stable set-up while sheer power and a high top speed are at a premium too.
The wide (25m) track offers plenty of overtaking opportunities through its ten right-hand turns and five lefts. In short it has everything (barring extreme gradient) to challenge a rider and for this reason it is commands huge respect from all competitors. It also usually provides top class racing.
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) finished third here last year on his way to runner-up position in the World Championship. He also set the pole time and feels comfortable here despite the fall in pre-season testing that injured his right hand.
Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) in what will be his penultimate race for Honda is another man itching to finish his season in style. The 2006 World Champion has got stronger as this season has progressed and the amiable American would like nothing more than a swansong win here.
Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V), one of the rookie revelations of 2008, and who will step up to the factory team for 2009, is a man who enjoys the speed and technical challenges of Sepang. He can be expected to give another excellent account of himself here.
Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) arrives here off the back of a strong qualifying performance in Australia where he headed row two. Another effort like that and a bit more luck in the race and the popular Frenchman is more than capable of a showcase race at the end of the season.
Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) has made a big impression in his rookie year, the San Marinese man notching two fourth places in his debut season. Already signed with the Gresini squad for 2009, he has a stable team environment from which to launch a bid for a fine finish here.
Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) rode to a hard-fought fifth two weeks ago and the seasoned campaigner would like nothing more than another top six finish this weekend. Perhaps even better…
Dani said: “We were not so lucky at Phillip Island, sometimes you have some bad luck in racing, but already we are looking forward to Malaysia where I am determined to make up for the mistake I made in the last race. I had a very good feeling at Sepang in pre-season testing before the crash. I had a good pace from the beginning and I hope to start this weekend in the best way with the new bike and tyres. I’ve got still some pain from the accident, my left knee is a bit swollen, but I hope I will soon be in perfect condition. The track has a lot of different corners and sections, so the riding style you use is quite varied. It is a physically demanding track because of the heat.”
Nicky said: “The last few races have been a lot of fun and made me pretty happy. Just need to keep it rolling! No one can say they say they don’t know Sepang, it seems like we spend half the year there. Last year we did three tests and a race there, so the nearby airport hotel is like your second home. Sepang is a great track. I like it, our bike has been running good, and you need a bike that’s running fast here. The track has got a little bit of everything: some hard braking, some pretty quick corners like turns five and six. I think that’s why we test there so much, you can’t fake it there because both the bike and the rider have got to be able to do everything pretty good.”
Dovi said: “Sepang is a very nice circuit, and I enjoy the Malaysia track very much. With the MotoGP bike it’s really fun. The two straights are characteristic of the track, which requires a high performance engine. I’ve already done tests here before the Championship started, so I know what I will encounter and how to address this weekend, which – even with our technical package – will be challenging. Let’s hope we can aim for the good result which we deserve.”
De Puniet said: “Things will go my way soon. I’ll keep putting in the effort with the team and make sure I qualify well. Then, in the race, if I can stay out of trouble and get a good start I know I can get the result the team deserves. There are only two more races left and I want a good finish more than ever.”
Nakano said: “We all know Sepang really well because we do so much testing here in the winter. The technical package I have is different to what we tested with so we’ll need a bit of time to find the right setting but, as I say, we know the place well so I’m sure we’ll quickly find a good balance. Sepang features a lot of technical sections – good traction is a very important factor. Track temperatures are usually very high so tyre choice for the race is always fundamental. After finishing fifth at Phillip Island it would be nice to be in the top six again. If we can start practice out on the right foot then that kind of result is definitely within our reach.”
His team-mate De Angelis said: “Sepang represents another difficult challenge for us because it has two long straights where horsepower plays a crucial role. On top of that, during the winter tests there we struggled with chatter problems but over the course of the season we have done a lot of work on the set-up of the bike and with the Bridgestone tyres so I’m sure the situation will be much improved compared to the last time we rode there. I always went well in Malaysia in the 250cc class and I’ve finished on the podium there several times, so I think I can also do a good job in MotoGP.”
The following is from Yamaha…
A glorious MotoGP season for the Fiat Yamaha Team reaches its penultimate chapter this weekend, with Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo targeting the podium at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Kuala Lumpur. From the fresh air of Phillip Island the series heads to sticky and steamy Sepang with both riders keen to maintain Yamaha’s record of having at least one rider on the podium in every single race so far this season.
Second place in Australia for Rossi, who was already crowned World Champion at the previous round in Japan, resulted in his 149th visit to a Grand Prix rostrum and leaves him just ten short of the all-time record held by Giacomo Agostini, whom he also robbed of the all-time win record earlier this season. The 29-year-old, who is the most successful rider at Sepang with four victories, is also just 35 points short of the highest ever tally in a MotoGP season, which he shares with Casey Stoner, with 50 still up for grabs.
After back-to-back fourth place finishes in the last two races, Lorenzo has also pinpointed a top-three return as his main goal for this weekend. The Spanish rookie, who won the 250cc race at Sepang two years ago and clinched his second world title in the class with third place last year, has played a crucial part in Yamaha’s success this season, with the factory lifting the Teams’ and Constructors’ titles. He currently lies fourth in the championship and with a 37-point advantage over Andrea Dovizioso he looks set to stay there – an unprecedented position for a debutante in the four-stroke MotoGP era.
Sepang is one of the widest tracks on the MotoGP calendar, measuring 16 metres across in some areas, and always features high track temperatures in the tropical climate. With four major hairpins, and some fast and frequent changes of direction in its 5.542km layout, Sepang provides a stern workout for the entire bike set-up and its largely consistent, if demanding, climate makes it the ideal winter testing venue.
