Photo: MotoGP.com
Another "tour de force" is expected for MotoGP riders and their teams as the championship draws to an end and the second triple header of the series will begin this weekend with the Malaysian Grand Prix, followed by the Australian and the Japanese rounds.
The championship is led by Marc Marquez, who has a somewhat comfortable 39-point buffer from Jorge Lorenzo.
59 points behind him sits the other Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa, still with mathematical chances to take the championship provided he wins and the two men in front of him go down. However, down went the biggest part of his more tangible chances for a championship as he crashed out of the Aragon round, after clashing with Marquez and being left with no traction control. Pedrosa won at Sepang last year, so he knows the sweet taste of Malaysian victory.
Pedrosa must now watch out for incoming Valentino Rossi, 34 points behind him and who can definitely provide surprises, given how determined he is to win at least one more race this year. 29 points behind Rossi, Cal Crutchlow can only hope his mechanics can manage to make his new engine run faster than it did at Aragon. The Malaysian round is a fast one, and Cal's slow(er) bike will definitely not help him at Sepang.
Honda's satellite bikes are also expected to battle fiercely, as both Bautista and Bradl has recently showed a strong appetite for the on-track battle. Behind them, Ducati's 4 bikes struggle to make the best of their package, and conquer each of their weak points one by one. Though championship podium chances are null, each point they get in the remaining 4 rounds is a welcome addition to their roster.
On the CRT (non-MSMA) front, the battle is clearly led by Aleix Espargaro and his Power Electronics Aspar Aprilia machine, while the rest trying to get as close as possible to him. The two new riders who have been comfirmed until the end of the season are also getting acquainted better with the bikes, and we can expect to see these two fellows riding even better with each round.
Of course, we're talking about Luca Scassa, substituting injured Karel Abraham for Cardion AB and Damian Cudlin, replacing Yonny Hernandez at PBM , as he hopped on Ben Spies' Pramac Ducati.
We remember you that the GP Race Direction has scheduled a hearing to solve the Marquez-Pedrosa incident. If Marquez receives more penalty points, he might start at Sepang from the last row of the grid.
Unfortunately, the Sepang round will makr two years since the death of Marco Sic Simoncelli.
59 points behind him sits the other Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa, still with mathematical chances to take the championship provided he wins and the two men in front of him go down. However, down went the biggest part of his more tangible chances for a championship as he crashed out of the Aragon round, after clashing with Marquez and being left with no traction control. Pedrosa won at Sepang last year, so he knows the sweet taste of Malaysian victory.
Pedrosa must now watch out for incoming Valentino Rossi, 34 points behind him and who can definitely provide surprises, given how determined he is to win at least one more race this year. 29 points behind Rossi, Cal Crutchlow can only hope his mechanics can manage to make his new engine run faster than it did at Aragon. The Malaysian round is a fast one, and Cal's slow(er) bike will definitely not help him at Sepang.
Honda's satellite bikes are also expected to battle fiercely, as both Bautista and Bradl has recently showed a strong appetite for the on-track battle. Behind them, Ducati's 4 bikes struggle to make the best of their package, and conquer each of their weak points one by one. Though championship podium chances are null, each point they get in the remaining 4 rounds is a welcome addition to their roster.
On the CRT (non-MSMA) front, the battle is clearly led by Aleix Espargaro and his Power Electronics Aspar Aprilia machine, while the rest trying to get as close as possible to him. The two new riders who have been comfirmed until the end of the season are also getting acquainted better with the bikes, and we can expect to see these two fellows riding even better with each round.
Of course, we're talking about Luca Scassa, substituting injured Karel Abraham for Cardion AB and Damian Cudlin, replacing Yonny Hernandez at PBM , as he hopped on Ben Spies' Pramac Ducati.
We remember you that the GP Race Direction has scheduled a hearing to solve the Marquez-Pedrosa incident. If Marquez receives more penalty points, he might start at Sepang from the last row of the grid.
Unfortunately, the Sepang round will makr two years since the death of Marco Sic Simoncelli.
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