Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle GP Sepang, Malaysia October 25, 2009 MotoGP Race Results (Wet conditions) 1. Casey Stoner (Ducati), 21 laps, 47:24.834 2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda), -14.666 seconds 3. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), -19.385 4. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), -25.850 5. Nicky Hayden (Ducati), -38.705 6. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki), -41.061 7. Toni Elias (Honda), -48.555 8. Marco Melandri (Kawasaki), -55.557 9. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki), -60.303 10. Mika Kallio (Ducati), -60.440 11. Aleix Espargago (Ducati), -61.655 12. Alex de Angelis (Honda), -61.847 13. Colin Edwards (Yamaha), -70.778 14. Gabor Talmacsi (Honda), -75.851 15. James Toseland (Yamaha), -110.672 16. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda), -7 laps, DNF, crash 17. Randy de Puniet (Honda), -20 laps, DNF, crash 250cc Grand Prix Race Results (Dry conditions) 1. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda), 20 laps, 42:55.689 2. Hector Barbera (Aprilia), -6.397 3. Marco Simoncelli (Gilera), -6.397 4. Thomas Luthi (Aprilia), -14.871 5. Hector Faubel (Honda), -19.177 6. Ratthapark Wilairot (Honda), -19.567 7. Alex Debon (Aprilia), -20.255 8. Lukas Pesek (Aprilia), -34.561 9. Alex Baldolini (Aprilia), -50.937 10. Shuhei Aoyama (Honda ), -64.186 11. Balazs Nemeth (Aprilia), -68.917 12. Karel Abraham (Aprilia), -70.616 13. Valentin Debise (Honda), -77.945 14. Bastien Chesaux (Aprilia), -89.669 15. Vladimir Leonov (Aprilia), -102.536 16. Shoya Tomizawa (Honda), -1 lap, crash 17. Raffaele de Rosa (Honda), -4 laps, DNF, retired 18. Jules Cluzel (Aprilia), -9 laps, DNF, crash 19. Mattia Pasini (Aprilia), -9 laps, DNF, crash 20. Mike di Meglio (Aprilia), -12 laps, DNF, crash 21. Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia), -14 laps, DNF, crash 22. Roberto Locatelli (Gilera), -15 laps, DNF, crash 125cc Grand Prix Race Results (Dry conditions) 1. Julian Simon (Aprilia), 19 laps, 42:50.916 2. Bradley Smith (Aprilia), -1.114 seconds 3. Pol Espargaro (Derbi), -6.293 4. Sergio Gadea (Aprilia), -8.003 5. Nicolas Terol (Aprilia), -8.485 6. Sandro Cortese (Derbi), -10.188 7. Esteve Rabal (Aprilia), -15.114 8. Andrea Iannone (Aprilia), -22.151 9. Joan Olive (Derbi), -26.388 10. Lorenzo Zanetti (Aprilia), -27.113 17. Cameron Beaubier (KTM), -67.131 25. Efren Vazquez (Derbi), -2 laps, DNF, crash 30. Jonas Folger (Aprilia), -9 laps, DNF, crash 33. Danny Webb (Aprilia), -19 laps, DNF, crash More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: Grand Prix of Malaysia Date: 25th October 2009 Ambient temperature: 27 degrees C Track temperature: 22 degrees C ROSSI TAKES NINTH CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE WITH BRILLIANT PODIUM AFTER DRAMATIC MALAYSIAN GP The indomitable and irrepressible Valentino Rossi took his ninth World Championship crown in Malaysia today, riding to third place in a dramatic rain-hit race at Sepang. It was the Italian’s seventh title in the premier class, his fourth for Yamaha – more than he has won with any other manufacturer – and his 163rd career podium. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was forced to start from the back of the grid after a sighting lap problem but he recovered brilliantly and rode a superb race to chase Rossi home in fourth place. After three dry practice sessions the heavens opened thirty minutes before the race started and a torrential downpour ensued. The race was delayed forty-five minutes, by which time the rain had abated to a steady drizzle, but with no wet track time during practice the race had become something of a lottery. Rossi seemed to get away well but at turn one he ran wide and exited in eighth position. He then surrendered two more places, including one to his charging team-mate, and finished the first lap in tenth. For the next few laps he tailed Lorenzo as the Spaniard charged his way through the field, the pair putting on a scintillating display of overtaking in the wet until they arrived in fourth and fifth on the seventh lap. Rossi now set his sights on a podium and passed Lorenzo, surviving a huge slide in the process, before quickly pulling a gap of a second on his team-mate. He slowly began to close the gap to Andrea Dovizioso in third and looked like he would soon be within striking distance when his fellow Italian slid out, leaving Rossi in the final podium spot. He didn’t give up there however and started to reel in Dani Pedrosa, who was second, but with the track by then almost dry and the championship in the bag he decided in the final few laps to take the safe option and came home behind the Spaniard, with Casey Stoner the clear winner out in front. Lorenzo’s troubles began when a problem with his race bike meant he had to switch to his spare at the last minute, meaning he left the pit lane a little late. He planned to do two sighting laps, as Rossi had, to get a better feel for the wet track but by the time he came through for the second one the pit lane had closed, meaning he then had to start from the back of the grid. The 22-year-old surged through the field at the start however and rode one of the races of his life to pass twelve riders and come home fourth behind Rossi. Lorenzo will clinch second place in the championship by taking just one point at the final round in Valencia, in two week’s time. Valentino Rossi Position: 3rd Time: +19.385 “It’s great to be World Champion again, I am very proud to have done this nine times in my career. I want to thank everyone in my team, Furusawa-san, Davide Brivio, Lin Jarvis, Jeremy…everybody! This season has been very hard and Lorenzo especially has pushed me to new limits, but I think it’s been a great duel for everyone to watch. Today was unbelievable, when the rain came it was scary for everyone because all the work we’d done was then useless and we were riding ‘blind’ with the setting. I made a mistake at the first corner and then I was a long way back, so I think I did a great race to finish third! I was going to try to pass Dovizioso when he fell and then for a few laps I thought I would try to get Pedrosa but with wet tyres on a drying track it was a bit risky by then and so I decided to be safe. It’s a fantastic feeling to take this title with Yamaha again and I also must thank Bridgestone, who have done a great job with the tyres all year. My celebration was because in Italy we say an old chicken makes good soup but can no longer lay eggs! I am like the old chicken – 30 years now – but I have made another egg! That’s nine!” Jorge Lorenzo Position: 4th Time: +25.850 “I want to start by giving my congratulations to Valentino and all his team. He is the champion. As for the race, today was a difficult day. We improved in the warm-up and I was hoping to have a good race, but when it started to rain we had problems to turn on the bike. We had planned to ride two laps, but I didn’t have enough time and the pit-lane was closed. Then had to begin from last position, but I did one of my best ever starts! The first corner was incredible, but as time went on I began to have some grip problems, like during the whole weekend. However it was a great race for me in difficult circumstances and we finished fourth, not so bad. It’s been a great season and I could never have expected to be fighting with Valentino like this so early in my career. Now I just need one point in Valencia and I will have my goal of being the vice-champion.