Monster Malaysian MotoGP Preview and AEDT Schedule

MotoGP 2022 – Round 19 – Sepang

The Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia is situated in a sprawling 2,300 acre complex located around 50 kilometres south of Kuala Lumper and the complex also houses a hotel, shopping centre, golf course and other sports facilities.

It cost around $80 million AUD to construct and was built in just 14 months, holding its first Grand Prix in April 1999.

With four slow corners following two long straights and ten medium to high-speed corners, the wide track offers plenty of passing places and plenty of open throttle. One of the longest laps in MotoGP is made all the more gruelling for riders by intense heat and humidity.

Alex Rins arrives in Malayisa after enjoying a dream return to his favourite circuit Phillip Islandlast time out, standing on the top step of the podium in Phillip Island after a dramatic battle with Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia. It also gave Team Suzuki personnel a reason to smile after what’s been an emotional and tumultuous year.

Alex Rins

“I’m still taking in the happiness from the last race, it was a real pleasure to celebrate a victory with my team again after such a long time, and the Australian GP will remain in my heart. But it’s time to move on to Malaysia now. Sepang is always a challenge, especially when it rains! But with myself and my bike feeling good, I’m hopeful of another strong result this Sunday.”

Pecco Bagnaia  took the lead in the overall standings last Sunday at Phillip Island in Australia, closing a gap that, after the German GP at Sachsenring, eight rounds ago, was a huge 91 point deficit to Quartararo. Thanks to his third place in Phillip Island, Bagnaia is now in first place with a 14-point lead over the Frenchman and 27 points over Aleix Espargaro. Therefore, the race in Sepang, which returns to host MotoGP after a three-year absence due to the pandemic, will be crucial for the Italian rider. 

Pecco Bagnaia

“I’m quite calm, because finally I know that our potential can be high. If we continue working like we did in the second half of the season, we can do a really good job. The main question here is the weather because it looks like it can rain on Saturday and Sunday, but let’s see. It’s always very difficult to predict the weather here, but I think, if we work well, we have a great possibility.

“An Italian has not won the MotoGP title since 2009, and Ducati has not won the [riders’] title since 2007. It would be my first title in MotoGP so, for sure, the pressure is there. I feel that I’ll start having the pressure, but in this moment, I’m quite happy. I know that we did something really good this year, but we still have to finish the job and my main focus in this moment is on that.”

With a 14-point gap to close in the championship standings, Quartararo will be on the attack in this upcoming GP. His will be pushing and is keen to find his mojo on the YZR-M1 early on so he can enjoy the riding and battling.

The three-day test findings in Malaysia form a solid base for the set-up. On top of that, El Diablo has previous positive experiences at this circuit. He has ridden at Sepang four times (in the Moto3 class in 2016, in Moto2 in 2017 and 2018, and in MotoGP in 2019) and never finished outside the top 7. He came close to a podium finish in 2016 and 2018 when he finished fourth and fifth respectively, but he is still gunning for his first podium finish on Malaysian soil.

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Fabio Quartararo

“Especially you know, last races I didn’t enjoy so much but you know right now I’m in a position where I don’t really need to think about anything, just push myself to the limit. It’s of course a different mentality and I will of course make this GP in a different mood. I have the feeling I have nothing to lose right now in this moment, so of course I will approach the race putting myself on the limit from the beginning of the weekend, make some changes on the bike at the beginning of the weekend. Try to make some changes on the bike, I think this is something – every time we go to a track we feel super good and never touch something. I think it’s a good moment to, even if we have a good feeling, try to make an improvement in some areas. I think it’s a different situation than the previous ones.”

Aleix Espargaro has slipped to 27-points behind the championship leader and this weekend will make his 300th GP appearance.

“The goal is to try and stop Pecco, which is going to be difficult because the form he showed in recent races – actually, the second part of the Championship – has been amazing, but I will try my best. I have the feeling that it’s more lost than won, this title, for me, so I can risk a little bit more, be a little bit more aggressive on race day, and hopefully bring it to Valencia.

“I mean, testing is testing, but in pre-season here we were very strong, very fast, and we did a fast lap, but also we had consistency regarding the pace. But, from last February to here, everybody has improved quite a lot, but anyway I think it’s a track where the bike will work well. We have a lot of data that we didn’t have in Australia, Thailand, Japan, so, from the pre-season, here in Malaysia we have some data, even if we haven’t raced here since 2019. So, I think the Aprilia will be competitive here.

“We saw that in the races we didn’t have data, we struggled a lot. We lost a lot of time doing basic things like gearbox and many other things because the data we have from ’19 is completely useless for us – we have changed completely. So, I think it’s a good school for us in the future. We lost a lot of points in recent races, but if we are able to learn about this and change, a little bit, the way we work on these new tracks and we have the data for the future, I think we’re going to be stronger next season.”

The Malaysian GP will also be important for Jack Miller from a Championship perspective as despite an unfortunate home Grand Prix at Phillip Island Jack can still aim for third place in the overall standings.

Jack Miller

“After last Sunday’s race in Australia, unfortunately, I can no longer aim for the title, but I am still in the fight for third place in the standings, as Espargaro and Bastianini also failed to capitalize in Phillip Island. So the goal this weekend will be to try to recover as many points as possible and get back into the fight for the top positions.

“Last Sunday, we really had the potential to do well, as it had happened in the last GPs of this second part of the season, but unfortunately, I was knocked out of the race and it wasn’t my fault. I feel comfortable riding the Desmosedici GP and the sensations continue to be positive, so I am confident that I can do well here in Sepang, where I have been fast in the past. My goal is to finish the last two races I have left with the Ducati Lenovo Team in the best possible way.”

