MotoGP Blog

Circuit map: here.
Circuit web page: Sepang International Circuit.

View Larger Map

Quick Guide
Sepang International Circuit, and the races which take place at the track, have a number of distinctive features. Poor quality tarmac, heat, monsoon rains, and an artificial design being chief among these.

The design is an attempt to provide an environment for F1 cars with their aerodynamics that promotes overtaking - namely long straights followed by sharp, slow corners. It failed in this regard and tends not to make for the most exciting motorcycle races either, traction and power out of the slow corners being the key to a fast lap.

The heat and monsoon rains are a challenge for the riders, who are frequently utterly exhausted at the end of a Malaysian GP, and given that it is much more likely to be wet than dry on any given weekend at this time of year in Malaysia, tyre selection becomes somewhat simpler.

The tarmac was re-laid after the F1 race in 2007 and before the 2007 MotoGP event, but succeeded only in adding to the rippling bumps caused by the enormous power of the F1 engines and their sticky rubber. It is a long, hard race in Sepang, won by the rider with the greatest endurance as well as the greatest skill.

Circuit length: 5.542 km
Circuit width: 16m
Corners: 15: 5 left-handers, 10 right-handers
MotoGP race distance: 21 laps

Recent winners
2008:
2007: Casey Stoner: 43m 04.405
2006: Valentino Rossi: 43m 07.829
2005: Loris Capirossi: 43m 27.523