After the fresh conditions of Phillip Island two weeks ago, the premier class men are now set for the wearying cauldron that is Sepang in mid-October. With temperatures nudging 40-degrees and with a humidity factor around 80%, this is never a place for the frail in body. But the vast body of riders have huge experience of this long, fast track through the amount of testing performed here at the back-end of each season and during the shakedown tests at the beginning of each year too. The 5.548km Sepang track has two long straights, fast open turns, one left/right flick, and a tight left turn onto the start/finish straight. Hard braking at the end of the two straights requires a stable set-up while sheer power and a high top speed are at a premium too. The wide (25m) track offers plenty of overtaking opportunities through its ten right-hand turns and five lefts. In short it has everything (barring extreme gradient) to challenge a rider and for this reason it is commands huge respect from all competitors. It also usually provides top class racing. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) finished third here last year on his way to runner-up position in the World Championship. He also set the pole time and feels comfortable here despite the fall in pre-season testing that injured his right hand. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) in what will be his penultimate race for Honda is another man itching to finish his season in style. The 2006 World Champion has got stronger as this season has progressed and the amiable American would like nothing more than a swansong win here. Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V), one of the rookie revelations of 2008, and who will step up to the factory team for 2009, is a man who enjoys the speed and technical challenges of Sepang. He can be expected to give another excellent account of himself here. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) arrives here off the back of a strong qualifying performance in Australia where he headed row two. Another effort like that and a bit more luck in the race and the popular Frenchman is more than capable of a showcase race at the end of the season. Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) has made a big impression in his rookie year, the San Marinese man notching two fourth places in his debut season. Already signed with the Gresini squad for 2009, he has a stable team environment from which to launch a bid for a fine finish here. Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) rode to a hard-fought fifth two weeks ago and the seasoned campaigner would like nothing more than another top six finish this weekend. Perhaps even better”¦ Dani said: “We were not so lucky at Phillip Island, sometimes you have some bad luck in racing, but already we are looking forward to Malaysia where I am determined to make up for the mistake I made in the last race. I had a very good feeling at Sepang in pre-season testing before the crash. I had a good pace from the beginning and I hope to start this weekend in the best way with the new bike and tyres. I’ve got still some pain from the accident, my left knee is a bit swollen, but I hope I will soon be in perfect condition. The track has a lot of different corners and sections, so the riding style you use is quite varied. It is a physically demanding track because of the heat.” Nicky said: “The last few races have been a lot of fun and made me pretty happy. Just need to keep it rolling! No one can say they say they don’t know Sepang, it seems like we spend half the year there. Last year we did three tests and a race there, so the nearby airport hotel is like your second home. Sepang is a great track. I like it, our bike has been running good, and you need a bike that’s running fast here. The track has got a little bit of everything: some hard braking, some pretty quick corners like turns five and six. I think that’s why we test there so much, you can’t fake it there because both the bike and the rider have got to be able to do everything pretty good.” Dovi said: “Sepang is a very nice circuit, and I enjoy the Malaysia track very much. With the MotoGP bike it’s really fun. The two straights are characteristic of the track, which requires a high performance engine. I’ve already done tests here before the Championship started, so I know what I will encounter and how to address this weekend, which even with our technical package will be challenging. Let’s hope we can aim for the good result which we deserve.” De Puniet said: “Things will go my way soon. I’ll keep putting in the effort with the team and make sure I qualify well. Then, in the race, if I can stay out of trouble and get a good start I know I can get the result the team deserves. There are only two more races left and I want a good finish more than ever.” Nakano said: “We all know Sepang really well because we do so much testing here in the winter. The technical package I have is different to what we tested with so we’ll need a bit of time to find the right setting but, as I say, we know the place well so I’m sure we’ll quickly find a good balance. Sepang features a lot of technical sections good traction is a very important factor. Track temperatures are usually very high so tyre choice for the race is always fundamental. After finishing fifth at Phillip Island it would be nice to be in the top six again. If we can start practice out on the right foot then that kind of result is definitely within our reach.” His team-mate De Angelis said: “Sepang represents another difficult challenge for us because it has two long straights where horsepower plays a crucial role. On top of that, during the winter tests there we struggled with chatter problems but over the course of the season we have done a lot of work on the set-up of the bike and with the Bridgestone tyres so I’m sure the situation will be much improved compared to the last time we rode there. I always went well in Malaysia in the 250cc class and I’ve finished on the podium there several times, so I think I can also do a good job in MotoGP.” 250cc The one remaining World Championship yet to be decided has been producing increasingly exciting racing as the season concludes. Marco Simoncelli leads Alvaro Bautista (both Aprilia) by 37 points with two races and 50 points remaining. Italian Simoncelli is the form rider with two wins from pole in the last two races but the persistent Bautista is not a rider to throw away a chance of chasing his rival all the way to the final lap of the final race, no matter how slim the odds may be. Honda men Yuki Takahashi (JiR Scot Honda RS250RW) and Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT SAG RS250RW) will be going all out to finish their seasons in style. Takahashi graduates to the MotoGP class next year and wants to sign off from 250s in style, while for Wilairot, Sepang is a ‘home’ race for the hugely popular Thai pilot. Takahashi said: “The last two years I’ve had good results here, but this year I’d like to do better. The two long straights don’t exactly favour our motorcycle, but maybe we could get another good result. This year, along with the team, we have always done a good job and I would like to continue to do so to conclude this season in the best possible way.” Wilairot said: “I know the Malaysian circuit is technical and very complicated because of the high temperatures and humidity, but this weekend I want to make up for the Australian Grand Prix where I made a bad start. This is what determined that final result and I want to get our best result of the year here on Sunday.” 125cc Mike Di Meglio (Derbi) has already been crowned World 125cc Champion for 2008 but things are very different for his fellow countryman Cyril Carrillo (FFM Racing Honda RS125R). Carrillo knows that his team is disbanding after these last two races and his future in the class is at present uncertain. With just two races to go to make an impression on other teams, Cyril knows he has limited opportunities, but after a creditable 18th place finish in Australia, two more strong rides in a fiercely competitive class can only help. He said: “I’ve got nothing to lose in these last two races. I’ll go out and ride as hard as ever and see if I can improve my qualifying and improve on my race places too. The team will be working as hard as they can and so will I. I want to prove I can make it in Grand Prix racing.”