PREVIEW – MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX - SEPANG
CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM LOOK TO END DRAMATIC SEASON ON
A HIGH
One of the closest MotoGP World Championships in history
heads into its final stage this weekend as the series heads
out to Malaysia for the first of a five-race spell across
three continents. Races at Sepang, Phillip Island (Australia),
Motegi (Japan), Estoril (Portugal) and Valencia (Spain), will
decide the destiny of a title which for the past five seasons
has been lifted by Yamaha superstar Valentino Rossi. For the
Italian to retain that honour he must turn around a 38-point
deficit to current leader Nicky Hayden (Honda), although no
fewer than nine riders still have the mathematical odds to
take the title.
Rossi’s chances were given a huge boost at the last
round three weeks ago in Brno, where a second place finish
combined with ninth for Hayden saw the gap between the pair
slashed by thirteen points. That race went down as the closest
top-15 finish of all time in the sport, strengthening this
season’s reputation as the toughest ever and highlighting
the number of points to be won and lost over the remaining
five events.
Brno also witnessed Rossi's 87th appearance on the podium
in the premier class and another top-three finish in Malaysia
would equal Giacomo Agostini’s tally of 88 – a
record bettered only by Mick Doohan. Rossi has finished on
the podium at Sepang for the last five years, including a
memorable victory for Yamaha in 2004 and a title- clinching
second place behind Loris Capirossi (Ducati) last season.
Colin Edwards says that his target for the remaining five
races is to assist Rossi’s title quest in any way he
can whilst turning a consistent run of points-scoring finishes
into at least a string of podiums. Tenth place in the last
round at Brno was the 33rd successive race at which he has
scored points – a MotoGP record again bettered only
by Doohan on 37 – but the Texan’s goal is a return
to the potentially winning form he showed earlier in the season.
VALENTINO ROSSI: ONE OF MY FAVOURITES
Valentino Rossi is predicting a repeat of last year’s
tough battle with fellow Italian Loris Capirossi this weekend
as he looks to get one over on his compatriot after another
memorable duel between the pair at Brno. The Yamaha man cites
Sepang as one of his favourite tracks and he is hopeful that
recent developments with the 990cc M1 machine will make it
equally inclined towards the Malaysian venue.
“As everyone knows, Sepang is one of my favourite tracks
and it’s always great fun to ride the M1 there,”
says Rossi. “We made some really good progress in Brno
so hopefully everything will work well from Friday morning
and we can fight at the top all weekend. Last year Loris was
incredibly strong in Sepang, similar to how he was two weeks
ago in Brno and I am sure that this will be the case again
this time!
“This time I can’t win the title in Malaysia
so our aim once again is to finish on the podium and take
as many points as possible in order to stay in the fight.
These three races in a row are going be very important and
at the end of them the championship could be much clearer.
It’s always hard work, with a lot of flying and time
changes in a short amount of time, but we will stay focused
and do the best we can!”
COLIN EDWARDS: NO LOOKING BACK
Colin Edwards, who lives in his hometown of Conroe, Texas,
is used to long haul trips and is undaunted by the demands
of three ‘flyaway’ races in as many weekends.
The 32 year old insists that thoughts of a poor run of form
over the summer are now firmly behind him as he simply concentrates
on a grandstand finish to his season over the final five races.
“Things really haven’t gone to plan lately and
I think it’s fair to say that I hoped to be in a better
situation going into the final run of races,” admits
Edwards. “But there’s no point dwelling on the
past - we made some positive steps at the test in Brno so
we’ll see if that helps. We discovered last year that
what works in Brno doesn’t necessarily work everywhere
else but we definitely understand the bike better after that
test so hopefully we will be in a better position come Friday
morning in Sepang.
“I really like the Sepang track and then Phillip Island
is one of my all-time favourites, so I am definitely looking
forward to these races. We have two aims – one is to
keep working with the team to find the best bike in order
to give Valentino the tools to win the title, and the other
is to get some good results and get on the podium. Three ‘flyaway’
races in a row is always intense, but I am feeling ready for
the challenge!”
VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION
Age: 27
Lives: London, UK
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
GP victories: 83 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia,
1996 (125cc) GP starts: 168 (109 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc,
30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 42 World Championships –
7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc,
4 x MotoGP)
COLIN EDWARDS: INFORMATION
Age: 32
Lives: Conroe, Texas
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP)
GP starts: 60 x MotoGP
World Championships - 2 World Superbike
DAVIDE BRIVIO: THE FINAL PUSH
Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is asking for one
final effort from his team over the next two months as they
cling on to the slim possibility of defending the crown they
have won with Rossi for the past two seasons. The complicated
logistics of five races across three continents always puts
a further burden on every member of staff but Brivio is confident
their extra exertions will once again be rewarded by results
on the track.
“After a very long and hard season, this is the start
of the final ‘push’ for everyone and I know that
the riders, the team and everyone involved will give 100%
through these final two months,” explains Brivio. “After
Brno we did two days testing, and these were extremely important
for the final few races. We tried a lot of new things and
made some big steps forward with the setting and we got some
very important information from our riders, which we hope
will help us to remain at a competitive level until the end
of the season.
“Our number one aim now is to give Valentino the means
to stay in the running for the championship title, and then
we will see what the situation is in Valencia. We hope that
the Brno test has also given Colin plenty of confidence and
we hope to see him getting some good results now and ending
the season on a high. Sepang and Phillip Island especially
are favourite tracks of both riders so hopefully these races
will be good to us!”
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: SEPANG ACCORDING TO JEREMY
BURGESS
Sepang is one of the widest tracks on the calendar, measuring
16 metres across in some areas, and always features high track
temperatures in the tropical climate. Races can be won and
lost due to the ability of machinery to hold a line during
turn-in at several points of hard braking. With four major
hairpins, and some fast and frequent changes of direction
in its 5542m layout, Sepang provides a stern workout for the
entire bike set-up and its largely predictable, if demanding,
climate makes it the ideal winter testing venue.
“With the exception of Brno we have been to some tight
and fiddly tracks recently but I would call Sepang a ‘real’
Grand Prix circuit,” explains Jeremy Burgess, Valentino
Rossi’s Crew Chief. “Sepang is a great test track
because it has a bit of everything – from two points
that are fast enough for the riders to take in sixth gear
to some tight and twisty first gear corners. As far as the
corners are concerned there are some you accelerate through,
some you stop at, areas where you are braking from high speeds
– basically every area of the bike gets a workout.
“Last year we got caught out on tyres but we put a
lot of laps in during the winter tests and over the last couple
of races this is an area we have focused on. A good front-end
set-up is also crucial at Sepang because there are lots of
points where the riders are braking at full lean, so they
need full confidence to know that the front won’t tuck.
The heat is also an important factor and the rider must be
careful not to push the tyres too early.”
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Pole position left
Length: 5.548 m
Width: 25 m
Right corners: 10
Left corners: 5
Constructed: 1998
Sepang Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005, 2’02.993
Sepang Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005, 2’01.731
2005 Malaysian Grand Prix Results:
1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 43’27.523
2. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, +1.999
3. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati, +2.069
10. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, +22.275
|
