The 2010 MotoGP title could be decided this weekend at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix with Jorge Lorenzo primed to take his third World Championship crown his first in the premier class. The Fiat Yamaha rider goes into Round 15 at Sepang with a 69-point advantage over Dani Pedrosa – the only man who can stop him from being proclaimed Champion – but the Repsol Honda rider’s participation is in serious doubt after he fractured a collarbone in a practice session crash in Japan last weekend. This will be the 20th GP event to be held in Malaysia with Sepang the venue since 1999. It was there that Lorenzo sealed his 2007 250cc title, and a fantastic display in last year’s race saw him rocket up the order to finish fourth having started from the back of the grid due to technical problems. Having taken 12 podiums from the 14 rounds so far (including seven victories) Lorenzo’s form this season has taken him to the brink of accomplishing a lifelong ambition, and a range of results this weekend would proclaim him 2010 MotoGP World Champion with three rounds to spare. Pedrosa was only released from hospital in Barcelona on Monday following a successful operation to insert a titanium plate into his left collarbone, and confirmation on whether he will ride is yet to be given. Updates will be posted on motogp.com as soon as news on the 24 year-old’s plans are released by his team. For Casey Stoner the season has taken a massive step forward in the last two rounds with the Australian taking his first two victories of the campaign at Aragón and Motegi. The Ducati rider has a solid record at Sepang too having won last year and in his title-winning season of 2007, and he still has a chance of finishing the season in second position overall. Andrea Dovizioso made a return to the podium in Japan and the Repsol Honda rider, who started from pole at Motegi for the first time in MotoGP, took his first premier-class podium at Sepang in 2008. Just three points behind him in the Championship is the most successful rider at the Sepang circuit Valentino Rossi. The reigning World Champion secured last year’s title there with a podium finish and has won five times at the circuit. Lying in sixth position is Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) whose only previous experience of the track is the pre-season tests, but the rookie’s ability to learn new venues well over a weekend has been repeatedly proven this season. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) has finished fourth at Sepang on five occasions and is looking for a second podium finish of the campaign. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) are separated by just nine points from eighth to tenth positions in the Championship as they all prepare to mount strong finishes to their respective campaigns. Moto2 The first-ever Moto2 World Championship crown could be claimed by Toni Elías as the Gresini Racing rider sets his sights on what would be his first title. Elías has an 81-point advantage over Julián Simón in the standings, and his fellow Spaniard is the only rider who can prevent him from taking the title. A top-three result in Malaysia for Elías regardless of Simón’s result would see him crowned as Champion with three rounds to spare. Elías has a good record at the track having taken three podiums there in the former 250cc class, including a victory. Simón has winning form there as well however, and the Mapfre Aspar rider’s is more recent with him taking a win in the 125cc category last season on his way to the title. Both riders are filled with confidence, Elías after achieving his seventh win of the season at Motegi in the previous round and Simón having taken a fourth consecutive second place. The latter will be desperate for his first win of 2010 this weekend and such a result would mean Elías would need to finish second to take the title at this round. In third position in the standings Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up) has his sights on Simón and will be keen to recover from what was a difficult Motegi race in which he placed 13th. The Italian’s best result at Sepang was eighth in last year’s 125cc race, and he started from pole in the category two years ago. Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki) is nine points behind in fourth and still in search of a first win in the class, and won at Sepang on his way to the 125cc title in 2005. Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2) is fifth in the standings, with Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up) and Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing) separated by a single point in sixth and seventh. The Hungarian has twice won at Sepang, both victories coming in the 125cc class in 2007 (when he won the title) and 2008. Other riders looking for strong results will be Karel Abraham (Cardion ab Motoracing) who became only the second Czech rider to finish on the podium in the intermediate category with third place at Motegi, which was his first World Championship rostrum finish. Scott Redding (Marc VDS) also continued his solid progress with fifth place in Japan, having started from the front row for the fourth consecutive race. Joining the Moto2 field as a wild card will be home representative Mohamad Zamri Baba, riding for Moriwaki Racing. 