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MotoGP, The "new" Sepang: safer and water resistant

The Malaysian circuit has new asphalt and kerbs, important changes on the last corner and a few run offs

The "new" Sepang: safer and water resistant

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In a couple weeks, the Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing riders will find a “new” Sepang. In fact, in recent months the Malaysian track has undergone some work centred around resurfacing and drainage, as well as camber changes and run offs on a few corners.

The work was done by the Italian company Dromo, headed up by Jarno Zaffelli, who worked on one hand to increase grip and on the other to avoid standing water on the corners in the event of rain.

In particular, turn 15 (the last corner) underwent a camber change, as you can see by the images below.

By doing this, not only was drainage improved, but the riders' racing line has also been changed. The goal was to improve chances for last corner overtakes on one hand, and to reduce the apex and exit speed on the other in order to control the maximum speed reached on the main straight.

In addition, the resurfacing removed and smoothed a lot of the bumps created by Formula 1 and the kerbs have also been changed and rebuilt. Turns 1, 4 and 9 have seen a redesign of the run off area to provide a better compromise for optimum safety on two wheels and four.

Translated by Jonathan Blosser
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