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “Every year is special but this year was very interesting because we realised from the start of the season that our strongest rival was in our garage! It hasn’t been easy but it’s been a fascinating season for everyone and we are very proud at Yamaha. We have to give huge congratulations to Valentino because this year we’ve seen him work harder than ever, and when the level goes up he puts even more effort in and this means that we, too, have all had to work even harder to keep up with him! Working with Valentino is always great fun and we are very lucky in our team. Today he showed his talent once again after a bad start to come home on the podium and we are so happy that all our work has paid off. Congratulations to Valentino and thank you to everyone in the team, at Yamaha and at Bridgestone for a fantastic job.” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “Congratulations to Valentino for his ninth title! We’ve given everything we have this year to make his life difficult on track but now he has won and he deserves this victory. This year has been great for Jorge and today he did a brilliant race from last on the grid. Unfortunately we had trouble with the race bike and had to change to the back-up one, and then Jorge wasn’t in time to exit the pit lane after his second sighting lap. It was a pity but he put on an exciting show and did so well to finish fourth. Now we will focus on confirming the second place in Valencia and then look forward to next year, when I am sure Jorge will be even stronger.” Championship Standings 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 286 2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 245 3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 220 4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 209 5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 152 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 148 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 108 8. Marco Melandri (ITA) Hayate Racing Team 108 9. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 105 10. Toni Elias (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 105 11. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 105 12. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 101 13. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 93 14. James Toseland (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 88 15. Mika Kallio (FIN) Ducati Marlboro Team 64 16. Niccolo Canepa (ITA) Pramac Racing 38 17. Gabor Talmacsi (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP 19 18. Alex Espagaro (SPA) Pramac Racing 13 19. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Grupo Francisco Hernando 12 20. Yuki Takahashi (JPN) Scot Racing Team 9 Sepang: Record Lap C. Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 2’02.108 Sepang: Best Lap V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2009, 2’00.518 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner dominates in wet Sepang; Rossi crowned World Champion Round 16: Malaysian GP Race Sepang International Circuit, Sunday 25 September 2009 Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Front: Hard. Rear: Hard After a weekend of scorching weather, Malaysia delivered a truly tropical rainstorm just before the scheduled start of the MotoGP race, causing it to be delayed. As the downpour ceased, every rider started on Bridgestone’s wet tyres. The track remained wet for the race distance, making it the only grand prix this season to be run in its entirety in wet conditions. Casey Stoner delivered a dominating performance from fourth on the grid to take the lead on the first lap and never looked back. A masterful display saw the Ducati Team rider take his fourth win of the season and his 20th on Bridgestone tyres. Valentino Rossi and Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo also set a very fast pace as they cut through the field making good use of their wet tyres in the slippery conditions. After closing on Dani Pedrosa in the latter stages of the race, Rossi finished on the final step of the podium to claim the 2009 World Championship title. Hiroshi Yasukawa Director, Bridgestone Corporation “I’d like to congratulate Casey for his dominant win here today in Sepang in very demanding conditions, and I would also like to congratulate Valentino Rossi and the Fiat Yamaha Team as their third position finish here secures him his ninth World Championship and his second consecutive World title on Bridgestone tyres. The championship has been much closer this year than in past seasons, and I am very happy with the level of fairness of support we have been able to provide to all teams and riders as the Official Tyre Supplier. As we continue this support I am sure we will see many more exciting races, both in Valencia to end this season and throughout the next two years of our appointment as single tyre supplier.” Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “It is the first race of the season that has been run in wet conditions for the full distance, but even with the rain the temperature was still hot which is why we chose to bring the hard compound wet tyre here. I can say that these are special conditions because normally when we see rain the temperature is low. After the heavy rain the track started very wet, and did not dry so quickly despite the heat but the wet tyres showed good durability. Right from the start of the race Casey was very fast and I was surprised with his pace considering the conditions.” Casey Stoner Ducati Team Race Winner “We’ve had no testing here in the wet as even with the usual afternoon thunderstorms it dries out so quickly normally. The early laps were very tentative and I didn’t get a good start, but when I reached the lead I started to test the conditions. I didn’t expect to pull the gap I did, but then I just decided to keep going for at least half race distance. By then the tyres had started moving around a little, but actually the tyres were in a lot better condition than I expected. We couldn’t have asked for a better comeback with these two wins.” Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 2009 World Champion “This weekend I was so fast in the dry but right before the race it started to rain and we had to go on track with no wet setting. This is a great achievement for me, my ninth championship and seventh in MotoGP. I have to thank all the guys, Yamaha, the Fiat Yamaha team, Peter [Rossi’s Bridgestone engineer] and all my friends and everyone who helped me to reach this achievement. We are the top and now we relax the ninth championship is great!” Top ten classification (Sunday 15:00 GMT+8) Pos. Rider Team Race time Gap Front tyre Rear tyre Tyres 1 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 47m24.834s Hard Hard Bridgestone wet 2 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 47m39.500s +14.666s Hard Hard Bridgestone wet 3 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 47m44.219s +19.385s Hard Hard Bridgestone wet 4 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 47m50.684s +25.850s Hard Hard Bridgestone wet 5 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 48m03.539s +38.705s Hard Hard Bridgestone wet 6 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 48m05.895s +41.061s Hard Hard Bridgestone wet 7 Toni Elias San Carlo Honda Gresini 48m13.389s +48.555s Hard Hard Bridgestone wet 8 Marco Melandri Hayate Racing Team 48m20.391s +55.557s Hard Hard Bridgestone wet 9 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 48m25.137s +60.303s Hard Hard Bridgestone wet 10 Mika Kallio Pramac Racing 48m25.274s +60.440s Hard Hard Bridgestone wet Weather: Wet. Ambient 27-28°C; Tr ack 34-38°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEDROSA EARNS A MILESTONE PODIUM IN MALAYSIA Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa rode a flawless race to finish in second place in the rain-affected Malaysian Grand Prix today and record his first ever wet-weather Grand