World championship leader Valentino Rossi yesterday failed to set the pace in the wilting heat of the first practice session for tomorrow’s Malaysian Moto GP.
Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo, the only other rider in contention for the title, set the fastest pace at 2 minutes, 2.18 seconds, with Australian Casey Stoner at 0.064 seconds in the hot and oppressively humid conditions.
Spaniard Dani Pedrosa was third at 0.578 seconds, while Italy’s six-time world champion Rossi came fourth at 0.684 seconds.
PHOTO: AFP
The 5.5km Sepang circuit, south of Kuala Lumpur, has a combination of tight corners, long straights and challenging, high-speed bends that make it a fine test of race machinery and riding skill.
Rossi has described Sepang as one of his favorite circuits.
The Italian downplayed his performance, saying “we worked mainly with old tires to understand the nature of the bike when it’s sliding,” but vowed to be on the front row for tomorrow’s race.
“It’s going to be very important to be on the front row for Sunday. I think the race will be very hard ... drink a lot of water because it is very, very hot,” he said.
The 30-year-old Italian has a 38-point advantage in the world championship and a top-four ride in Sepang will be enough for him to win his seventh title tomorrow.
Ducati rider Stoner, who out-dueled world champion Rossi in last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, is in third spot in the world championship standings, with Pedrosa fourth on a Honda.
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