Moto GP @ Sepang… a disappointing ending!

This has been on my “to do” list for years, but every time i have been in South East Asia during this event I either had to leave just before, or i was occupied during it..But NOW, Finally!

After relocating to Singapore this spring, Kuala Lumpur is just a stone throw away, so i packed my bag, yes!

I flew up on Saturday morning to see the Q1 and Q2 for MotoGP, even if the racing is much more aggressive and sometimes more fun to watch in both Moto2 and Moto3 – i still consider MotoGP as the main attraction, but this time i got there so early that i used Moto2/3 to get my camera set up correct, and got to see some good racing!

Ok, a little backtrack – Sepang International is a massive racing compound about 1 hour south of Kuala Lumpur

How to get there:

– From the airport you use a taxi, you can go to the official taxi counter to get a fixed rate or you can try your luck in the arrival hall, i suggest you get your transport sorted by the official channels and not the guys outside, if there is miles of que by the counters you can be better off going to the lads outside – but as everything that allows you to jump the que; A; it costs money – or B; you are VIP, in this case it is more likely that you need to proceed with A and cough up the dough, the guys driving the taxis does not earn a lot anyway and this is their chance to get some extra cash.. they have families too!!

Metered taxi from Airport(KLIA) to the track will cost you 50 Ringgit(USD 12) for a premium taxi and 40 Ringgit(USD 9,5) for a standard one.

“Facilitated” taxi will cost you 60 Ringgit during slow hours and 70-80 possibly 100 during the rush hour.

Anyway, This was early in the day but there was already a good buzz by the gate, little did i know about the madness waiting beyond the gates!

As alway were the big brands represented well and half way down the “shopping street” i got that feeling of well being , the sound level, the shouting from over energised energy-drink vendors, most likely high on their own product combined with the last factor: The Heat, All of this filled me with the feeling of this not being an ordinary day, and one should feel like that, nothing less!

Some racing..

Lorenzo had a breaking problem during the FP and Qualifying ending in a crash at turn 15, he got up and ran to the marshals who got him quickly back to the paddock,

And here he is: The Doc! MR #46… the one and only Valentino Rossi!!

There is a massive difference between the 3 top riders and the rest when it comes to riding style and confidence in to the corners, when VR enters the corner there is so much confidence and the consistency is almost scary, the bike also sounds less strained – in lack of a better word that is how i can describe it..

Day 2 – Race day!

I stayed in Kuala Lumpur to see the city while i was there.. apart from the haze the city is very nice, i felt safe walking around by myself, for some shopping visit the base level at the Petronas towers.. i got some consumer electronics and the prices and service was excellent.

From the city to the track there is several options in regards to transport..

Taxi – they will charge you everything from 150-250 Ringgit
Train from KL Central to the airport – then taxi to the track

What can be said…?

The fact is that Rossi pushed Marc away.. that is the hard cold facts!! I’m a die hard Rossi fan, but why did he do it.. for all the people who support him.. why?

My personal opinion is that the whole situation was just unnatural, we have seen #93 fighting before and he has never done it like that – he normally opens a gap one way or the other!

My opinion, after seeing the footage is that Rossi did “correctly” forcing #93 to take a wider line , then is you look closely – you can see #93 leaning into Rossi and that is when Rossi pushes him away.. Right???

The aftermath is just tragic, i went home from the track feeling a bit sad about the whole thing – this makes good headlines and generally is “good” PR for the MotoGP series ,ref. Hamilton vs. Rosberg in F1 or even more famous – Senna vs. Prost.