Prix podium. His team-mate Andrea Dovizioso looked on course to join Pedrosa in the top the three – and even perhaps steal second from him – but the Italian was unlucky to fall out of the race with six laps to go. Heavy rain during the run-up to the race caused the start to be delayed by 35 minutes, and when the lights finally went out, Pedrosa took an early lead on the soaking Sepang circuit. Meanwhile, Dovizioso made stunning progress from 11th on the grid, steering his RC212V to the inside of the start-finish straight and moving up to fifth after the first corner. The Italian continued his forward march and, amazingly, was up to third place behind Pedrosa by the end of lap one. Though Pedrosa was passed for the lead by Casey Stoner on lap one, the Spaniard was able to set an impressive pace in the wet and the Repsol Honda pair circulated in second and third places for 14 consecutive laps. After Dovizioso’s unfortunate fall, Pedrosa successfully held off Valentino Rossi and came home in second – his third podium finish in successive races. The result means Pedrosa has not finished outside the top three at Sepang since his MotoGP debut here in 2006. Casey Stoner won today’s race and Valentino Rossi came home behind Pedrosa in third to secure his seventh premier-class World Championship with one race of the 2009 season remaining: the Grand Prix of Valencia, which takes place in two weeks’ time. DANI PEDROSA 2nd World Championship position: 4th 209 points “Riding in the rain has always been one of my weakest points and so for a long time I have tried to improve this by working hard and going over my limit in the wet. This hasn’t been an easy process, but now, finally, I achieved a podium in the wet so I’m really happy and I want to thank all the people who have helped in this process. In the middle of the race Andrea was just behind and he was closing and was putting some pressure on me, but I was riding well and I was able to keep my focus and concentration. Finally when Andrea went off, another rider was coming and this time it was Valentino. He was going quite a lot faster than me, but in the last laps I kept my rhythm and was able to finish in second place. I’m very happy today. I also want to congratulate Valentino on the world championship – nine titles is amazing. Now we go to Valencia and we’ll be trying hard again there. It’s a track that I love and there will be a lot of fans too, so I’m looking forward to it.” ANDREA DOVIZIOSO DNF World Championship position: 5th – 152 points “I was having a really good race and a podium would have been a really positive result for me and the team in our current situation, so of course I’m very disappointed about how it finished. Actually I didn’t get off the line too well but in the braking zone into turn one and through the first two corners I was able to overtake many riders and climb up to fifth place. My first lap was very good and I was moving forward quickly. Once into third position, I was riding close to the limit and was closing on Dani – and I definitely had my sights set on the podium finish. The Bridgestone wet tyres were working well, though you always have to be very careful because they are very soft. Then, during the 15th lap, the front turned more quickly than usual and it tucked. It’s a shame today because I was feeling good on the machine and I really wanted this result for myself and the team. However, we’ll come back fighting for the final race of the year at Valencia.” KAZUHIKO YAMANO – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “Dani’s podium in these wet conditions was a significant milestone for him and also a good result for the team. Dani is having a strong finish to the season and now he will have a lot of confidence going into the final race at Valencia because that’s another track at which he usually performs very well. For Andrea the race was looking very promising, especially considering his stating position of 11th, so it’s shame for him to miss the probable podium finish. He’s very disappointed naturally, but he and the team can take the positives from his race performance and come back strongly for the final race of 2009.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Vermeulen splashes to sixth at a soaking Sepang Rizla Suzuki racer Chris Vermeulen again showed his skills in wet conditions as he powered his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R through the field to take sixth place at a rain-soaked Sepang today. Starting from 14th on the grid, Vermeulen got a clean start as he began the task of picking his way past the riders in front of him. He produced personal best laps consistently throughout the early part of the race, as he moved into the top 10 on lap eight. On lap 15 of 21, Vermeulen had made his way up to sixth and although he tried to chase down Nicky Hayden for fifth place, the now drying track worked against him and he just couldn’t close the gap. Loris Capirossi was left very disappointed with today’s result after such a promising qualification yesterday. He started from the second row of the grid and after the first two corners was up into second place, but Capirossi just couldn’t find the level of grip to maintain that advantage and was relegated down the field. He managed to find a rhythm and consistency in the second-half of the race and moved back into contention for a top-10 finish. Capirossi finally crossed the line in ninth position and was left to rue at what might have been if the weather had not intervened. Today’s start was delayed by 40 minutes after torrential rain fell over the 5,548m Malaysian circuit. When the race finally got underway Ducati’s Casey Stoner took control and led from start to finish to win his second successive Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi finished third and secured enough points to take his second successive – and ninth in total – World Championship. Rizla Suzuki now heads back to Europe for the final round of the MotoGP season, the last race will be held at Valencia in Spain on Sunday 8th November where Capirossi and Vermeulen will be battling it out with four other riders to secure a respectable seventh place overall in this season’s championship. Chris Vermeulen: “I got a good start, but in turn one there was a lot going on and I got pushed around a little bit, but I came out of it ok and was able to get my head down straight away. For the first four or five lap laps I really struggled to get a feeling in the tyres, especially on the left-hand-side, but once I got that working and in to a rhythm I felt quite good. The bike worked well up until the last few laps – when the track started to dry out – and then it was very difficult through the corners, but I’m sure it wasn’t easy for anyone out there. I think we had the speed for a top five today and my guys did a great job with the motorbike to be able to give me something competitive today when we hadn’t done any wet testing here at all.” Loris Capirossi: “I don’t really have a lot of things to say about today – I am just so disappointed! The team did such a good job this weekend and we thought we would have a good race this afternoon, especially after this morning’s warm-up was good as well, but then for the race it rained really hard. The set-up of the bike for the wet was pretty good but I struggled a lot for the first 10-laps because I couldn’t get any feeling from the left of the tyres. I dropped down to 13th and I then managed to overtake three or four riders and finish ninth. The result was not really good for this track and we weren’t lucky with the conditions, but sometimes things happen like that!” