THE REPSOL RIDERS READY FOR THE CHALLENGE OF SEPANG This weekend the Malaysian Grand Prix. Dani Pedrosa returns to the place where he fell badly in practice but where he ended up on the podium With no respite at all in the World Motorcycling Championship the riders and teams have left Australia and have travelled to Malaysia, in Asia, for the penultimate date in the calendar the Malaysian Grand Prix. The track of Sepang, with its two large straights, is a challenge for any rider, motorbike and team, because of the extreme weather conditions. High temperatures and humidity make it into one of the toughest races of the year. This will be in contrast with the recent chilly weekend in Australia, but without a doubt there will be a great atmosphere. Dani Pedrosa returns to the place where he had an authentic nightmare experience last year, but it had a happy ending. After dominating the Friday morning free practice session with a fast pace, in the afternoon Pedrosa had a spectacular fall where he seriously damaged his right knee. The Repsol Honda Team rider mulled over not racing because of the injury, but in the end with great courage and dignity, Pedrosa was on the starting grid and finished third. A podium that was a moral victory after his difficult weekend. After his fourth placed finish last weekend his aim of being runner-up, he has to overtake Valentino Rossi currently second, has become more difficult. 29 points separate him from the Italian hero, but with only 50 points up for grabs. The Repsol rider is aware of how difficult it will be to beat the Italian, but at the same time he knows that it is still mathematically possible and that fact together with a victory, are his objectives before the 2007 season ends. Nicky Hayden, who had to retire from the recent Australian Grand Prix with mechanical problems when he was third, goes to Australia with the memory of the fourth position he got last year at the circuit of Sepang. After the American Repsol Honda Team rider`s big disappointment at Phillip Island, he will be seeking, just like his teammate, to say farewell to the season with a victory, something he has not been able to achieve this year with the number 1 on his bike. Malaysia is one of his two last chances to try and do so. For the Repsol riders in 250cc and 125cc, another chance to fight to be among the leaders this weekend. Julián Simón and Shuhei Aoyama showed promise in the race in Australia, but in the end they were not able to get a podium finish. The same happened with Esteve Rabat in 125cc, the young rider under Alberto Puig`s wing had a great race and almost finished in the top three. For his teammate, the Briton Bradley Smith, the race on Phillip Island was not easy. He had a lot of problems with the front wheel the whole weekend, but Smith got better as the race progressed, finishing down the pack though in 16th place. This weekend at the circuit of Sepang, the penultimate opportunity for these four Repsol riders to fight for a podium finish. Quotes MotoGP Nicky Hayden “Last week’s result at Phillip Island definitely stung. But at least I was fighting for the lead when I went out rather than 12th place that would have hurt even more. It’s disappointing but I’ve just got to get over it. At Malaysia I think I’ve had fourth place every year since my debut and now I need to improve on that. The team’s been doing some good work with the bike recently and we’ve been improving our performance, so now I’m really looking forward to getting to Sepang. It’s a track we know well from winter testing but I think it’s been repaved since we were last there which will make tyre choice really important. At the other tracks we’ve been to that have been repaved for this year we’ve either gone really well or really badly so let’s hope this one works out for us. We really need a good result and time is running out this season. There’s only two more chances so we’ll go all this weekend.” Dani Pedrosa “It really feels like it’s time to get a good result because we’ve been knocking on the door for a few races now. The weather has affected many races this year and it also played a part at the last one in Phillip Island because the rain meant we didn’t have much dry practice time ahead of the race. In Malaysia weather is often a factor too it can rain very hard in the afternoon as we saw last year when qualifying was cancelled. Last year’s race here went quite well for me, especially after crashing in practice and not being sure that I would even be able to race. For this year I hope things go more smoothly and we can arrive at a good set-up and tyre selection so that we can be competitive right to the final lap. This is our target for the weekend. The Sepang track is quite demanding to ride and the high temperatures add to the challenge. I’m really looking forward to getting a strong result here.” 250cc Julián Simón “I like the track in Malaysia. Last year I almost got on the podium, but in the end I was 4th. The most important factor will be the heat that we are bound to find. Whatever the case we are going to fight as hard as we can in Australia and we are going to try and do it brilliantly. The circuit has two long straights, but luckily after that there are quite a few curves which I like. The circuit of Malaysia has always been kind to me personally.” Shuhei Aoyama “Since the race in Brno I have had some great sensations on the bike and I can maintain a good pace during the races. In the Japanese Grand Prix I got the pole and in Australia I was second for some time, so my objective for the next race is to finish on the podium. I will have to work hard to do so. Sepang is a circuit that I don`t really know how things will go. But I want to continue moving forward.” 125cc Bradley Smith “I still do not know the circuit of Malaysia. Last year I broke my arm at Brno so I did not go to Sepang. Therefore the first day will be crucial at this new circuit and I will have to get used to it quickly. But that is normal as that is what I had to do all last year, I just hope that we will improve on what we did in Australia. I want to be back up with the leaders.” Esteve Rabat “The truth is that after Phillip Island I will go to Malaysia dying to race, but with my feet on the ground, since the circuit is completely different. It is a difficult track with long straights that do not favour the Honda, but we will make a special effort to be with the leaders whatever happens.”