After a fantastic weekend in Australia, where they took both the Rider's and Constructor's Championships, the Repsol Honda Team are en route to Malaysia for the penultimate round of the 2011 Moto GP World Championship.
Casey Stoner was crowned World Champion after winning his home Grand Prix with two races of the season remaining. Repsol Honda riders Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa are both still fighting for third position in the Championship with just four points separating them.
The Australian has won at Sepang in all the three classes, twice at MotoGP level in 2007 and 2009. The Spaniard has visited the podium four times in MotoGP but has yet to take the top step, although he has won in both the 250cc (2004) and 125cc (2003) categories. Victory in the MotoGP class also eludes the Italian, who has had four podium finishes at the Malaysian track, two of which were in MotoGP in 2008 and 2010.
Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda
"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 won’t be there, we had hoped that his recovery from the operation would mean he could race. 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".
Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda
"Malaysia is one of my favourite tracks, so I really want to get there and push 100% to try and win this race. We arrive highly motivated after the race 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 and some other riders will be also hard to beat".
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda
”We have a couple of days to rest and recover from the race in Australia now 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 there 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 achieve two very good results and finish the season in the best way possible".
source: motogp official
