MotoGP 2003 - Round 14 - Sepang - Preview with an Aussie perspective

After six months and 13 races, Australia’s new MotoGP star Troy Bayliss is on the home stretch to Phillip Island for next week’s Skyy Vodka Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

The Ducati racer must first face the energy-sapping heat and humidity in Malaysia this weekend, before his home GP on October 17-19.
Bayliss got one of his first tastes of the awesome power of the Ducati machine at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia in January, and has since proven himself a serious front-runner in the MotoGP championship, scoring three podiums in his debut season.

“I was pretty happy with how we were going by the time we’d done that Sepang test,” Bayliss said. “And I hope we’ll be going a fair bit quicker this time because the bike has come on quite a bit since then.

“Everyone at the factory and in the team has been working really hard, so the bike has been pretty much perfect at some tracks.

“Sepang’s layout is OK and the place is pretty wide, but as far as I’m concerned it’s really just another race track. Like any other place there’s a right way of getting around it quick.

“But it’s the weather which really gets you – it’s always stinking hot and humid at Sepang. I know I’m Australian but I’ve not been in that kind of heat for a while. It’s a super test of strength and endurance.”

In the middle of three back-to-back races outside Europe, the MotoGP teams face a huge logistical task to transport their equipment from one circuit to the next, requiring the services of two specially-chartered jumbo jets.

“The Ducati MotoGP team carries around 9,500kg of freight for the ‘flyaways’,” said team coordinator, Dario Raimondi. “We pack that freight into 35 crates immediately after each race, which takes about four hours.

“Those crates are then loaded on to a truck that drives to the local airport. The two 747s fly as soon as they can because the freight needs to arrive in the next country, clear customs and get to the track by Tuesday evening.

“It’s a huge job and everyone needs to know exactly what they’re doing to avoid any complications.”

In total, the MotoGP “circus” consists of about 280 tonnes of freight, 140 motorcycles, 45 trucks, two 747s and up to 1,000 personnel.

Australia’s other MotoGP riders, Garry McCoy and Andrew Pitt, are pleased to return to Malaysia. McCoy was on the podium in the premier class at Sepang in 2000 and 2001, and took his first GP win in the 125cc class at another Malaysian circuit – Shah Alam.

“I’m here to race and get the best possible result and hopefully I’ll get a chance to go the full distance this weekend - I haven’t seen the chequered flag for a couple races now,” McCoy said. “Malaysia has some happy memories for me, so hopefully that’s a positive sign. At least we know what to expect here from the ZX-RR because we did a lot of laps in pre-season testing and hopefully all that technical and tyre data will give us a base to work from this weekend.”

For Pitt, Sepang marks the first anniversary of his GP debut. “I’m looking forward to Sepang,” Pitt said. “It’s 12 months since I got thrown in the deep end for my GP debut and this race will give me a chance to gauge myself against the other guys and how much I have improved. At least this time around I know the track and the ZX-RR after a year of riding, and the bike will basically be the same as it has been for a while now, apart from the recent engine upgrade. I expect to be faster than before at Sepang, although it’s a track where we still face some familiar problems; not being able to get on throttle quick enough on corner exit and then trying to keep the front end down.”

Valentino Rossi will be focussed on securing his third straight premier-class championship in Malaysia. The Italian can clinch the title if he finishes ahead Spaniard Sete Gibernau. Victory or second place would also give Rossi the crown, making him only the eighth rider to win three or more straight titles in the premier class.

The others to have achieved the feat were Great Britain’s Geoff Duke, John Surtees and Mike Hailwood, Italian Giacomo Agostini, Americans Kenny Roberts and Wayne Rainey, and Australian Mick Doohan.

Italian veteran Max Biaggi has hit top form approaching Phillip Island, winning the Pacific GP in Japan last Sunday. Biaggi is third in the championship, ahead of Ducati’s Italian rider Loris Capirossi, with Bayliss fifth – despite being caught in a first-corner pile-up last Sunday that denied him any chance of points.

In the 250cc class, Australia’s latest GP winner, Anthony West, is recovering from an injured ankle which forced him out of last week’s Pacific GP in Japan. He has scored just 14 points in the past four races and will be looking for a good result ahead of him home GP.

The top five 250cc riders still have a chance at the title, but it is San Marino rider Manuel Poggiali who leads the championship by 18 points over Italian Roberto Rolfo.

Australian 125cc star Casey Stoner is just a split second away from his first GP win after his second straight podium in Japan, despite still suffering after fracturing his left wrist in mid-August. Stoner and fellow teenagers, Italian Andrea Dovizioso and San Marino’s Alex De Angelis will be hoping to extend the category’s record of 20 races without a back-to-back winner.

The 125cc championship will be decided in Malaysia if Spaniard Daniel Pedrosa scores 11 points more than his closest challenger, Italian Stefano Perugini.