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MotoGP World Championship
2007 - Round 17 - Sepang, Malaysia |
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MotoGP World Championship
2007 - Round 17 - Sepang, Malaysia |
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| A sweltering air temperature of 35 degrees
awaited the 250cc riders on the grid. With the track’s temperature
raging at 38 degrees, this would surely play havoc with the rider’s
tyres and make tyre selection all the more critical. Japanese KTM pilot Hiroshi Aoyama started the race from pole; it was his first since the last race of 2006 at Valencia. With his teammate Kallio beside him in second; it was the first time KTM had taken the top two places on the grid in the 250cc class. While KTM’s qualifying performance was impressive, the focus of the race would be on the outcome of the 250 championship. The only scenario that would result in Jorge Lorenzo, starting the race from third, not winning the title in Malaysia would be if Andrea Dovizioso, starting in fourth, won the race and Lorenzo finished lower than 11th. It was Lorenzo who made the best of starts away from the line but it was Dovizioso who took over at the lead of the race diving into the first two tight corners. Dovizioso instantly got his head down and pulled a slight gap over Kallio in second, who had demoted Lorenzo to third. Dovizioso would have to show some caution with his early push, as the last time that he crashed out of a Grand Prix was in Malaysia in 2005. Thomas Luthi and Alvaro Bautista were battling hard early on for fifth place, both riders having won at Sepang in the past on the way to winning their respective 125cc world titles. Dovizioso continued to build on his gap at the front in the early laps, pushing very hard, in similar fashion to Talmacsi during the 125cc race earlier in the day. Lorenzo moved into second place past Finn Mika Kallio with 16 laps to run and set after race leader and title rival Dovizioso at the front. Lorenzo instantly cut into ‘Dovi’s’ lead on his way to setting the fastest lap of the race after dispatching of Kallio. Meanwhile Bautista and Luthi demoted both KTM riders from third and fourth places respectively. Lorenzo was now looking comfortable in second, with the knowledge that he would clinch the world title should he remain where he was at the end of the race. Alvaro Bautista in fourth was forced to retire from the race with 14 laps remaining as his Aprilia gave up the ghost. Dovizioso’s lead was slowly being eaten into by Lorenzo as he upped his pace once again. Luthi was managing to stick with the championship leader as a further gap had formed back to Barbera in fourth, who was coming under real pressure from the two KTM’s, Alex DeAngelis and Julian Simon. With 11 laps to run Dovizioso’s lead had been cut to less than a second as Lorenzo and Luthi closed right in on the Italian Honda pilot. A lap later, with 10 laps to run the order of the top 10 was still being headed by Dovizioso from Lorenzo and Luthi with a gap back to Kallio, H.Aoyama, Barbera, DeAngelis, Simon, Takahashi and Simoncelli. Lorenzo took over from Dovizioso at the front of the race as Alex DeAngelis crashed out on the same lap, making it his fifth crash over the course of the weekend. Major disappointment for the man from San Marino, considering he finished on the podium for the previous two years at Sepang. Dovizioso was able to stick with Lorenzo after having his lead usurped as Luthi in third dropped away, back into the clutches of the KTM’s of Kallio and Aoyama. Luthi was shoved off the podium by Kallio with six laps remaining as Kallio set his personal best lap of the race, the KTM’s coming on strong in the closing stages. Just as Lorenzo was looking comfortable in the lead, the Spaniard suffered a major moment under pressure from Dovizioso, coming very close to suffering a major high-side. Aoyama followed his teammate Kallio past Luthi a few laps later and joined the chase for Lorenzo and Dovizioso at the front. Dovizioso was piling serious pressure on Lorenzo at the front in an attempt to rattle the championship leader and cause a mistake. The Italian made a move for the lead in the closing laps, appearing to be let through by Lorenzo, not wanting to push too hard and suffer a championship crippling crash. The jousting and baulking at the front had allowed the KTM’s of Aoyama and Kallio to really close in on the race long leading duo. Onto the penultimate lap and the lead was being fought between foursome, with the two KTM pilots having joined in on the fun. Lorenzo and Kallio both moved past Dovizioso into the last corner as Kallio took over at the front into turn one, Dovizioso following him back past Lorenzo. Things were heating up for a climactic finish to the race as Barbera bought into the front group and made a move past Aoyama for fourth. Into the last corner to start the final lap and Mika Kallio made a desperate diving move and clipped the rear wheel of Dovizioso, forcing him to crash and taking him out of the race. Aoyama, whose only finish from his three visits to Sepang was 5th in 2005, inherited the lead from the coming together as Barbera chased him in second with Lorenzo in third. Aoyama went on to take victory for KTM after starting from pole as Barbera took a well earned second place. The real story however, was with Lorenzo, who came home in third and claimed his second consecutive 250cc world title. Kallio came fourth followed by Luthi, Simon, Locatelli, Simoncelli, Takahashi and Espagaro rounded out the top 10. Andrea Dovizioso was able to remount his Honda and limp home in a bitterly disappointing 11th place. Lorenzo clearly dominated for most of the 2007 season, taking nine wins from nine pole positions and thoroughly deserves his 2007 world title. Mcnews.com.au congratulates the champ and wishes him future success in MotoGP next year. The 250cc class will take a week’s break before the final round in Valencia. The race will be for pride due to the championship being decided, as the likes of Lorenzo, Dovizioso and DeAngelis attempt and bid farewell to the 250 class in style, before moving up to MotoGP in 2008. |
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