Moto GP

[Rev004]

Another race is luming and with the usual top four pace setters who knows who will win.

I'm suspecting if Rossi can set the pace he set in Qualifying that he will be hard to beat but the race is an entire new ball game.

Here is the report & results from this mornings warm-up as well as some goss from yesterday.

Stoner takes control of warm up
Sunday, 25 October 2009

Casey Stoner was the leading MotoGP rider in the warm up session at Sepang, leading Dani Pedrosa and pole position holder Valentino Rossi.


With a notably cooler track temperature than in qualifying but a higher humidity level to contend with, the MotoGP riders were led around the warm up session by Casey Stoner.

The Australian, who is fourth on the grid after qualifying, set a lap time of 2â€01.655 during the 20-minute session, coming in ahead of Dani Pedrosa, pole position holder Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo.

Pedrosa was 0.277s off Stonerâ€s pace, with Rossi a further 0.139s down and Lorenzo – who had discussed the issue of tyres following qualifying – just over half a second off the Ducati Marlboro riderâ€s pace.

The top four, who are the leading quartet on the grid, were the only riders able to break the 2â€02 barrier.

Andrea Dovizioso, who qualified down in 11th position, was fifth quickest around, with Loris Capirossi, Nicky Hayden, Randy de Puniet, Toni Elías and Colin Edwards also registering top-ten times.

SHELL ADVANCE MALAYSIAN MOTORCYCLE GP

MotoGP Warm Up
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 2'01.408 314.593
2 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 2'01.635 314.227 0.227
3 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 2'01.774 312.228 0.366
4 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 2'01.996 309.455 0.588
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 2'02.195 306.296 0.787
6 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 2'02.286 308.659 0.878
7 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 2'02.299 307.254 0.891
8 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 2'02.372 304.139 0.964
9 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 2'02.540 309.721 1.132
10 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 2'02.543 307.955 1.135
11 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 2'02.849 303.200 1.441
12 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 2'02.958 308.483 1.550
13 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 2'03.005 310.077 1.597
14 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 2'03.248 304.396 1.840
15 44 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Ducati 2'03.819 305.862 2.411
16 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 2'04.092 305.689 2.684
17 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 2'04.299 306.818 2.891

Stoner and Hayden on second and third rows
Saturday, 24 October 2009

Ducati Marlboro riders Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden will start Sundayâ€s race at Sepang in fourth and seventh places respectively on the MotoGP grid.

Factory Ducati pair Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden contemplate starting Sundayâ€s race at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix from the second and third rows of the grid respectively - after a hard-fought qualifying practice at Sepang.

Casey Stoner - 4th
"Iâ€m really disappointed with that session because I know we could and should have been fighting for pole position. I had a much better feeling with the setting at the start of the session but midway through we went to change tyres and after that we suffered from a huge vibration in the bike. We still havenâ€t worked out what it is yet so we need to figure it out and fix it for tomorrow. I tried the softer compound but the chattering was even worse. I swapped to my other bike but we had a different setting in it that I hadnâ€t tried and I didnâ€t feel comfortable. Everything that could go wrong in the crucial second part of the session did go wrong but if we can fix this problem then weâ€ll be in good shape for tomorrow. Anyway Iâ€m happy with my pace in race conditions and I look forward to tomorrow.”
Nicky Hayden – 7th
“I didnâ€t actually make as big a step this afternoon as I had hoped from the morning session. On race tyres in the hotter temperature it was certainly tough and I was struggling a little bit. We had a couple of problems during the session but in the end I was able to find one good lap to get me into a respectable grid position, very close to the second row. Iâ€m not too happy with my race pace – weâ€re missing a few tenths and we have some work to do tonight to try and find where we can make them up. Iâ€m never really happy with seventh place but to be honest today it was a pleasant surprise because it could have been much worse off than that if we were just a few tenths slower. Weâ€ve got a big job to do tomorrow. 22 laps around here when your race pace isnâ€t perfect is certainly not easy but thatâ€s what we train for. Hopefully we can improve in the warm-up, get a good start and weâ€ll see what we've got.”

Former champion Crivillà backs Rossi
Saturday, 24 October 2009

Former premier class champion Àlex Crivillà believes Valentino Rossi is perfectly placed to wrap up the 2009 MotoGP World Championship in Sepang.

As an ever-present on the MotoGP circuit with Spanish national broadcaster TVE in his role as part of their commentary team, former 500cc World Champion Àlex Crivillà is backing Valentino Rossi to win this weekendâ€s race in Sepang and clinch the world title.

Ten years on from securing his own world title, Crivillà has told motogp.com that while Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner cannot be written off, Rossi is his pick for the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

You might want to compare your thoughts with those of the 1999 World Champion before making your round 16 predictions in the Fantasy MotoGP 2009 game.

“After Jorgeâ€s error in Australia last week, Rossi has a really good advantage in the title race. He also loves riding here at Sepang, and is in pole position so it looks like he has everything under control. He only needs to come in the top four, even if Jorge wins the race, so I think the title looks pretty sure,” Crivillà told motogp.com.

