Just four days after ending activity at the Phillip Island Circuit, today MotoGP is back in action in Malaysia, at the suffocating Sepang Circuit, with the Repsol Honda Team riders, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, in third and fifth place respectively. A positive start for both riders, who have started to adjust the set up of their Honda RC212Vs ready to opt for a leading role in Sunday’s race and fight for the top places.
Winner of the pole position last year, Dani Pedrosa once again starts among the strongest in the MotoGP category. The Repsol rider quickly got into the rhythm of the Sepang track and gradually lowered his times to a best time of 2 minutes, 2 seconds and 758 milliseconds, just half a second off the fastest, Jorge Lorenzo.
His teammate, Andrea Dovizioso, took his Honda RC212V to fifth place, 962 milliseconds off the best time. The Repsol rider was significantly more consistent than in previous practice sessions, confirming the progress shown in last Sunday’s race in Australia.
Today’s practice took place under suffocating heat, typical of this Grand Prix, with temperatures reaching 37ºC and humidity levels over 50%. Fortunately, the rain, which is always a threat in these parts, did not put in an appearance in the first free practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Dani Pedrosa, 2’02.758 sec, 22 laps, 122 km. >> Audio
“I’m happy with how this first practice session has gone and we’ve established a good base for the weekend. As expected, it was really hot out there and the first session for this Grand Prix is always the toughest because it takes a little time to acclimatise. By Sunday, the heat will no problem. The track was a little dirty which affected the grip, but that’s also normal for Sepang and it will improve through the weekend. The lap times are already quite competitive because we test at this circuit and all the teams have plenty of set-up data even before we arrive. I’m not worried about being half a second back from the fastest time at this stage – it’s not so important and we have some areas to work on to improve things. To achieve good stability under braking is the key area for us and we’ll be working to make some improvements to the set-up for tomorrow.”
Andrea Dovizioso, 2’03.142 sec, 22 laps, 122 km. >> Audio
“I’m satisfied with this first practice session. I like this circuit very much, I feel comfortable and also the feeling with the machine has been good today. We started with a good direction and worked on some set-up options and particularly on the traction control settings. This is a very important factor for Sepang so that we can be consistent during the race because there is not so much grip here and the performance of the tyres can fade as the race goes on. We will continue working on a few adjustments tomorrow and I’m very confident that we can improve. Today the conditions out there were very demanding. It was so hot and humid and, in addition to the outside temperatures, we have to cope also with the heat that comes from the bike. Anyway, I’m feeling good and I’m positive and confident that we can qualify well and fight with the top group – that’s the target.”
