Sepang WorldSBK Form Guide
For the second time in its history, the Sepang International Circuit is all-set to host a round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship. Just a stone’s throw from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the venue first featured on the calendar last year. It now returns two months later in the year than it did in 2014.
The 2014 edition – held in June as opposed to August and Round 6 as opposed to Round 10 – featured a double for Aprilia, as Marco Melandri led home Sylvain Guintoli in both races. This proved to be a mighty important round for the latter, as the Frenchman collected a total of 40 points which proved crucial in his World Championship fight with Tom Sykes. The meeting is arguably best remembered the incident that took out Sykes at Turn 2 in Race 1, as both he and Alex Lowes were taken down by Sykes’ wayward team-mate Loris Baz.
In a very different set of circumstances, Sykes returns to Sepang second in the championship but a huge 125 points behind Kawasaki Racing Team partner Jonathan Rea. Last time out at Laguna Seca in California, it was Sykes who finished second in both race ahead of Rea, whose pair of third places ironically marked his worst weekend of the season so far. Although 200 points are still up for grabs between now and Qatar at the end of the season in October, Rea could wrap up the title in Malaysia, should he score 25 points more than Sykes. Other than that, the Northern Irishman is also looking to extend his run of consecutive podium finishes; he is currently on 19, meaning he would beat Colin Edwards’ run of 25 should he finish on the rostrum in every race up to and including Losail Race 1. Incidentally, if the title is clinched by Rea in Malaysia, the triumph could only occur in the second of the two races.
Jonathan Rea – “I always enjoy the flyaway rounds. When I studied the Sepang races last year I struggled a little bit but it seems that the Ninja ZX-10R was quite a strong package. I expect it to be really hot at Sepang. With the timings of the races and at this time of year there is a possibility of thunderstorms in the afternoon so we have to be ready to react to the weather as well. At Laguna, with it not being such a high braking force track, quite twisty and with the temperature not being so high, I was not able to use my preferred front tyre. So I expect in Malaysia, with the temperature increase and the heavy braking zones then my preferred harder front option will be the tyre of choice. I hope to be able to get back to my normal riding style and set the bike up accordingly. Whilst we had a good pace at Laguna Seca, I was not entirely comfortable. It is important for me to have a strong weekend at Sepang before we start on the long summer break. I really enjoy the Sepang track and the fans in Asia are always incredible, so I think to should be a great weekend.”
Tom Sykes – “Sepang is an absolutely incredible venue, a great Grand Prix circuit and one that I enjoy. The Tom Sykes and Kawasaki fans are fantastic and they turn up in their numbers, which it is great to see. Sepang has a great layout and I enjoy the weather conditions. It is something completely different and quite challenging – but it is nice. We had a great feeling there last year and I think we can build on that. We are gradually getting a better feeling with the bike this year under the new regulations we have. I hope we can continue that momentum from Laguna forward. Sepang is really wide, open and your references are not as clear as they would on most tracks. Because you have so much circuit to play with you have a lot of tarmac to use and that is when you get the lap times. Sometimes all of that tarmac sucks you in and you feel you need to use it all. In some areas you are best of keeping to tight and not using all of the track. It is really quite technical.”
What about Ducati? The Italian marque collected its first double since Imola 2012 (with Carlos Checa) as Chaz Davies stunningly won both Laguna Seca races two weekends ago. This marked the Welshman’s own first double since Aragon 2013 and the first for the Ducati Panigale model, which debuted in World Superbike at the start of the 2013 campaign. Surely the Panigale has everything required to succeed at Sepang, with a twin-cylinder engine configuration and horsepower by the bucketful.
Davies will be the only factory Ducati rider on-track in Malaysia as team-mate Davide Giugliano has been ruled out of the remaining rounds of the season due to the spinal injury he sustained at Laguna Seca. The team has decided not to replace Giugliano for the upcoming event, while his seat at Jerez in September will be taken by Michele Pirro.
Chaz Davies – “All things considered I think we did a good job last year. The high temperatures were a big issue for us, especially in the races where grip worsened significantly after a few laps. We were quite fast for as long as we had tyre life but it wasn’t for long enough unfortunately. We are definitely in a better position now and so we should be more competitive, especially considering our recent results. The weather may also impact on the practices and races, with the likelihood of thunderstorms almost every day… We just have to wait and see but I think we have every reason to be confident.”
Also making headlines on the run-up to Sepang is Max Biaggi, as the WorldSBK Champion of 2010 and 2012 returns for his second wildcard outing of 2015, after Misano. This time, he has prepared for the event with four days of testing at the Malaysian venue, although three of the four are reported to have been affected by rain. Nevertheless, the Italian – who last raced at Sepang a decade ago in MotoGP – is looking to continue his good form following his pair of sixth places at the Riviera di Rimini Round.
Max Biaggi – “After the dream come true at Misano, where I rediscovered the warmth of my fans and the adrenaline of racing, in the second wild card at Sepang a demanding weekend awaits. During the tests I discovered the difficulties of a complex track with extreme weather conditions, and losing precious time didn’t help. We’ll need to stay 100% focused to take advantage of every practice session. The guys on my team will be under a lot of pressure and I’ll have to dig deep to give my best. Improving on the Misano results will be no walk in the park, but it isn’t the first time I’ve faced an impossible challenge. I hope to have fun and to give Superbike fans a good show.”
Elsewhere, Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils riders Leon Haslam and Jordi Torres both left Laguna disappointed, while the likes of Pata Honda World Superbike Team’s Guintoli and Michael van der Mark are looking for that extra boost to carry them to podiums.