125cc The pace refuses to ease off in the 125cc category and Malaysia provides the next step in what has been a close chase for the title throughout the campaign. With just 13 points currently separating Championship leader Nico Terol, Marc Márquez and Pol Espargaró the margin for error is practically non-existent in the final four rounds. With victory last time out in Japan his seventh of the season Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) closed the gap on Terol to six points, but the Bancaja Aspar rider’s consistency this year has seen him only finish off the podium once in the races he has started. Second at Motegi maintained his position at the head of the standings. Terol’s best previous result at Sepang was fifth last year, whilst Márquez’s two previous outings there have brought little luck for the 17 year-old who has not finished a race at the Malaysian track. Espargaró (Tuenti Racing), who was fourth in Japan, placed third last season in the Malaysian round and will be looking to close up the gap to Terol in what is a tense Championship. In fourth position Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar) has recorded back-to-back podiums in the previous two rounds and has the best record of any of the current 125cc riders at the Sepang circuit. Second place in the last two seasons mean the Brit will be confident, especially given that none of the riders currently competing in the category have won a GP race in Malaysia prior to this weekend. He remains 55 points adrift of Espargaró in the standings. Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo), Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) and Efrén Vázquez (Tuenti Racing) occupy positions fifth to seventh, whilst home rider Khairuddin Zulfahmi (AirAsia – Sepang International Circuit Team) will be eager to record a season’s best result in front of his home fans. British rider Danny Kent and Italian Tommaso Gabrielli will continue as substitutes for the Lambretta Reparto Corse and Ongetta Team set-ups respectively. The Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix gets underway at 12.40pm local time on Friday with the start of the first 125cc practice session. More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP SHOT FOR LORENZO AS MOTOGP HEADS TO SEPANG. MotoGP moves south this week for the second leg of its eastern flyaway tour at Sepang in Malaysia. After the exciting battle between Rossi and Lorenzo on Sunday in Japan, this race presents the first championship ‘match-point’ for Jorge Lorenzo, who can seal his maiden premier-class title this Sunday. Lorenzo lost out narrowly to his team-mate at Motegi and finished off the podium for only the second time this season, but his focus lies entirely with the championship and he knows he needs just a handful of points on Sunday to become 2010 MotoGP World Champion. His only title rival, Dani Pedrosa, is almost certain to miss the race while he recovers from surgery on his collar-bone and if so Lorenzo will need just six points on Sunday to fulfil his dream. The 23-year-old is a fan of the fast and flowing track, where he clin ched his second 250cc title in 2007. Last year at Sepang a sighting lap problem forced him to start from the back but he charged through the field to finish fourth, overtaking 12 riders on his way. Motegi saw a resurgent Rossi back on the podium after the close-fought battle with his team-mate and he is hoping that Sepang will be just as kind to his shoulder, which caused him much less trouble than expected in Japan. He was delighted to find that he and his crew had also made some effective steps forward with their setting and the current World Champion is hopeful of being able to finish the season in fighting form. Rossi has a love affair with the Sepang track which has seen him take five wins and the Italian names it as one of his very favourite tracks, along with Phillip Island. He has twice won the title for Yamaha there, in 2007 and again last year, when he clinched his ninth crown with a determined charge to third after slipping back as far as ten th at one stage. The tropical venue of Sepang was built as a state-of-the-art motor racing venue in 1999 and will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a series of special events over this weekend’s MotoGP. It is one of the widest tracks on the calendar, some 16 metres across in places, and with its fast and frequent changes of direction and some tight hairpins it provides a stern work out for the bike, while the temperatures and high humidity turn it into a test of endurance for the riders. Jorge Lorenzo “FIRST CHANCE AT MY DREAM” “All I am thinking about is Sunday and if I can win the title…it’s been one of the dreams of my life and it would be great to get it here in Sepang. I like Malaysia a lot and I’ve done so many kilometres there testing on my M1, plus I have great memories from winning the 250 championship there in 2007. The track is long and modern but the weather can be a problem because it can be too hot and also rain can cause problems. Last year was a bit crazy with the rain and then I had to start from last on the grid! I would definitely prefer it to be dry this year. The team and I will focus in the same way we have all season, working hard from Friday and with the goal of podium or