Penultimate round for KONICA MINOLTA Honda in Malaysia KONICA MINOLTA Honda and Shinya Nakano are heading to Malaysia for this weekend’s penultimate MotoGP race of 2007 at the Sepang race circuit. After the cool conditions of Phillip Island, the conditions at Sepang MotoGP’s only tropical racetrack are normally very different. Track temperature can be around the 50-degree mark, making tyre choice crucial for a good result in qualifying and the race. The 3.447-mile circuit is a wide, modern track, designed by Hermann Tilke, who also designed the Bahrain, Turkish and Shanghai circuits. The track itself is built on the site of a former swamp, and was completed in time for its first race in December 1998. Unlike Phillip Island, there are no gradients, but instead there are two main straights where top speeds approach almost 180mph. Gianluca Montiron Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Malaysia is well known to us. We tested there during the winter and I think the machine has made a big step forward compared since then and so have the Michelin tyres so for this reason I expect to see some much better lap times from Shinya. We are very close now to the end of the season so we are aiming at our best results of the year from these last two races. Sepang is a nice track and we have plenty of data from the winter test so we should be able to work through any problem we may have. For this reason I expect Shinya to be very aggressive as we reach the close of the championship. He really needs a good result and we really need a good finish before the end of the year and so I think this could be the place for Shinya to push hard and show his potential.” Shinya Nakano Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “I enjoy the Sepang track very much and I and the other riders know it well, because we go there often during the winter tests. It’s almost home as it’s part of Asia so that also makes it special for me. I know the track well and I know each and every corner. Because of this, we know what problems we’ve had there before so that helps and it means we can concentrate on getting a good set-up from first practice. I’ve had some good memories at Sepang, including a 4th place finish in 2001, and we all know that we’ve only got these last two races to fulfil our potential and get some good results.” Giulio Bernardelle Technical Director, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Malaysia is almost completely the opposite to Phillip Island where we’ve just come from. The weather conditions are completely different, hotter and more humid, but also the track is completely different. At Sepang you have none of the hills and gradients that you have at Phillip Island. It’s a flat, but very wide circuit making the asphalt itself very different to the Australian track. We have tested here in the winter, but with the machine’s developments we could find our data from winter may not help us much. We will hopefully continue with the improvements in qualifying and practice and hopefully get a set-up that will give Shinya a good rhythm for the race and do our best.”