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “The drastic change in conditions for this afternoon was a disappointment, especially for Loris considering the outright speed he had shown this weekend. Even so, Chris rode a really strong race and had the speed to challenge for fifth if we’d have qualified a bit better or had a better feeling earlier in the race. Loris is devastated by the result today, but he kept fighting right to the end. The season has not been what we’d hoped, but there is a very tight fight for seventh in the championship that both of our guys are in with a chance of and we’ll be doing our best to get one of them there in two weeks’ time in Valencia.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Edwards and Toseland collect points in Sepang Colin Edwards remains firmly in the hunt for a top five world championship finish in 2009 after a tough Malaysian MotoGP race this afternoon. Optimistic of a top six challenge in the dry, two days of hard work and preparation in hot and humid conditions counted for nothing after a torrential downpour saturated the 5.548km circuit just 30 minutes before the scheduled start of the 21-lap race. The deluge forced Race Direction to delay the start for 40 minutes but once underway, Edwards was mounting a determined challenge for a top ten in front of 59,206 fans when he encountered small front-end issues with the wet setting on his Monster Yamaha YZR-M1. He climbed as high as 12th place on lap 13 but was unable to maintain his pace in much cooler conditions than normal for the Malaysian GP, the intervention of the rain dropping temperatures to 27 degrees. Edwards ended the penultimate race of the campaign in 13th position, the American closing the gap on Andrea Dovizioso in fifth in the overall standings to just four points heading to the season’s final race in Valencia on November 8. British rider James Toseland ended a difficult weekend with 15th position to extend his impressive points-scoring run to seven successive races. The 28-year-old also ran into front-end grip problems but fought hard in tricky conditions to claim a single point, Toseland confident he can finish the season in style at Valencia next month. Colin Edwards 13th 148 po ints “The weekend wasn’t great to be honest. The bike wasn’t fast in the dry for some reason and I just couldn’t get going all weekend. We tried a different setting this morning and it felt better, but it certainly wasn’t a miracle spark. But with the rain coming like it did it just made it a guessing game. I did two warm-up laps behind Valentino (Rossi) p to check the conditions and from that moment the front feeling wasn’t great. Even then I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get any weight on the front and that’s exactly what happened. I could carry the lean angle I wanted but the front wouldn’t load at all, so I couldn’t get the bike turned. When it was properly wet I felt like I was upping my pace and closing in on the group for tenth, but then the tyres started heating up and I was sideways all of the time. In the final laps I was losing a lot of time. I’m going to Valencia still fighting for fifth in the championship wi th (Andrea) Dovizioso) crashing, but I don’t like taking profit from the mistakes of other people. I just want to say congratulations to Yamaha and Valentino. He’s done another amazing job and nine world titles is just a phenomenal achievement.” James Toseland 14th 88-points “I wasn’t too sorry when I saw the rain to be honest because it had been a tough weekend in the dry. We went with the base wet setting but I had the same problem in the rain that I did in the dry. I just didn’t have any grip on the rear and in the wet the problem was on corner entry to the apex. So my corner speed was just way too slow to make a decent lap time. I am not out there just riding around at the back. I was doing my absolute best and trying my hardest but it was impossible for me to go any faster with the feeling I had. It has been a tough weekend but I’ll look to bounce back and finish stron gly in Valencia for my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager “It has been a very disappointing weekend and easily the worst for us this season. We were struggling in the dry so I can’t say I was unhappy to see the rain because I thought this would give us a chance of improving our results. Unfortunately our performance was even worse in the rain and we can’t be happy. Now we have to understand why we struggled so much this weekend. The only good thing is that we go to Valencia with Colin still fighting for fifth in the championship and the whole team is motivated to finish the season on a positive note. Finally I’d like to pass on my congratulations to Valentino and Yamaha. They have done another incredible job this season. Valentino has proven once again what a formidable rider he is, and Yamaha has undoubtedly the most dominant bike in MotoGP.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: After another season of drama on the track, Valentino Rossi defended his MotoGP World Championship with one round to spare in Malaysia, but he will quite possibly mark the title win as one of his toughest yet. Under concerted pressure throughout from his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo as well as the constant threat of Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, the man many believe to be the greatest motorcycle racer of all time once again rose above the rest to claim a ninth world crown (seventh in MotoGP). Son of Graziano, celebrated rider of the seventies, the charismatic Rossi entered Grand Prix racing with Aprilia in 1996, winning 125cc races in his first season. He went on to win the 125 world title in 1997, and after a move up to 250s with the Italian brand, collected the quarter-litre title in 1999. He then made the leap to the 500cc class in 2000 with Honda, challenging for the title in his rookie year whilst picking up two victories and second in the championship. He became only the second rider to win in all three GP classes when he won the last 500cc World Title in 2001 (as with his other titles, at the second attempt), and the following year he dominated once again in the first ever MotoGP four-stroke series onboard the Honda RC211V. He was just as untouchable in 2003, before accepting the biggest challenge of his career by leaving the Honda camp and taking a Yamaha ride for 2004. His legend was sealed with the season that followed, on a bike which many believed would simply not be competitive enough. The historic year for Rossi began in the first race at Welkom, when he became the first rider ever to take consecutive victories for different factories, with a further eight wins sealing Yamaha’s first title in over a decade. He has kept on winning for the transformed Japanese manufacturer, with an additional thirty-five triumphs since his maiden World Championship for Yamaha. In 2005 he achieved eleven wins on the road to the title, following which much speculation linked him with a move out of the sport. Rossi announced that he would stay with MotoGP and Yamaha for at least another year at Mugello in 2006, but was further spurred on to continue in the sport by World Championship wins for rivals Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner. He bounced back last season with another nine wins and the crown yet again, signing up to the end of next season with Fiat Yamaha. Now after a seventh MotoGP crown, Rossi has his sights set on Giacomo Agostini’s record of eight premier class titles having already surpassed his record for all-time premier class victories. If he were to match Ago in premier class titles he would challenge for the accolade of the greatest rider of all time. Another six wins in this year’s campaign and hints he may well continue beyond 2010 suggest that Rossi might just be able to do so. Some facts about Valentino Rossi’s