MotoGP 2003 - Round 14 - Sepang

Team Suzuki will field two riders instead of three at Sunday s Malaysian GP, after the controversial disqualification of team regular John Hopkins from the 14th of 16 World Championship rounds.

The 990cc GSV-R machines will be ridden by Hopkins s regular team-mate Kenny Roberts Jr., the 2000 World Champion, and factory tester Akira Ryo. Ryo had already been entered as a wild card before the surprise decision to cut Hopkins from the race after the previous Sunday s Pacific GP at Motegi in Japan.

Ryo (37, from Tokyo) will again be racing the development version of the V4 racer, with experimental parts and settings engine, suspension and chassis. The outward evidence is a different exhaust system, with the tailpipe on the left of the bike rather than the right. The internal changes take the technically adventurous machine a step closer to achieving the full potential of the cutting edge design. Ryo finished tenth at the Motegi race, ahead of 15th-placed Roberts, both riders scoring World Championship points.

Roberts, a double race winner at the showpiece Sepang circuit south of the capital Kuala Lumpur, will be racing the same machine he rode at Motegi the stock chassis with upgraded engine parts, also part of the factory racing department s fast-forward programme of development.

The Malaysian circuit is a demanding test of man and machine, combining complex sweeping curves with slow hairpins linked by straights. The bends test riding skill and chassis integrity, the drag-strip straights put the emphasis onto sheer horsepower. The weather is another factor: with blazing heat and energy-sapping humidity the default, and the ever-present threat of tropical rain.

This combination of tough conditions makes the Sepang circuit a popular testing venue, and it was here that the Suzuki riders made first acquaintance with the second-generation 2003 GSV-R racer at the start of the year.

We re coming towards the end of what turned out to be a difficult season, said team manager Garry Taylor. Top placings have eluded the GSV-R, although team and factory race-department engineers have worked tirelessly at finding the right combination to unleash its full potential. The V4 uses experimental technology, with the inevitable teething problems.

We measured a distinct step forward at the last round at Motegi. As well as improvements to the engine for the regular riders, the improved performance of Ryo-San s development machine showed that things are moving in the right direction. Obviously now we are looking towards incorporating all these lessons into next year s machine, continued Taylor. We hope to continue that positive progress at Sepang.

Unfortunately, due to what we felt was a very harsh ruling by the racing authorities, we will have to do so without the input of John. He has been very severely punished for the sort of incident that is normally accepted as part and parcel for the sport.

We protested the original decision by Race Direction to the FIM stewards, but unfortunately were not successful. We have to accept the officials authority, but it was a very surprising and disappointing outcome.

Hopkins was the second of two riders disqualified at Motegi. The first was third-placed finisher Makoto Tamada, penalised after a strong outbraking move on the last lap ended with the other rider, Sete Gibernau, running off the track. Hopkins s disqualification came later, as punishment for a self-admitted error of judgement after the start saw him run too fast into the first corner. He collided with another rider, Carlos Checa, and as both fell a third rider, Troy Bayliss, also crashed out.

Hopkins was quick to apologise profusely to all concerned, and it was generally accepted as the sort of incident that can happen on a regular basis. However, race authorities decided to make an example of Hopkins, and later that evening he was disqualified from the Malaysian GP.

The Malaysian race is the second in a trio of back-to-back flyaway races, one week after the Pacific GP at Motegi in Japan, and followed directly by the Australian GP at Phillip Island. Hopkins will be back in action in Australia. There is one more race in Spain a fortnight later to conclude the season.

KENNY ROBERTS KEEP ON WORKING - "I've won twice in Malaysia, and it s hard for me to go there now knowing that we don't have a real chance unless rain or another change in conditions turns the race our way. We did have some improvements in Japan, and we'll be working on taking those a step further."

AKIRA RYO NEW BIKE MAKES NEW RULES - "My last race was at Sepang last year, and since then I ve been working as a tester. I have no idea what it will be like this year. The latest development bike is quite different, and though I could push at Motegi, it will be a new experience at Malaysia. Still, I like to test it at all different sorts of circuits, and the information all helps with development."

JOHN HOPKINS A NORMAL INCIDENT - "I took the blame for the Motegi incident, and apologised deeply to the other riders involved. Two out of the three said it was a normal racing incident, and that they d made similar mistakes. I was amazed and angry when I was disqualified. I ve never heard of that happening before, after one racing mistake. I don't expect to stay for the Malaysian race. I d rather go to Australia to prepare for that race. I'm very grateful for all the support I've had from other riders and teams."

The first Malaysian GP was held in 1991, at the Shah Alam circuit on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur and since then it has become a firm fixture on the calendar. Shah Alam remained its home until 1997, but while the technical track was interesting facilities were poor, and in 1998 it moved for one year to Johor, in the south of the Malaysian peninsula. Thhe fine new Sepang circuit was soon to be constructed on a newly developed site close to the new Kuala Lumpur international airport, some way outside the city. The circuit was inaugurated with the motorcycle GP in 1999, and has since then also become a highly regarded F1 venue as well as regular home to the motorcycle GP, and a popular testing venue.

The huge glass-clad pit buildings and arched-roof grandstands are the first striking thing about the Sepang circuit, where no expense was spared to provide ultra-modern facilities for a world-class racing venue. Nothing was stinted for the circuit either, which was laid out round an unfashionably long lap of 3.447 miles (5.548km), making it one of the longer circuits on the motorcycle calendar. A technically interesting layout comprises mainly medium-speed bends, with the lap finishing with a pair of straights running up and down the vast doubler-sided grandstand, linked with a crucial last hairpin bend.