With the 2011 MotoGP Champion already crowned, a new battle emerges in the paddock. Teammates Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso are separated by just four points in the overall standings, and Jorge Lorenzo, who is currently second, is less than 50 points ahead of the Repsol Honda riders.
Could Lorenzo drop to third? Can Dovi hold off his teammate?
"The fight is at home, in the same team, and everybody knows it is really important for me to finish in front of him," said Dovizioso. "To finish third in the Championship for me is the best result and really important before leaving (the team). I'm really determined to finish third and also have the possibility of a dream to finish second, which will be very difficult."
Dovizioso is moving to the Tech 3 team in 2012 and is hoping to end his career with Honda in the best possible way.
"It was a difficult decision because the Honda is so strong and has been for a couple of years," Dovi said. "In my dream there is still the possibility to try and fight for the Championship, and it looks like at the moment, with a lot of strong riders, there is no possibility for me. So I will try in a different way."
Behind the top four riders, Valentino Rossi is hoping to claim fifth. The former champion is currently tied for 6th with Marco Simoncelli behind Ben Spies.
"Here at Sepang it's always a great pleasure to ride, I love this track and I have always had good results here," said the Italian. "In the (pre-season) test I was not very fast here so we hope to be in better condition for this weekend, and we have a battle in the Championship for fifth place. Right now I'm seventh which is more or less my normal position during this season, but unfortunately I lost important points in the last two races with crashes. The battle for fifth is not over."