achievement “¢ This is Rossi’s ninth world championship, which equals the number of world titles achieved by Mike Hailwood and Carlo Ubbiali. The only riders with more world titles are Giacomo Agostini with 15 and Angel Nieto with 13. “¢ Rossi has never missed a GP since making his debut in the 125cc class at Shah Alam in Malaysia in March 1996. Following the Malaysian Grand Prix he has started 226 successive GP races across all classes; 166 of which have been in the premier-class. Both of these are records. “¢ When he won the 500cc world title in 2001 he became only the third rider to win championships in three different classes, after Phil Read (125, 250 and 500) and Mike Hailwood (250, 350 and 500). “¢ Rossi and Giacomo Agostini are the only two riders to have won premier-class titles on both 2-stroke and 4-stroke machinery. “¢ His win at the 2004 season-opening GP in South Africa made him the first rider to take back-to-back premier-class victories on different makes of bike. “¢ In 2004 he became only the second rider to win back-to-back premier-class titles on different makes of machinery. Eddie Lawson was the first, winning on a Yamaha in 1988 and a Honda in 1989. “¢ Rossi is the only rider to have scored five successive premier-class victories on a Yamaha. “¢ His eleven wins in 2005 is the highest number of premier-class victories in a single season by a Yamaha rider. “¢ He is the only rider in history to have won five or more successive races on two different makes of bike. “¢ He holds the record for successive premier-class podiums, scoring 23 successive top-three results from the Portuguese GP in 2002 to the South Africa GP in 2004. “¢ Rossi had the honour of scoring the 500th victory for Honda when he won the Japanese 500cc GP in April 2001. “¢ He finished on the podium at all 16 races in 2003, a record for number of podiums in a single season which he equalled in 2005 and 2008. “¢ Rossi’s 373 points total in 2008 is the most points ever scored in a single season. “¢ He is the only rider to win the premier-class title on four different types of motorcycle: 500cc 2-stroke Honda, 990cc 4-stroke Honda, 990cc 4-stroke Yamaha, 800cc 4-stroke Yamaha. “¢ He is Yamaha’s most successful rider of all-time with 44 race victories on their bikes. “¢ His 77 race victories in the premier-class is more than any other rider in the 61-year history of Grand Prix racing. “¢ He is the only rider to have stood on the podium in the premier-class on more than 100 occasions. “¢ He has been on the podium 163 times across all classes, which is more than any other rider. “¢ Valentino Rossi is the only rider to have won at least one GP in 14 successive seasons. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Casey Stoner won his second successive race by an impressive 14.666s margin at the rain-soaked Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, but it was Valentino Rossi’s third place that secured him a ninth world title a seventh in the premier class as the Italian successfully defended his 2008 crown, with Dani Pedrosa finishing second. Rossi rode a controlled race to take his place on the podium for the 163rd time across all three classes in his 226th successive Grand Prix start, in a remarkable career which has seen him win at least one race in 14 consecutive seasons. The race started on a wet track after a 35-minute delay due to rain, and a problem with Jorge Lorenzo’s bike during the sighting lap meant that failure to join the starting grid in time resulted in relegation from the front row to the back. It made little difference to the Spaniard however as he flew up to overtake Rossi, who dropped to tenth after a sluggish start from pole position. Lorenzo eventually finished in fourth position. Randy de Puniet had a nasty high-side crash early on, which fortunately resulted in no injury for the Frenchman, and Nicky Hayden was dogged in his attempt to hold off Lorenzo in fifth place. The Fiat Yamaha rider managed to overtake the Ducati Marlboro man before Rossi passed both to move into fourth spot after eight laps. Shortly after, Stoner’s lead at the front had grown to a huge 15 seconds, but there was no such deficit between Pedrosa in third and his Repsol Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, who diced for second spot. Disaster struck for the Italian however, as on lap 14 he succumbed to the wet conditions and slid off, allowing Rossi to move up to third. Aleix Espargaró impressed with an eleventh-placed finish in his third MotoGP race of the campaign for Pramac, whilst Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Colin Edwards and James Toseland both struggled, finishing in 13th and 15th respectively. After Lorenzo took fourth spot he duly handed hearty congratulations to Rossi, with Hayden equalling his second-best result of the season in fifth. Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki), Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) completed the top ten. 250cc Hiroshi Aoyama was the eventual victor in the 250cc race after a magnificent head to head duel with Marco Simoncelli, who placed third after a photo finish was required following Héctor Barberá’s surge. Simoncelli blasted through the field from his grid position of eighth to ignite his contest with Aoyama, with Jules Cluzel leading the early stages of the race whilst the title rivals sparred. The Matteoni Racing man’s crash on lap ten took him out of the equation, allowing the main championship contenders to go head to head. Aoyama started to push hard and a new track record of 2’07.597 on lap 15 saw him pull away, as Barberá started to contest second position with Simoncelli. Crossing the finish line with a 6.397s advantage, Aoyama extended his lead at the top of the championship standings to 21 points over Simoncelli, and he now needs only a tenth-placed finish or better in Valencia to secure the 2009 title ahead of the Metis Gilera rider. Barberá rose to third in the standings after Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar Team) crashed out on lap nine, as Thomas Luthi (Emmi – Caffe Latte) and Héctor Faubel (Valencia CF – Honda SAG) completed the top five. 125cc A close battle between Julián Simón and Bradley Smith was won by the freshly-crowned 125cc World Champion, as he beat his Bancaja Aspar team-mate in a final-lap fight. The duo, who battled closely at Phillip Island last weekend, again crossed swords as Simón held Smith’s challenge off on the last corner of the Sepang circuit. The Brit’s placing secured second position in this year’s World Championship as well, despite a broken metatarsal bone in his right foot from a qualifying crash on Saturday. Pol Espargaró (Derbi Racing Team) completed the podium, coming in just over five seconds behind Smith, with Sergio Gadea (Bancaja Aspar) and Nico Terol (Jack & Jones Team) also inside the top five, after a mechanical problem curtailed pole position holder Marc Márquez’s race. The final event on the 2009 MotoGP calendar is the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, which takes place from November 6th-8th. More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: DE PUNIET CRASHES AT RAIN-LASHED SEPANG Sepang, 25 October: the penultimate round of the 2009 season at Sepang race track has been affected by a typically tropical rain storm and the premier class riders 21-lap race has been delayed by 30 minutes. After two days of sunny practices with an average temperature of 31 degrees, the 800cc riders lined up on the Malaysian GP starting grid on rain tyres with Rossi winning the world title. The LCR Honda MotoGP Team racer Randy de Puniet had high expectations of another good result after setting an impressive pace in qualifying yesterday (8th overall). The 28-year-old started well from the third row of the grid, completing the first lap in 5th place but suddenly lost the rear of his machine in the second lap crashing out heavily into the gravel. Luckily the Frenchman escaped unhurt from the incident. LCR Team will be back on track for the last round of the season in Valencia on the 8th of November. De Puniet crashed De Puniet: “I am very disappointed for me and the team. We had found a good race set up yesterday and I qualified 8th in this morning warm up session. Then the rain storm changed the conditions completely but I was pretty confident as I usually lap with a good rhythm in the wet. I took a good start finishing the first lap in 5th position. Then in the second lap I lost the rear on turn 3 suffering a big highside. I really do not remember what happened but after having watched the accident on the TV, I feel lucky because I am ok!” