2023-11-06 20:56:58
The Motorcycle World Championship faces its last triplet of the season, three consecutive races that will lead drivers from all categories to compete in Malaysia, Losail and Valencia without resta final spectacle in which the three titles at stake still have to be decided, one of them – Moto2 – with many possibilities of being resolved this weekend in Sepang.
MotoGP arrives in Malaysia with the fight between Pecco Bagnaia (1st 389p.) and Jorge Martín (2nd 376p.) at its peak; 13 points separate the Italian from Madrid, the author of an impeccable weekend in the last event in Thailand that earned him PRAMAC Racing to close the gap with the current world champion, winner of the last race held here in Malaysia in 2022.
With no mathematical possibilities of being champion, Marco Bezzecchi (3rd 310p.) has little to play for in this final stretch of the season. The Italian has a 61-point advantage over Brad Binder (4th 249p.), the only one who could take third place overall from Bezzecchi. Behind, Aleix Espargaró (5th 198p.) and Johann Zarco (6th 194p.) have been fighting for the final fifth place for some time, a position that Aleix’s Aprilia teammate, Maverick Viñales (7th 170p.), who has disappeared, can still access. in the last two events in Australia and Thailand.
The only title that could be decided this Sunday in Sepang is Moto2; Pedro Acosta (1st 300.5p.) could not seal the crown in Buriram, but now he has a golden opportunity to complete his imminent jump to MotoGP with the intermediate class under his arm. The Murcian has a 63-point margin over Tony Arbolino (2nd 237.5p.), and with only 75 points to distribute until Valencia, Pedro only needs to leave Malaysia with a difference of at least 50 points over his Italian rival to finish the qualification.
This difference of 63 points would make Pedro Acosta champion simply by finishing immediately ahead of Tony Arbolino whatever the Italian’s position. If Arbolino wins on Sunday, Acosta would have to cross the finish line in the top four to take home the win. In the event that the Italian driver finishes second, Acosta would be champion with a 9th place at the end of the race. In short: if Pedro finishes Sunday with a margin of 50 points or more over his rival, he will have achieved his goal.
In Moto3, the name of the champion will not be known, at least, until Qatar. Jaume Masiá (1st 230p) remains leader of the Benjamin category despite the fact that he has been off the podium for three races. The Valencian has benefited from the latest punctures from Ayumu Sasaki (2nd 213p.) and Daniel Holgado (4th 205p.), but now he faces another threat called David Alonso (3rd 205p.)winner of the last event in Thailand and currently ranked third overall with 25 points less than Masiá.
As is now usual in Sepang, The weather forecast for the weekend is very changeablewith maximum temperatures of 32º C, humidity above 75% and chances of rain and strong storms throughout the three days.
The races can be followed live through DAZN and Motogp.com Videopass. The first race of the weekend, the MotoGP Sprint Race, is scheduled for on Saturday, November 11 at 08:00 in the morning Spanish peninsular time, and on Sunday we will have the main course with the races of Moto3 (05:00), Moto2 (06:15) y MotoGP (08:00).
Read also: Marc Márquez: “I have the highest salary in MotoGP, but I am happy with what I will have in 2024”
Sepang MotoGP 2023 GP schedules
Friday, November 10
02:00 – 02:35 Moto3 FP1
02:50 – 03:30 Moto2 FP1
03:45 – 04:30 MotoGP FP1
06:15 – 06:50 Moto3 FP2
07:05 – 07:45 Moto2 FP2
08:00 – 09:00 MotoGP Practice
Saturday November 11
01:40 – 02:10 Moto3 FP3
02:25 – 02:55 Moto2 FP3
03:10 – 03:40 MotoGP FP2
03:50 – 04:05 MotoGP Q1
04:15 – 04:30 MotoGP Q2
05:50 – 06:05 Moto3 Q1
06:15 – 06:30 Moto3 Q2
06:45 – 07:00 Moto2 Q1
07:10 – 07:25 Moto2 Q2
08:00 MotoGP Sprint (10 laps)
Sunday, November 12
03:40 – 03:50 MotoGP Warm Up
05:00 Moto3 Race (15 laps)
06:15 Moto2 Race (17 laps)
08:00 MotoGP Sprint Race (20 laps)
#early #morning #champion