As the World Championship participants arrived at the Sepang circuit for the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix there was some typically hot weather on Thursday morning welcoming them to town, with a torrential downpour drenching the paddock in the afternoon. In contrast to the cool, fresh conditions of Phillip Island last time out, the MotoGP paddock had hot, sticky weather to acclimatise to in the morning (30°C heat and 83% humidity as of 10am local time) as final preparations took place ahead of the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The on-track action at the penultimate round of the season commences at the normal time of 9am on Friday, but first there was time for some build-up at the South East Asian circuit on Thursday, with a tropical storm arriving in the early afternoon as is typical in Malaysia at this time of year a factor which could affect this weekend’s racing. Traditional Malaysian dancers in full costume with typical local musical instruments brought some extra colour to the paddock, although such was the level of precipitation they had to stick close to the pit-boxes for shelter as they invited riders to try out a popular local game called `sepak takraw´ – which involves a group of people standing in a circle taking turns to balance a small rattan ball with their feet. The more serious business of the official pre-event press conference took place in the customary 4pm slot, with Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) joined by Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro), Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda), James Toseland (Tech3 Yamaha) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) in the state-of-the-art Sepang media centre. 2008 World Champion Rossi commented, ‘Although I clinched the title in Japan I still want to be competitive at every round and these last two races are really important for me. I did some crucial tests on my new Bridgestone tyres here in the winter but the settings I use have changed a lot since then so it will still be a tough weekend. The weather could play a big part here and even though this is a difficult track it is always a pleasure to ride.’