PREVIEW / GRAND PRIX OF MALAYSIA
JORGE LORENZO READY TO TACKLE FIRST CHAPTER IN DECISIVE
SEASON FINALE
Jorge Lorenzo heads into the decisive stage of the 250cc
World Championship as the series leader with a seven-point
advantage over Italy’s Andrea Dovizioso. The Fortuna
Aprilia rider, with six victories to his name so far this
season, takes his title quest to Sepang (Malaysia), Phillip
Island (Australia) and Motegi (Japan), before returning to
Europe to close out the calendar at Estoril (Portugal) and
Ricardo Tormo - Comunitat Valenciana (Spain). Lorenzo has
sat atop the standings for the past two races after a brilliant
comeback leading up to the summer break and now looks set
for a head-to-head with Dovizioso given that third-placed
rider Yuki Takahashi (Honda) is some 66 points behind. Finding
a good set-up for the Malaysian circuit will be key to the
race where getting things right is just as important as avoiding
mistakes. Héctor Barberá, meanwhile, is confident
of improving on his performance at the recent Czech Republic
race, where he again suffered from front-end set-up problems
with his Aprilia RSW250. The Spaniard is targeting another
podium as he looks to build on seventh place in the overall
standings.
JORGE LORENZO, 1st (199 points)
“This is the decisive stage of the season and there
is no room for errors. We have to play our cards right and
be intelligent. The gap in the championship is small, only
seven points, but it is always better to be on top than chasing
the leader, as I was a couple of months ago. We have to work
hard from the first session in order to get a good set-up
and then plan carefully for the race. Sepang is a long and
difficult track with a twisty section and two very long straights,
which means finding a compromise with the bike so that it
is competitive at every point on the track. If we achieve
that then we can be competitive and aim for the top.”
HECTOR BARBERÁ, 7th (111 points)
“At Brno I wasn’t at the level I World have liked
and I hope to put that firmly behind me over the upcoming
races. My plan is to take things race by race and get on the
podium as many times as possible. Hopefully I can find a solution
to the problems I’ve had with the front end, which has
been making things difficult for me since the start of the
season. The bike is fast but I can’t control it in the
corners as well as I would like. I like the circuits that
are coming up but things always go better in the race if you
have found a set-up quickly in practice.”
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