“However, anything could really happen in the race. We have a magnificent four and it should be a fantastic race. There could be some surprises in the race in terms of times, but Rossi has broken the pole record so youâ€d think he has the best chance of winning the race. I donâ€t think Lorenzo is in a bad position, and Pedrosa and Stoner are quite close too. Any of the four could win, but Iâ€m going for Rossi.”

Contrasting fortunes for Repsol Honda pair
Saturday, 24 October 2009

Dani Pedrosa is on the front row for Sundayâ€s race at Sepang, whereas his factory Honda colleague Andrea Dovizioso has qualified down in 11th place.

In the sweltering heat of Sepang on Saturday Dani Pedrosa put his Repsol Honda RC212V on the front row of the grid for the ninth time this season, securing third place in qualifying at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix with a best effort of 2â€01.254.

Meanwhile, Andrea Dovizioso will be dependent on an excellent start from 11th on the grid if he is to repeat his podium finish from last yearâ€s race.

Dani Pedrosa – 3rd
“Iâ€m happy to be on the front row again because, as always, this gives you a clear getaway when the start lights go out. I think weâ€ve got a good machine setting for the race tomorrow and we just need to adjust it a little bit during the warm up. At the end of the qualifying session I didn't make a very good job of it with the last soft Bridgestone tyre so my laptime doesnâ€t reflect our full potential this afternoon. First I made a couple of mistakes and then I had some traffic which caused me to lose a little bit of the concentration you need to go at maximum pace at this moment. Anyway, Iâ€m happy to be on the front row again. It will be a very tough race, very demanding for sure, but we always look for the win and we will give all we have to make it happen. I'm very motivated for this race.”
Andrea Dovizioso – 11th
“In this morningâ€s practice we were in fifth place and my pace in race trim is not too bad so, even though Iâ€ll be starting from the fourth row, Iâ€m still hopeful for tomorrowâ€s race. Of course Iâ€m disappointed to be in 11th because this is a track I really like, so a good start tomorrow is going to be essential. The track conditions gave less grip this afternoon compared to this morning and I wasnâ€t able to improve my laptime with the soft tyres - in fact I was faster this morning. My rhythm with the race tyre is OK, but starting from the fourth row could spoil the race. Weâ€ve worked on traction control settings again today and this will be useful for when the tyres go off in the race - but it doesnâ€t help to achieve an outright fast lap on for qualifying. Itâ€s not the qualifying result we wanted and tomorrow is going to be tough, but weâ€ll focus on getting off the line quickly and see what we can do in the race.”

Capirossi intending to fight with top four
Saturday, 24 October 2009

Fifth place on the starting grid for Sundayâ€s Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix is a timely boost for Loris Capirossi.


Rizla Suzuki rider Loris Capirossi will start Sundayâ€s race at Sepang on the second row of the grid, and is looking to battle with the top four.

With Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner starting ahead of him on the Sepang grid, Capirossi knows he has the best possible chance of dicing with the championshipâ€s leading four.

The veteranâ€s best qualifying position since Mugello in May also offers him an improved chance of securing his 100th podium finish in Sundayâ€s race, at a circuit he takes pleasure in tackling.

“I really enjoy riding here but we had struggled a lot on the bike until this morning,” said the Italian following Saturdayâ€s qualifying practice. “In the afternoon we changed the setting though and managed to go faster, so I think itâ€s a good qualifying result for me in fifth place today. I am really optimistic for Sunday and I have my fingers crossed that the engine will work well for the race.”

Capirossi is also pleased with how his GSV-R is feeling, and he added, “I am pretty settled on the setting and I donâ€t think there is too much more to do in the warm-up. We might make some small adjustments to our traction control but not too much. For us to be fighting with the top four guys would be good.”

Lorenzo ready to up the pace
Saturday, 24 October 2009

Jorge Lorenzo knows he will need to improve on his qualifying pace to stand a chance of challenging for a race win at Sepang.


Having qualified in second place for Sundayâ€s Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix, Jorge Lorenzo knows that he will need to improve his pace on hard tyres.

Lorenzo struggled in the Saturday morning practice and at the start of qualifying, spending much of both sessions outside the top four, before a change to softer Bridgestone tyres allowed him to record his lap of 2â€01.087 which secured second on the grid.

At over half a second off Rossi – who set a new pole position lap record – Lorenzo is aware that the race pace will be demanding on his tyres.

“This practice for us was not so easy, we struggled a lot with the hard tyre but fortunately at the end of the practice with the soft one we made a big step forward and we were able to finish second,” said the Spaniard. “I think it will be important to improve our pace with the hard tyre if we want a good result on Sunday, but we are still not ready so we have to fight. It will be difficult because we just did a fast lap on soft tyres and the race pace will be 2â€01.5.”

Lorenzo continued, “The conditions are basically the same as yesterday so I can't blame them, but we just don't have the same levels of grip and confidence that we had before and it's hard to understand why. Now we all need to study the data and work out what we can do for the warm-up tomorrow. I am happy that we were able to be back on the front row as this will be important, now we will just try our best to be in better shape for the race. It wonâ€t be the easiest race for us in theory but it is still possible to win.”