MotoGP 2003 - Round 14 - Repsol Honda Previews Sepang

With only three races left to reach the end of the 2003 season, the Malaysian round gains special relevance, because some of this season’s titles may be decided in Sepang. After increasing the distance to his rivals at the Pacific GP, Valentino Rossi has good chances to clinch the title of the premier class. After scoring fifty additional points in Motegi and having a total 282 on his account, he has now a fifty-eight point advantage over the second classified, Sete Gibernau with 224 points, followed by Biaggi, third, with 199 points.

Rossi has already been testing twice in Sepang during the preseason and knows the layout very well. His teammate Nicky Hayden, who achieved his best result of the season in Motegi, is eager to ride again on the Malayan circuit, where he also had the possibility to test before his first season on the MotoGP class. Rookie in this class and third in the Pacific Grand Prix after Tamada’s disqualification, Hayden arrives in Malaysia set to get on the podium at least once again before the end of the season. He is seventh in the overall standings, only two points behind the Japanese Ukawa.

In the quarter-litre class, Toni Elias arrives in Sepang with 176 points after his victory in Motegi, shortening the distance to the leader of the class, Manuel Poggiali, to 30 points. His teammate, Fonsi Nieto, fifth with 151 points, will be facing the challenge of reducing the 55 points difference with regard to Poggiali to have a chance to fight for the title. The Argentinean Sebastián Porto, eighth in the overall standings, will keep on trying to get on the podium in Sepang, after crashing out in Motegi. Joan Olivé and Héctor Faubel, will continue with their eagerness to get a place among the top ten.

In the 125 class, Dani Pedrosa is still leading the standings with 198 points, 29 ahead of Stefano Perugini, who after the race in Motegi only managed to get three points closer to the young Repsol rider. Pablo Nieto is fifth with 132 points and Héctor Barberá, after his victory in Motegi, the second of the season, moved-up to the sixth position only 2 points behind his teammate. Both have as their main aim reaching the third place of the standings before the end of the season.

Valentino Rossi: "We tested quite a bit at Sepang and we know the bike is good there. I was very happy in the end with the result of Motegi. At one point it was looking very bad with me in ninth place and Sete in second position. Anyway, we change the situation round and we go to Malaysia in a good position. I like the track very much in Sepang and I want to make a good race and if it is possible I will try for the championship. We tested quite a bit at Sepang and we know the bike is good there – but we fight with Sete for the championship on the same bike so we have no real advantage.”

Nicky Hayden: “Next race can’t come quick enough for me. Everything’s going real well. The bike’s good and the team is working real hard. The last few races have been great and I know now I can run with the fast guys. I’ve ridden Sepang before in testing and I know I can get on pace fast. I just want to get on the box now and feel some champagne. Last year in AMA I won a load of races and had many front row starts; most of those were from pole on the way to winnin’ the championship. I’ve been a long time off the top spot and I feel real close to the front now. There are three races left this season and I’ve been to all the tracks. Can’t wait.”

Fonsi Nieto: “Although the last races didn’t go well, we are in high spirits. We’ve had problems with the settings of the bike that hindered us from riding well lately but we’re working hard to find solutions. Last year I took the pole in this circuit, I also have the circuit record and even won the race. So we’re going to do everything possible to remount. And, obviously, there will be no problem if we have to help Toni to win the Championship. He already helped me last year.”

Toni Elias: “I like this circuit a lot, I enjoy racing here. This layout combines fast and slow corners and long straights. Riding in Sepang is especially amusing because you’re skidding all the time; it’s so hot that the tyres wear out quickly and you have to ride making the tyres slide. With regard to the race, we’ve been following a good line so far and I hope that it will go on like this to have options to take the victory. It will be especially hard because the weather will be very hot and the tyres will wear out quickly, but we’re going to fight to the limit, at least to make things complicated.”

Dani Pedrosa: “We had bad luck in Motegi and the technical problems hindered us from achieving a better result in the race. But that’s already forgotten and now we have to focus on the next race in Sepang and on the remaining races of the Championship. We’re all working very hard to achieve the best possible result and there are still three races left until the end of the season. “

Located around 60 kms from Kuala Lumpur, the modern Sepang circuit is one of the best of the world and also one of the most demanding. Built in 1998 as part of an enormous complex, which also houses a hotel, a golf course, a shopping centre and other sports facilities, the Sepang circuit was built in less than fourteen months and its facilities comply with the highest international standards. Sepang hosted its first Grand Prix in 1999 and it’s been since then part of the World Championship calendar. With five slow left-hand corners and ten right- hand corners, the 5548 m track includes also a subtle chicane allowing to reach very high speeds.

Its eight straights, the longest having a total of 927 m, are particularly favourable to overtaking manoeuvres, thus guaranteeing a great show. The Sepang circuit has a capacity for up to 100,000 spectators, and the double grandstand on the two longest straights of the track allows following the riders’ evolution on the track. Races on the Sepang circuit, with one of the longest layouts of the championship, are usually held under intense heat and high humidity, usual weather conditions in October, adding extra difficulty to the event.