Valentino Rossi may possibly secure his ninth World Championship title during Round 16 at Sepang this weekend, a circuit of drastically high humidity and track temperatures that will put all riders to the ultimate test

Ron Lieback
AllAboutBikes.com Content Editor

The penultimate round of MotoGP is upon us, and all talks revolve around the possibility of a ninth World Championship (seventh premier class) title for Valentino Rossi.

If the Italian finishes within the top four at Sepang, the famed No. 46 rider will be crowned 2009 World Champion. The title will be secured at the Shell Advance Malaysian MotoGP even if Rossi’s Fiat Yamaha teammate and title-rival Jorge Lorenzo, who is 38 points behind, finishes first.

Rossi gained 38 points on Lorenzo after taking second at the Iveco Australian Grand Prix last week, finishing behind Ducati Marlboro rider Casey Stoner; the championship battle may have been tighter if Lorenzo didn’t crash out during lap one at Phillip Island.

But if Rossi crashes out in Malaysia, and Lorenzo has a good finish, the Spaniard may still have a shot at the title this weekend during Round 16. An FYI: Lorenzo had a DNF after crashing at Malaysia during his rookie season last year, but the 22-year-old had a 250cc win there in 2006, and the track was significant towards his 250cc title in 2007.

“I like Sepang a lot,” Lorenzo said. “I know it well from testing and I have some great memories, especially in 2007 when I took the 250 title there. This time my team and I will just be focused on having a good weekend and getting as many points as we can in order to achieve our target.

“We don't think about the championship now; my target is to confirm the second place in the championship and, in just my second season in MotoGP, I think that this is a great achievement and I will be happy if I can do it.”

Lorenzo needs some luck, though, considering Rossi’s performance last week at Phillip Island and his record at Sepang; the 30-year-old won last year after starting second on the grid, and has seven podium finishes, including five wins.

“Phillip Island was like gold dust for us in terms of points and now we go to Malaysia, another of my favorite tracks, with our first ‘match point’,” Rossi said. “Of course anything can happen but it’s a great track for me and generally the Yamaha works well there so we have a good chance. We worked brilliantly in Australia and we know that if we can do the same at Sepang then we can have another good weekend. There is no chance to relax - everyone is focused, motivated and excited now that we are at this stage and our number one target for the weekend is to try to close out the championship. We will do our best and see where we are on Sunday night.”

With his victory last week, Stoner, who is back to full health after his three-race break, ascended to third in the championship points race over Dani Pedrosa. The Australian, coming off a win at his home track, took first at Sepang during his title-winning 2007 season, and placed sixth last year.

As for Pedrosa, he’s only six points behind Stoner in the championship, and has a record of finishing on the podium at Sepang, taking second last year. Plus, the Repsol Honda rider has placed third during the last three races this season.

The other Repsol Honda man, Andrea Dovizioso, is seven points ahead of Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards, and made the podium last year during his rookie MotoGP season. The American Edwards will be competitive as always, although he has never had a podium finish in Malaysia.

The points spread from seventh to tenth in the championship standings between Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing) is just one, as the battle for seventh place intensifies.

Built as a state-of-the-art motor racing venue 1999, at 16 meters across in some areas, Sepang is one of the widest tracks on the calendar. With its tropical climate it could not present more different conditions to those of Phillip Island last weekend and the searing track temperatures and high humidity turn the race into a test of endurance and fitness for the riders. With four major hairpins and some fast and frequent changes of direction in its 5.542km layout, Sepang provides a stern workout for the entire bike set-up and it’s largely consistent, if demanding, climate makes it the ideal winter testing venue.