Leon Haslam – “I have been anxiously awaiting the Malaysia round. Laguna Seca was the most difficult weekend of the season for me. I want to get back to winning and I think that the Sepang track is the right place to do it. This is traditionally a good circuit for Aprilia and I’m sure that Max’s contribution will also be helpful. Now all that’s left is to start working with our best efforts from the first laps and to managing our setup well will also be fundamental given the extreme conditions.”
Jordi Torres – “Sepang is a long and very diverse circuit. Finding a good braking setup will be essential because there are a lot of braking sections and so will working on grip in the particular temperature and humidity conditions. I like the circuit and the atmosphere of the locals. I think that Malaysia is really a beautiful country. After Laguna Seca I’ve raised the bar for myself. I’m ready to hunker down behind my top fairing on the two long straight stretches!”
Michael van der Mark – “Compared to the last two years, the Suzuka experience was really disappointing this year. I’ve never felt so bad after a race, so I’m looking forward to meeting up with the team again and to riding my WSBK-specification CBR. I’m not under any illusions because I know how tough the circuit is; it’ll be hard work but I really enjoy riding there, even though it can get quite hot. I had a really good battle in the heat last season with Jules Cluzel in Supersport which will bring back some happy memories for me. We’ll work as hard as we can from Friday morning to get the best out of the CBR and see where we are when Sunday comes.”
Sylvain Guintoli – “Malaysia is a great event in the calendar with a very fast layout in Sepang and very challenging conditions during the race weekend with heat and humidity. We will continue to work on different fronts to improve our results.”
The same could be said for BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team’s Ayrton Badovini and Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s Alex Lowes, who each took one sixth place but one race retirement away from the last round. Both van der Mark and Lowes heads directly to Sepang from the Suzuka 8 Hours.
Alex Lowes – “It’s been a busy few weeks with Laguna, Suzuka and Sepang back-to-back but I’m still looking forward to getting back to Malaysia. It’s a track I feel I don’t really know to be honest, missing out on race one last year after getting knocked off on turn two. It’s a really long track so I need to re-learn the layout and then try to work hard for a solid weekend. We’ve been making some good progress on the GSX-R in recent races, so hopefully the extra experience gained during the 8 Hours and working alongside Yoshimura will allow that development to continue. I’m looking to keep as close to the top-six as possible and challenge for two solid races this weekend before we stop for the summer break!”
Randy de Puniet – “I like Malaysia; I have raced maybe 15 GPs there. I had a couple of good races in 250cc and I have tested many times with the Suzuki GP team over the winter so I know the track very well. I think we can be more competitive there as we have already shown the improvements made to the GSX-R during the Laguna weekend and I think we can keep getting better. I’m excited to race at Sepang, it will be challenging with the heat, especially as I have never raced twice in the one day there so this will be a little different for me. If we can start Sepang with the same feeling we had at Laguna on Friday and Saturday and improve further from this, it will be an interesting weekend for us.”
Spanish rookies Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) and the aforementioned Torres already know the Sepang International Circuit, albeit on different machinery, while the venue will be new for Barni Racing Team’s Leandro Mercado; he has finished in the points this year in every race bar one – and only Jonathan Rea beats that. Santiago Barragan will not take part in the Pirelli Malaysian Round as he opted for an early end to his partnership with Team Grillini Kawasaki.
2015 eni FIM Superbike World Championship (9 of 13 rounds completed)
1 – Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team – 407
2 – Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team – 282
3 – Chaz Davies Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team – 263
4 – Leon Haslam Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils – 240
5 – Jordi Torres Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils – 164
World Supersport: Titanic title fight resumes
By the time the World Supersport riders take to the track in Free Practice 1 on Friday morning, it will have been almost six weeks since they last met at Misano. The 2015 Pirelli Malaysian Round promises to be hotter than ever as Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) continues to hunt down three-time World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). The gap between them is 20 points – and PJ Jacobsen mustn’t be forgotten either…
Frenchman Cluzel has won the last two races, with the points lead of Sofuoglu plummeting from 40 to 20 points when the Turk made a rare error and slipped down the order on the final lap at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. The pair have four races left in their struggle for ultimate glory, but must not ignore American Jacobsen. The New Yorker will blast back into action on the CORE’’ Motorsport Thailand Honda, having had time to recover from arm pump surgery on both arms since the last race. He sits 40 points behind the championship leader, with a maximum 100 points still up for grabs between Malaysia and the Qatar finale.
Last year at Sepang, Cluzel missed out on the win by the tiny margin of 18 thousandths of a second. The victor was Michael van der Mark en route to the title, while Sofuoglu was required to work very hard for the final rostrum placing; he eventually clinched the desired third spot, fighting off the attentions of Roberto Rolfo. The top five was completed by Lorenzo Zanetti.
Mentioning top five finishes, precisely one of these was achieved by Ratthapong Wilairot as he made his World Supersport debut earlier this season in Thailand; he now returns to action for the Malaysian round, but on this occasion with CIA Landlords Insurance Honda as a replacement for Riccardo Russo. In the meantime, as he continues to recover from a track day crash, Kieran Clarke will miss the rest of the season and is covered for at Sepang by Aiden Wagner.
2015 FIM Supersport World Championship (8 of 12 rounds completed)
1 – Kenan Sofuoglu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing – 155
2 – Jules Cluzel MV Agusta Reparto Corse – 135
3 – PJ Jacobsen CORE” Motorsport Thailand Honda – 115
