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MotoGP, Rossi: The 'New' Sepang? Nice, but dangerous

"In perfect conditions we could lap two seconds faster than before, but the asphalt takes too long to dry out"

Rossi: The 'New' Sepang? Nice, but dangerous

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Valentino has always liked Sepang and he was very curious to see if it would be the same after its makeover. Resurfaced and with negative camber on the corner that, in some cases, improved it, but some critical issues also emerged.

I had high expectations to try the new asphalt and I must say that they did a good job: the potholes are gone and grip has improved”, says Rossi.

Are there also problems?
It takes a long time to dry off. This morning it stopped raining at half seven but three hours later the track still was not completely dry. There are still wet spot and that is a big problem because it rains more or less every day here.

Can it be dangerous?
There are 3 or 4 corners where it is really wet. First of all, it is a real pity, because this is a fantastic track, but you cannot push to 100% like this. And then it is also dangerous, because on slicks you go really fast here and, since the new asphalt is very dark, it isn’t easy to tell where the wet spots are either.

There is also the change to turn 15, now counter-sloped. What did you think of it?
That change was made so that you come to the first corner at a lower speed, where there is not much run-off space, and it worked. It is a bit different and harder; you have to follow another line, but I like it. It is more complicated to control the bike in acceleration.

The Formula 1 cars really lowered their times here, why have you not been able to on the bikes?
Simple, because we are riding at 80% and in any case we were not slow. I think that, if we find perfect conditions, we could lap two seconds faster than we did last year.

As for your day, how did it go?
We had two different ways to go with the settings, but it is hard to gather information and go into details when you don’t push to the limit. With the slicks I still have not found a perfect setting, but we are not far off either. Considering the problems with the asphalt, I hope to find completely dry or completely wet conditions.

Translated by Jonathan Blosser
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