victory. We hope for the best result we can get.” Valentino Rossi “ONE OF MY FAVOURITE TRACKS” “Japan was very exciting for us and it felt good to be fighting at the front through all the sessions and the race; it’s been a long time since we were that strong. I don’t know until I start riding how Sepang will feel on my shoulder but it is one of my two or three favourite tracks in the world and I am always excited to go there. We were strong there in winter testing, obviously a lot has changed since then but we made some good improvements to our bike in Japan so I hope we can be in the same kind of form this weekend.” Wilco Zeelenberg “HOPING TO ACHIEVE OUR TARGET” “This is our first chance to achieve our target and take the title and we are excited to arrive at this point after everyone’s hard work. It seems like Dani won’t be riding and if that is the case then we only have to take a few points on Sunday to win the championship. We will keep calm and focused and hopefully everything will come together.” Davide Brivio “LET’S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO!” “Motegi was very good for us and now we’re excited to get to Sepang and see what we can do there. Valentino’s shoulder wasn’t such a big problem in Japan but we have to wait and see how it will be in Malaysia, which is a very different track. Anyway we made some good progress with our setting and you can see that it worked because we were really competitive all weekend, which was a good feeling!” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone MotoGP Preview – Round 15: Malaysia, Sepang Tuesday 5 October 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Hard, Extra Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard The week after the Japanese Grand Prix, MotoGP remains in the Pacific for the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit, held on Sunday 10 October. The race also marks the 150th premier class grand prix that Bridgestone have supported since entering the sport with Kanemoto and Proton Team KR in 2002. Sepang has a long lap of 5.548km, second on the MotoGP calendar only to 2010 debutant Silverstone, but unlike the British venue features generally the highest track and ambient temperature of the season which brings its own challenges for riders and tyres alike. As the track temperature often reaches 50 degrees Celsius or higher, rider focus and concentration, the machines and Bridgestone’s rubber are all tested to the limit. The humidity is very high and torrential rain is also a feature in Malaysia that has come into play many times in the past, delaying the race start in 2009 and cancelling MotoGP qualifying in 2006. The circuit is characterised by two long straights preceded by slow corners which demands good braking performance and stability on corner entry, followed by good edge grip on corner exit to maximise straight-line speed. Despite the fact that the circuit features five left- and ten right-handed corners, asymmetric rear tyres are not required as the tyre temperature of both the right and left shoulders is relatively equally balanced. Both tyres need a strong centre section because of the high speed and track temperature. The 2009 title was sealed by Valentino Rossi in Malaysia, and this year Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo has the opportunity to seal his first premier class crown at the Asian venue. With a 69 point lead over title rival Dani Pedrosa, Lorenzo needs to score just seven points or a top nine finish at Sepang if Pedrosa does not start. This would leave Lorenzo with a lead of 76 points with three races remaining, securing him the World Championship. Hiroshi Yamada Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “The Malaysian Grand Prix has long been a successful event for us, from our first victory in 2005 with Loris and Ducati to Casey’s victories in 2007 and in the rain last year, when Valentino lifted his seventh premier class title and his second on Bridgestone tyres. It is fitting that we celebrate our 150th grand prix here, and I am excited that we have come so far in just nine seasons. For two years in 2007 and 2008 the championship was decided in Japan, and now it seems that Sepang is the favourite as Jorge has the opportunity to do so again this year! But as the battle for third overall still rages, I am sure we will continue to see some very exciting battles for the rest of 2010.” Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “Sepang features a mix of high speed corners, long straights and tight hairpins so it is a tough challenge for our tyres. Our front slicks are subject to the greatest forces at Sepang and need to have a strong centre section and offer good braking stability as riders brake from over 300 km/h to around just 80km/h into the hairpins. “Good grip from the edge of the front and rear tyres is also important because of the lateral loads generated through the long and fast corners, and the hard acceleration from the hairpins demands good traction from the edge of the rear tyres. “Tyre durability is crucial here as the high ambient and track temperatures mean that there is little cooling effect during the lap, but we visit Sepang for winter testing and have a good track record here in the past, so everyone has a great deal of tyre data to help refine their setups.”