Valentino Rossi – “Looking to have fun”
“I am looking forward to going to Malaysia because we have done quite a bit of testing there with Bridgestone so we have a lot of data – not something we have had for most of this season. I was quite strong there in the winter and I hope it’s the same again this time, especially since we know a lot more about the tyres now. We have two races left and I would really like to try to win them both, plus I also want to keep up Yamaha’s excellent podium record this season. I love Malaysia and I have had some great races there in the past, plus it generally suits our bike very well so with any luck we can look forward to a fun weekend. That said, we know that Casey will be very strong again as well as others so it will no doubt be a good battle!”
Jorge Lorenzo – “I’d like to get back on the podium”
“I’m looking forward to arriving in Malaysia and going to a quite a fast circuit, which I like and where most importantly we’ve tested already this year and things didn’t go badly. We’ve scored decent results over the last four races so I’m optimistic going into the final two rounds of my rookie MotoGP season. We’ve got a couple of fourth places recently so now I’d like to get back on the podium. I hope and believe that Michelin will come up with some tyres that give slightly better performance than in Japan and Australia, where we were just a little bit short of being with the best. Sepang is well known for the heat and the changeable conditions; one minute it can be boiling hot and then the next it’s throwing down with rain. I’ll be training hard this week to stay in good shape and finish off a positive trip around the Pacific.”
Davide Brivio – “One eye on the statistics”
“We have reached our most important targets for the season so the focus for us is on having fun but we also have one eye on the statistics. It would be nice to keep this podium run going for Yamaha until the end of the season and if Valentino can make the points record it will mean we’ve had a strong finish to the year, which is clearly all we want. We know Sepang very well from the preseason testing but, as with every season, by the time you come back for the race you have a whole season of development under your belt and the bike is very different. The data is useful but really we start from scratch with the setting. The circuit has two long straights, which test the bikes’ top speeds, but overall it’s a good track and Valentino likes it very much. Hopefully we can have another fun weekend, like at Phillip Island.”
Daniele Romagnoli – “Jorge has already surpassed expectations”
“Malaysia is a track we already tested at three times in the winter – once at the end of 2007 and twice at the start of 2008. We have a base set-up, lots of information and Jorge knows how to ride the bike here. If you look at the results so far this season Michelin have done well at tracks where we have tested previously so I’m sure they will be competitive again. We fought for pole position in the last round at Phillip Island and quite honestly we were a little disappointed not to be on the podium. It would be great to make up for that this weekend but whatever happens Jorge has already surpassed our expectations for him this season so there is absolutely no pressure on him – we just want him to enjoy himself and to do his best.”
The following is from Suzuki…
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP is on its way to Sepang in Malaysia for the third race in the Pacific tour, and the penultimate round of the 2008 season.
Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi will be looking to finish the season in style as both riders are still in with a chance of higher placed finishes in the Riders’ World Championship. Vermeulen and Capirossi currently occupy the eighth and 10th positions respectively and good results from the remaining two races at Sepang and then in Valencia could see them both move up the table. Vermeulen will be making his third appearance in a MotoGP race at the Malaysian circuit and is determined to keep improving on his results there that have so far given him an 11th in 2006 and a seventh last time out in 2007. Capirossi will be taking to the Sepang track for the 10th time, and has experienced good success there with two victories and two further podium finishes, plus five front row starts – including two pole positions – from his previous nine visits.
The Sepang International Circuit was constructed in 1998 to bring Formula 1 to Malaysia and the track is modern, wide and with great facilities for teams, riders and fans alike. The lap starts and ends with two interconnected long straights either side of a stunning central grandstand. Further huge grandstands out in the country and a variety of corners over the 5,548m length make this a circuit where great racing and excellent viewing go hand-in-hand. Rizla Suzuki will have an extra rider at Sepang as Team Test Rider Nobuatsu Aoki will be joining the squad as a wildcard rider. Aoki will be evaluating many new parts for the Suzuki GSV-R that are planned for the 2009 model, and a weekend’s testing in a race scenario will certainly give the prototype parts a thorough shakedown in readiness for further developments in the winter tests. Rizla Suzuki’s three-man attack will take to the track on Friday for two free practice sessions, followed by a further free session on Saturday morning. The afternoon will be a qualifying session where all three will be battling for the best grid positions for Sunday’s 21-lap race which gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (06.00hrs GMT).
Chris Vermeulen:
“I am really looking forward to heading back to Sepang, as it’s a track we have tested at and have proved that the Suzuki goes well there and let’s hope that some of the test parts we tried at Phillip Island will be beneficial. It will also be great having Nobu there on some more development parts and that they will be an advantage to Loris and me, and we’ll be able to use them in the race-team very soon.”
Loris Capirossi:
“I am quite optimistic about Sepang as I really enjoy the track there and we made some really good tests there earlier in the year. We certainly got the bike working quite well there so let’s hope with all the new parts we have had this year will help when we return. For us it won’t be too easy because there are two really long straights, but I know we will all try to do our best, but sometimes that is not enough to get a good result so we hope that all the work the factory is doing will help us and we will keep trying as hard as we can over the next two races and see what happens.”
Nobuatsu Aoki:
“I can’t wait to get to Malaysia; I’m very excited about racing at Sepang and working with Loris and Chris. This is my first race of the year and I enjoy the track as I have done hundreds of laps there in testing. It will be a very important weekend for me because I will be using many new parts that we hope will work well and the other guys can start to use as soon as possible.”