Marc Marquez arrives in Malaysia in ever-improving form and fresh from his 100th premier class podium finish. The eight-time World Champion pushed for the victory in Australia until the final corner as his physical condition continues to improve and he is able to demonstrate more and more of his true potential. The intense heat and humidity of Sepang will present another physical trial for the #93, but he is ready for the task and to once again battle for the best result possible. The return to Malaysia will give all involved valueable data to see how both rider and machine have developed since the pre-season. Marquez has twice won the Malaysian GP in the premier class.

Marc Marquez

“We take away from Australia really positive energy and some extra motivation I would say. When you, Honda, the engineers are working so hard, when the team has suffered, I suffered at home but they suffered at the track all season, and when some good news arrives, some good results – already in Japan with the pole, Thailand fighting with the top guys and the podium in Australia, means a lot. It’s important, it’s an important boost for next year. It’s true we’ll come back to our real place here because Australia is a very special circuit and one of my favourite tracks, but we’ll keep working for 2023, my main target is to keep on that positive evolution and it looks like we achieved it.

“In Phillip Island we had many new items and we tried on Friday, then on Saturday I pushed to change the schedule because I saw it was possible to take a good result. I said ‘please, I want to concentrate for the race’, and then we forget a bit and we concentrate more on the weekend. But Malaysia is a good track to try new things, I will try a few new things tomorrow and we will continue if the weather accepts, I will continue on trying new things because it’s important, it’s the deadline for the Valencia Test. I will try the maximum, we will go out there and take a risk but always thinking about trying new things.

“In Australia I didn’t get to finish trying all these things. For example the tail wings, one example, the one you can see. The others I can’t say. I tried one run and we didn’t get good information so I will try here, but we have a few different things that someone inside Honda needs to try and we don’t have time, so we need to do it during a race weekend so I accept this role.

“As I say in Thailand, three races in a row I felt like I needed a rest but it was important, but as soon as I got on the bike in Australia I felt a big improvement. Not only in the Australia GP, the way the muscles recovered from Australia to Malaysia was faster, and the muscles are relaxed in a better way. This track is one of the most difficult and most demanding for the hot conditions. But we are ready to fight and I don’t want to think about the arm anymore, it’s true we’ll improve especially during the winter, but I will try to give my 100 per cent as we are.

“It’s the first chance for Pecco, he has a big chance to do it here. But I will say it’s the last chance for Fabio so he needs to react, and as a Champion he will react I expect. It will be nice to see how they will push all weekend, especially Fabio, as we did in Australia he took a risk, but here he has to take the real risk if he wants to have a chance in Valencia.”

Joan Mir was unlucky last time out when a faulty manometer (tyre pressure gauge) put paid to his race after few laps. He valiantly held on to 18th place but had potential for a much higher result on his comeback ride. After the disappointments of the last few weeks, he’s hoping for a strong result on his penultimate ride with the GSX-RR.

Joan Mir

“Obviously I want to put last weekend behind me. While I was very happy for the team with Alex’s win, my own race was a bit of a disaster. Anyway, these things happen, and hopefully this next race in Sepang will run a lot more smoothly. My ankle is feeling stronger by the day, and even though this is a very technical circuit, I’m quite confident that I’ll feel good and be able to have a nice result.”

HRC test rider Tetsuta Nagashima will once more be substituting Takaaki Nakagami in the LCR Honda IDEMITSU Team at this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Having stood in for his compatriot at the last two events in Thailand and Australia, the Japanese rider has again been called up as Nakagami’s replacement, while the latter continues to recover from hand surgery.

And then there is of course the horde of Ducati riders not mentioned here already that are always in with a chance of springing a surprise on Sunday…

MotoGP Championship Points Standings

Moto2

Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) had chance to capitalise big Down Under as Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) suffered arguably his toughest weekend of the season so far, languishing outside the top ten. But in a shock twist on Sunday, Fernandez slid out from third and what would have been a sizeable points lead, meaning it’s Ogura who instead heads to Sepang with his first match point.

The gap, however, remains tiny. It’s just 3.5 points but that is enough to mean that, if Ogura wins and Fernandez doesn’t finish better than 13th, the title goes to the Japanese rider. Will Fernandez hold his nerve? Can Ogura come out swinging and bounce back? The psychology of heading into the round knowing you made a mistake vs knowing you just weren’t that fast is an interesting balance. So who will balance it best?

One rider who doesn’t need to balance much is Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) as the rookie pulled off a stunning second win, overcoming a Long Lap and still winning by over three seconds – before pulling a literal ace out of his sleeve after the flag. He will most definitely be pushing to lead the resistance as the rest of the field fight it out for their own glory.

Moto2 Championship Points Standings

Moto3

Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) went from Champion elect to Champion confirmed at Phillip Island, but as Moto3 heads for Sepang there remains plenty on the line. Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) stemmed the flow of points against him with a first podium for some time, Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) was close to the rostrum again and Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) had a tougher weekend – resulting in the three being covered by 18 points ahead of the penultimate race of the year. So who will come out swinging?

The respite from a tougher run should see Garcia back to what’s more his best, and Sasaki is the most consistent rider of late – practice in pace and on race day. Foggia will want more of that after winning in Buriram and then struggling in Australia. But with the long straight at Sepang they could have a little more competition this time around, and the likes of Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3), back to near fitness, will be aiming high at a track he knows well.

There’s also a Malaysian presence on the grid as Syarifuddin Azman wildcards with VisionTrack. The JuniorGP race winner certainly has track knowledge on his side, and he’ll want to make an impression on home turf.

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

2022 Sepang MotoGP Time Schedule
(AEDT)

2022 MotoGP Calendar