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: KALLIO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR WITH THE TENTH POSITION IN MALAYSIA. ESPARGARO’ ELEVENTH AFTER A GOOD COMEBACK Due to a heavy rainstorm just before the Grand Prix of Malaysia, race director decided to postpone the race of thirty-five minutes. The race has so started with wet asphalt and light rain until the last four laps when the sun was shining again. Pramac Racing riders, Mika Kallio and Aleix Espargarò, notwithstanding they have concluded the race with only one second of distance, have completed two completely different races. Mika has started quiet well fighting constantly for the top ten, while Aleix, who has started with some difficulties, has made a good comeback overtaking Edwards and reaching the group with his teammate, Capirossi and De Angelis. The Finnish rider, thanks to the six points achieve today, has conquered the rookie of the year title as the second in this special standing, Niccolò Canepa, is now twenty-six points behind with only one race before the end of the season. Aleix, thanks overtaking De Angelis in the penultimate turn, has equalized his best performance in MotoGP when he finished eleventh in Misano. Appointment for the last round of the 2009 MotoGP World Championship, as it happens from many years, will be on the Valencia circuit in two weeks time. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical director “It has been a difficult situation today. All of a sudden the rain started to fall and we have tried to give the best bike possible to Mika even if we have never ridden on wet surface in these three days of work. Mika didn’t have a good feeling with the rear of the bike and this didn’t allow him to stay with the fastest riders at the beginning of the race. Later, in the final part of the race, he has been really determined to conquer the top ten but sincerely I know we could have achieved a better result if it would have been a dry race. We will try to understand what happened to allow him to be more competitive in the next occasion. To my point of view Aleix has accomplish a really positive race. He is a really intelligent rider and he has showed it in the first laps when he was studying the reaction of the bike on the wet. Then, when he understood the situation, he has started to push more catching riders much more experienced than him. Really my sincere compliments to him for today’s performance.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider – 10th in the race – 15th in the Championship “I am disappointed on how the race went today. On the dry we could have conquered a much better result but with these conditions I didn’t have much confidence with the rear of the bike to accelerate as I wanted. Instead in the breaking the bike was really competitive. In Valencia and I want and I have to accomplish a much better race.” Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing rider – 11th in the race – 18th in the Championship “In the firsts five laps I couldn’t believe how slow I was going but I preferred to don’t take any risks to understand the reaction of the bike with these asphalt conditions. From the sixth lap I aimed at the group where there were Edwards, De Angelis, Kallio and Capirossi, and lap by lap I reached them making it to overtake the first two. A pity I didn’t start well otherwise I could have fought for better positions. I want to thanks the Pramac Racing Team for this weekend of work which allowed me to grow in preparation to the next season.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER SPLASHES TO VICTORY AT SODDEN SEPANG, HAYDEN A FANTASTIC FIFTH Ducati Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner took his second victory in succession today with a display of absolute dominance in torrential conditions at Sepang, where his team-mate Nicky Hayden picked up a fantastic fifth place. A heavy tropical downpour just moments before the riders were due to take to the track for the penultimate round of the season saw the race delayed by 36 minutes, but once the lights went out Stoner proved once again that he is a master of any condition. After taking the lead on the first lap the Australian opened up an advantage of almost four seconds by the end of the second circulation increasing it lap by lap to over 17 seconds at one point as he stormed to his fourth victory of the season, becoming the first rider ever to win at Sepang from the second row of the grid. Nicky Hayden also produced an excellent demonstration of wet weather riding as he guided his Desmosedici GP9 to fifth place from seventh on the grid. The American was involved in a series of breathtaking battles throughout the 22-lap affair, passing Loris Capirossi and Toni Elias with his trademark style and determination and fighting to hold off title contenders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Third place for the Italian eventually sealed the championship with one round remaining at Valencia in two weeks’ time, when Stoner and Hayden will look to be amongst the frontrunners once again. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) (1st) “I didn’t get a brilliant start but I was happy to be in fourth as we came out of turn two and by the end of the first lap I was clear by a second. I have to be honest, I didn’t expect to be so far ahead so early in the race but when I looked up and saw 3 seconds on my pit board I decided to step the pace up even more and try an escape. I kept pulling out a second a lap and then eventually decided to back it off and not take any risks. This is another fantastic day for us and I want to thank everybody in the team for their effort. We’ve struggled with the bike in the wet this season but everybody has worked so well and the difference today was clear to see. We’re really strong now and I can only see us getting stronger from here, which is great news for next season. I want to congratulate Valentino because to win nine World Championships is an incredible achievement. I’m sure that if we continue to work like this ourselves we can put up a much stronger challenge next time.