Marc Márquez will keep fighting for the Moto2 World Championship, a title Casey Stoner already secured in MotoGP. Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso will continue their duel for the third place.
Almost without time to celebrate the 2011 World Champion title, Casey Stoner and his team mates of the Repsol Honda Team, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, will face this weekend the second-to-last round of the calendar, the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Repsol rider will try to add a new victory and break records in the most demanding circuit of the season due to the extreme heat and humidity. Stoner will try to set his twelfth pole position, while Pedrosa and Dovizioso will fight for the third place in the overall standings. In Moto2, Marc Márquez is only three points away from the lead, when there are still 50 up for grabs.
The new MotoGP World Champion, Casey Stoner, arrives in Malaysia with his homework done, but with new challenges ahead. In Sepang, the Australian rider will have the opportunity to equal two records, his own of the most victories in one year —10 in 2007— and the record of most poles achieved in one season —12 for Mick Doohan in 1997 in 500cc and for Marc Márquez in 2010 in 125cc—. This will be Stoner’s 100 Grand Prix in MotoGP, and he visits a track were he has won in all categories.
His team mate, Dani Pedrosa, only needs to achieved one victory in MotoGP in Sepang to equal his Australian team mate. The Spanish rider, who did not take part in the Malaysian race in 2010 due to an injury, will try to recover from the weekend he had in Phillip Island, where he was fourth and lost 3 points to Andrea Dovizioso —third in the Championship—. The Italian rider of the Repsol Honda Team was in Phillip Island again on the podium. With this third place, Andrea is just one point away from match his best MotoGP season. The Sepang circuit, the second longest of the World Championship with 5.548 metres, is a pending subject for the Italian rider, who saw the win escape from his hands last year.
Nothing is impossible for Marc Márquez and his Moto2. After recovering 35 positions in Australia to finish on the podium, the Repsol rider arrives to a circuit he already conquered last year in the small category. This has been a dream season for the young rider from Cervera who, two races from the end of the Championship, depends only on himself to get the title of World Champion in his first year in Moto2. He is second in the overall standings three points behind the leader, German Stefan Bradl, and has finish on the podium nine consecutive times. The Sepang track will be the next chance for Marc Márquez to keep being the protagonist of a year that will enter the motorcycling history.
Dani Pedrosa
“We now have a couple of days to rest and recover from the race in Australia and I’m looking forward to arriving in Malaysia. Sepang is a circuit I like and where we have had good results in the past. I won in 125cc and 250cc, but not yet in MotoGP and this is a very good motivation for me. The winter test in Sepang was good and we have some interesting data to start working with. I really want to do two very good races and finish the season the best way possible”.
Andrea Dovizioso
“Malaysia is one of my favourite tracks, so I really want to get there and push 100% to try to win this race. We arrive very motivated after the race we had in Australia, a circuit which has always been difficult for me. The last two races are very important; I will fight to retain third position in the Championship even though I know Dani [Pedrosa] and some other riders will be also hard to beat”.
Casey Stoner
“After clinching the title in the last race at Phillip Island we go to Malaysia with a lot less pressure and we can just look forward to the race. It’s disappointing to hear that Jorge [Lorenzo] is unlikely to be there, we had hoped that his recovery from the operation would mean he could race there but we’ll miss him there again. After pre-season testing in Sepang we proved to be competitive so we will arrive there positive and look to enjoy the weekend. We’re also testing the 1000cc bike on Monday after the race, with the Championship now wrapped up, we can concentrate on the development of next years machine, so I’m also looking forward to that”.
Marc Márquez
“After that intensive weekend we start over again in Malaysia. With the 125cc, Sepang went very well, so I hope that I can have fun also with the Moto2. It is a Grand Prix where you need to be very well prepared physically and although I still have some bruises, I hope I will be at 100%. The physical preparation is good, so during the practice and the race it will be important to be careful with hydration. The last sector has very long straights, so it will also very important to have a very good engine set-up. Another thing to take into account are the sudden and frequent rains, that can change the conditions of the track in a moment”.
