What was the strategy for the Sepang race?
When it started raining immediately before the race, we knew it would be a very difficult race, because in Friday’s wet FP2 session Dani and Marc were not very happy. Marc choose to start with medium front and rear tires. He knew that his target today was to avoid a big mistake, because Dovi was very fast. He did a great job and managed to take the best possible result. Dani opted for a rear soft tire, because he wasn’t comfortable with the medium. He knew he would have manage some tire degradation and his fifth-place finished showed he made the right choice.
Positive points and negative points after the race?
The positive is for sure the overall result of both our riders, and the fact that with Marc’s fourth place, Honda secured its 23rd MotoGP Constructors World Championship. The negative is that in the rain at this circuit the Ducatis were clearly stronger than us. We will need to analyze the data and try to improve for the future.
The view from the pit wall during the race?
It was a very long and tense race. In the wet is it very easy to make a mistake, and with Jorge and Dovi going very fast, we were pleased to see that Marc, after a very good start from the third row to first place at the first corner, was able to manage the situation, avoiding too many risks. We were also pleased to see Dani reasonably competitive, because on Friday he struggled a lot in the wet, so his team and him did a great job today!
Now the championship is carried over to Valencia. What was it like in the pit box after the race?
We knew it wouldn’t be easy to win the championship here, and honestly, after today’s race, we are happy. Of course, the championship is not finished, so we must keep our concentration until the end, but today’s race was a positive race.
The inside story apart from the official comments?
On Saturday night Marc and Dani were the special guests of the Honda Asian Journey, a Honda meeting with customers from the Asia region. The event was organized in the Sama Sama Hotel, and it was a great show. We really hope that everybody enjoyed it as much as we did.