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) (5th) “We’ll take a top five, that’ll work for us. I was quite excited when it started to rain because I’ve been on the pace with this bike in the wet this year and I felt I could do something special. Unfortunately I struggled a lot on the brakes in the beginning and a lot of guys came past. From there I had a lot of fun passing and fighting with people, trying to close down the gap to the lead group, but I was just missing a little bit to really go with Rossi and Lorenzo and try to fight for the podium. When Vermeulen came I knew he was a rain specialist so I pushed hard to make sure he didn’t see a crack in the door and think he could push it open. I’ve been fourth here five times so I’m only one spot off my mark! After Phillip Island it seems every time we try to get something going we have huge bad luck but I’m thankful I have a team who keep working and never give up we’re trying to build something here together and we’re making progress. Even this weekend we were consistently up near the top. I have to say congratulations to Casey and Valentino. It wasn’t a terrible day for us either but now we go to Valencia and try to build on it again.” Livio Suppo MotoGP Project Director “That was a really wonderful and unique day, for the way the conditions changed so quickly and the way our team reacted to it, and for the positive result for both of our riders. Casey produced something extraordinary, dominating from the first to the final lap, whilst Nicky battled hard from the start and brought home an important fifth place that shows how well we have worked both at the track and back at the factory throughout the year. It is a season that saw Casey make a great start before going through some difficulties and then coming back in style, whilst Nicky had a tough start himself but he has made constant progress and he is finishing it in a positive way that we hope carries through to next year.” 2009 Malaysian GP Podium 1st Casey Stoner (Ducati), 2nd Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 3rd Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) Circuit Record: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2007), 2’02.108 163.566 Km/h Best Pole: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha – 2009), 2’00.518 165.605 Km/h Rider World Championship Classification 1st Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 286 points (2009 World Champion); 2nd Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 245; 3rd Casey Stoner (Ducati) 220; 4th Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 209; 5th Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 152; “¦ 13th Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 93. Constructor World Championship Classification 1st Yamaha (366 points) (2009 World Champion); 2nd Honda 272); 3rd Ducati (261); 4th Suzuki (131); 5th Kawasaki (108) More, from a press release issued by Honda: Results Sepang Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang Race day, Sunday October 25 2009 Crowd: 59,206 Weather: Hot and humid Ambient temperature: 27 degrees Track temperature: 22 degrees FOURTH PODIUM IN A ROW FOR PEDROSA Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) scored his first ever podium in a wet MotoGP race with a second place finish before nearly 60,000 fans in the rain-lashed Malaysian Grand Prix. Tropical, torrential rains hit the Sepang Circuit half an hour before the scheduled start of the penultimate weekend of the MotoGP World Championship, which, up to that point, had been held in mostly sunny, humid conditions. Race direction moved the start to 3:35 p.m., though the riders had only their traditional sighting and warm-up laps to acclimatise themselves to the wet surface. From third on the front row, Pedrosa got his usual lightning start before being passed on the first lap by Casey Stoner (Ducati). Stoner then sped away to the victory, his second in a row. Pedrosa slotted into second with teammate Andrea Dovizioso third, the duo leaving the rest of the field in the mist. They circulated as a pair until the 15th lap when Dovizioso lost the rear end and crashed from third place. Fortunately, the Italian was unhurt, but he wasn’t able to continue. Then Pedrosa began to come under pressure from Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), but the Spaniard upped his pace and held Rossi off to not only finish second, but score his fourth podium in a row and tenth of the season. Rossi finished third and clinched the MotoGP World Championship. Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini) made it three Hondas in a row for the first six laps, and though he would fall back to finish seventh, the Spaniard was pleased with how the day finished. Now he heads to Valencia in the middle of the a six-rider battle for seventh in the championship, but with the added advantage of home field advantage. Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) never felt comfortable in the rain. There were rear traction issues that caused him to concentrate on finishing the race, rather than moving up the order. Going into the final race of the season, De Angelis is tied with his teammate in their battle to take seventh overall. With very little wet weather MotoGP experience to draw on, Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda) found it difficult adapting to the conditions. Still, he scored two points with a 14th place finish. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) crashed on the second lap while holding fifth position. De Puniet had gotten off to a lightning start and was well placed before the unfortunate high-side ended his race prematurely. Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) took a giant step towards the 250cc World Championship with a thrilling, runaway win, his fourth of the year. The Japanese rider battled with championship rival Marco Simoncelli (Gilera) for the more than half race distance before making a decisive pass on lap 13 of 20. Simoncelli stayed close briefly, but the Japanese rider used a series of fast race laps to pull away to a commanding victory. The gap was 6.3987 secs. Simoncelli finished in a dead heat for second with Hector Barbera (Aprilia), with race direction giving the position to the Spaniard. The decision had a profound impact on the championship. Rather than a 17 point deficit, which Simoncelli would have had had he finished second, he now trails Aoyama by 21 heading into the showdown in the season finale in Valencia in two weeks times. That means that if Simoncelli wins, Aoyama can finish 11th or better to win the last ever 250cc World Championship for Honda. Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG) and teammate Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda-PTT SAG) were part of the multi-rider battle just behind the leaders. The Spaniard was in seventh on the penultimate lap before passing two riders, including Wilairot to finish fifth, earning his second best finish of the year. By finishing sixth, Wilairot also carded his second best finish. The next goal for Faubel is fifth in the championship, which is achievable at his home race in Valencia since he’s only two points behind. Shuhei Aoyama (Racing Team Germany Honda) earned his best finish since joining the 250cc class by finishing tenth. The Japanese rider started slowly, but made up positions mid-race and settled into his position on the 12th of 20 laps. By then he was having trouble with rear tire grip and his forward momentum was halted. Valentin Debise (CIP Moto-GP 250) equaled his career best by finishing 13th and scoring two more championship points in his rookie season. Debise had struggled in qualifying before a meeting with the team helped him with his race preparation. Teammate Shoya Tomizawa continued to have bad luck. The young Japanese rider fell while secure in ninth place on the 11th lap. The encouragement he took from it was that had he finished it would have been a career best. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2nd. “Riding in the rain has always been one of my weakest points and so for a long time I have tried to improve this by working hard and going over my limit in the wet. This hasn’t been an easy process, but now, finally, I achieved a podium in the wet, so I’m really happy and I want to thank all the people who have helped in this process. In the middle of the race Andrea was just behind and he was closing and was putting some pressure on me, but I was riding well and I was able to keep my focus and concentration. Finally when Andrea went off, another rider was coming and this time it was Valentino. He was going quite a lot faster than me, but in the last laps I kept my rhythm and was able to finish in second place. I’m very happy today. I also want to congratulate Valentino on the world championship; nine titles is amazing. Now we go to Valencia and we’ll be trying hard again there. It’s a track that I love and there will be a lot of fans too, so I’m looking forward to it.” Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 7th. “I saw the rain just before we were due to go out for the sighting lap and I thought ‘madre mía, this isn’t good for us!’ As it turned out it was completely the opposite and with seventh place and some bad results for my rivals we have actually made up more ground in the championship than we might have hoped to if it was dry. I’m really pleased with the result but also with the performance because riding in the wet is not usually our strong point. I don’t know if it was because the track temperature was higher here but I didn’t struggle as much as I expected for grip. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough to run with the top guys again but in general we have to be satisfied with this Grand Prix.” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 12th. “I was so confident that I could have a strong race in the rain today but for whatever reason I never felt comfortable with the wet setting here and I couldn’t get going. The rear was spinning up everywhere and it was all I could to hang on and bring it home in the points. It’s a real shame because this could have been a good opportunity for us to make up more ground in the championship. It’s a missed chance but at the same time my rivals didn’t capitalise on it and we are still within three points of seventh place, which is my objective when we head for the final race at Valencia.” Gabor Talmacsi, Scot Honda: 14th. “A good start, and then the every-race chaos at the first corners, and several people making several errors. The usual stuff. With all that water on the track, the first part of the race was difficult because of the poor grip. Lap by lap, the situation improved, and my pace was at the same level of the people competing for the tenth/eleventh position. But catching up was too much, as I was racing alone. I want to congratulate Valentino Rossi: nine times world champion. Great.” Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: DNF. “I am very disappointed for me and the team. We had found a good race set-up yesterday and I qualified eight in this morning’s warm-up session. Then the rain storm changed the conditions completely, but I was pretty confident as I usually lap with a good rhythm in the wet. I took a good start, finishing the first lap in fifth position. Then in the second lap I lost the rear in turn three, suffering a big high-side. I really do not remember what happened, but after having watched the accident on the TV, I feel lucky because I am OK.” Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: DNF. “I was having a really good race and a podium would have been a really positive result for me and the team in our current situation, so of course I’m very disappointed about how it finished. Actually, I didn’t get off the line too well but in the braking zone into turn one and through the first two corners I was able to overtake many riders and climb up to fifth place. My first lap was very good and I was moving forward quickly. Once into third position, I was riding close to the limit and was closing on Dani and I definitely had my sights set on the podium finish. The Bridgestone wet tires were working well, though you always have to be careful because they are very soft. Then, during the 15th lap, the front turned more quickly than usual and it tucked. It’s a shame today, because I was feeling good on the machine and I really wanted this result for myself and the team. However, we’ll come back fighting for the final race of the year at Valencia.” HONDA 250cc RIDER QUOTES Hiroshi Aoyama, Scot Honda: 1st. “More than happy. We’ve been competitive all the weekend; I tried to get the front and then open a gap, but they did not let me go. A very physical race, at the beginning and in the middle part of it. Then, in the last fraction, I realized that my tires were in better condition. So I passed in front, and went full throttle. That was the winning move. A tough race, but I enjoy such kinds of competitions. It would be better if it were not so hot… I’m really tired. All I want, now is to rest. Before, I wish to express my gratitude to the team: they gave me a great bike, I tried to make the best out of it. See you in Valencia.” Hector Faubel, Valencia CF-Honda SAG: 5th. “Today the start wasn’t so good, because I touched Simoncelli and Debón. After that I was with the fornt group of nine riders. It was a high level race and, finally, in the last two corners of the race I overtook Debón and my team-mate and I have finished fifth. This weekend the team has done a really good job and I want to thank them hifor thiss effort to have the bike ready and at 100% for me to get the maximum points here in Sepang. Now we must put all our efforts and gains to reach the sixth place of the overall standings.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: 6th. “Today the race was incredible. I reachedthird place and I was riding with the first four riders during the first quarter of the race, but the pain on my back that I have form the beggining of the year appears again and i was losing the pace because I couldn’t take a good position on the bike. Anyway I take again the lap pace and I finished sixth. I have to thank all the team because they work hard and for this reason I have repeat a good result. I hope that all the thai fans that come to give me his support could be satisfied with the result and I want to thank them all the support that they gave me.” Shuhei Aoyama, Racing Team Germany Honda: 10th. “Today I have a good start and I got some positions. After that, it was very difficult to keep a good lap time and today the track condition was very difficult and because of that many people crashed. I lost a lot of rear grip and I was also nearly crashing many times. It was so difficult today and also this weekend, because we had not enough good feeling in the suspension, especially the rear, and hard to get a good feeling, so finally we finished tenth. This is our best result. I’m happy about this, but we must concentrate for the next race in Valencia because this is a chance for us because the track is shorter and the machine potential is a little bit better than here. I want to thank my mechanics because they are working hard, quite well. And I want to thank the team, the sponsors, and staff.” Valentin Debise, CIP Moto-GP 250 Honda: 13th. “This morning I sat down with the team and we looked through all the data to see if we could find a solution to why we didn’t go so well in qualifying. My problem was that I was fast in all of the track, but I never put a full lap together. I concentrated this morning on doing a complete lap and relaxed on the bike. But I have to do better in qualifying if I’m going to finish better.” Shoya Tomizawa, CIP Moto-GP250 Honda: 16th. “I must apologize to the team for crashing again. I was riding very well and in ninth place. But then I lost the grip on the front tire in turn nine when I was braking. I was able to re-start and finish the race and almost scored one point. But I’m sorry that this happened and I must do better in Valencia.” Raffaele De Rosa, Scot Honda: DNF. “What can I say? I suffered a mechanical problem – an engine problem – in the warm-up lap. My hope was that the consequences were not too severe, but they were. So, I had to quit.”