Malaysia, next eastern stopover for the Repsol riders.
Alex Barros and Nicky Hayden will be searching for the longed for MotoGP victory, with Rubén Xaus hoping to repeat a good result in Sepang. Porto, in the contest for the 250cc title.
Once the new Grand Prix of Qatar, where the Repsol riders experienced different luck, has been left behind, the whole World Championship circus moves without hardly any rest to the next transoceanic event. With only three rounds left for the end of the Championship, Malaysia will be the venue of a frantic battle in each of the three classes; for some of the riders it will probably be the last possible assault on the World Championship title. The Sepang circuit with a length of 5,548 metres and a main straight of 920 metres is one of the longest and most modern circuits of the calendar. Many riders like its layout, which combines tight corners with faster sections and a hairpin at the entrance of the main straight, which is usually the scenery of spectacular overtaking manoeuvres. The biggest rival of the riders on the Malaysian track will be once again the suffocating heat, which will not only be a hard test for machines and tyres, but also for the riders. In the premier class, Alex Barros will try to make up for the bad feeling after the recent Grand Prix of Qatar, where he had options to fight for the victory but finally had to settle for the fourth place. The Brazilian rider will be back on the track where he got his last pole 2002 season and finally finished third of the race. Last year he started however from the twelfth place of the grid, crashed in the first lap and despite being able to rejoin the race only managed to finish tenth.
Nicky Hayden finished fourth last year, almost on the podium, after starting from the ninth place of the grid of a circuit he had trouble adapting to. The young North American rider hopes to clinch in Sepang his first victory in the MotoGP class he is so much looking forward to. Despite scoring in Qatar after a whole month of drought, Hayden hasnt managed to recover 100%tly of the injuries suffered a bit over a month ago. But, with no doubt, most eyes will be fixed on one of the protagonists of the Grand Prix of Qatar, Spanish rider Rubén Xaus. The young Repsol rider took the first podium finish of his MotoGP career on a circuit, where the fact of being new to all participants equalled the chance for all of them. Xaus, who is leading the standings of the Rookie of the Year title with a 26-points advantage over Hoffman, already lapped in February on the Malaysian track during the private tests carried out by the team, although countless technical problems hindered them from drawing too many conclusions.
In the 250cc class Sebastián Porto will be fighting in Sepang in order to close the gap to Dani Pedrosa in the overall standings as much as possible. Porto, who proved throughout the Grand Prix of Qatar that he is in really good shape and that he has finally found a good balance for his bike, will try to get the most out of his Aprilia in Sepang in order to take his fifth victory of the season an keep up the title chances. Last year, the Argentinean rider qualified seventh but finished eighth. His team-mate Fonsi Nieto will face this round in high spirits not only due to the improvement shown by his Aprilia in Qatar, but also because he will be back on a track that brings back good memories. He finished third last year, as he did in 2001 and he took the victory in 2002, qualifying for the first row of the three races. In the quarter-of-a-litre class, Pablo Nieto will be fighting this weekend to get a good result that will allow him to climb positions in the overall standings.
Currently fifth in the Championship, the youngest of the Nietos started in 2003 from the second row of the grid in seventh position, but finished ninth after loosing several places during the start and being forced to remount from the back. Sepang is one of the circuits Pablo Nieto likes most and after getting almost on the podium in Qatar, the devotion of this brave rider is guaranteed. His young team-mate Sergio Gadea will be once again confronted to a circuit he doesnt know. The rider from Valencia will have to adapt quickly to the long and wide track to get the confidence he needs and find a good set-up for his bike. His aim will be to get a good result to score some points and climb positions in the overall standings.
