MotoGP
Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner give their reaction to a tough race at Sepang.
Treacherous conditions brought the Malaysian Grand Prix to an early conclusion at Sepang, where heavy rain and darkening skies cut short Round 16 of the 2012 season.
Dani Pedrosa's sixth win of the season – his first ever in wet conditions – in the red flagged race cut down the deficit to Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo to 23 points with two races to go, while Casey Stoner took an admirable podium finish in only his second race back after injury.
Here, the riders talk through the race as they saw it...
“It was a hard race. At the start Jorge was very fast so I tried to follow to not allow a big gap. Lap by lap I got more confident and could push, and midway through the race I tried to pass and pull a gap. A few laps later the rain got heavier, and it was really hard in the final lap.” - Pedrosa
“It was really difficult when it started raining. I didn't feel very safe because I had a lot to lose but not so much to gain. But I tried to focus from lap one, and when I couldn't change my rear tyre on the grid because there wasn't so much time I thought it was going to be a very tough race for us.” - Lorenzo
“I was very focused, I don't remember where I saw the red flag. I was so focused and I was still pushing when I saw the red flag. I thought straight away the race was over, but then when I came into pit lane and they didn't let us into parc ferme I was a little confused about whether we'd have to do a race for six more laps. I was waiting and preparing in case we had to re-start!” - Pedrosa
“I rode at the maximum from the start to be as fast as possible. Today in these conditions the Yamaha struggled a lot, but I kept very focused and concentrated the whole race and this second place is a great reward.” - Lorenzo
Stoner admitted he had contemplated not even riding when he saw the conditions, with his injured ankle still very much in its early recovery stages.
“When we saw it was raining today I wasn't feeling overly good about getting on the bike to be honest, and I highly considered not racing today at all. I know how big a risk it is if I crash and hurt my ankle again and am out for the season. In a normal crash you can bash your foot and not have a problem at all, but the way it at the moment if I do any damage to it, that's game over for it. That's not the way I want to end the season.” - Stoner
“I was hoping for a dry race and it looked like it would be until the heavens opened again. I struggled a lot at the start of the race to get any feeling, any confidence. As I went lap by lap I got more confident and a bit better feeling with the bike and reduced the gap they kept pulling. Then more rain came and this gave me the advantage, as I felt more comfortable on the track than the others and if the race wasn't stopped I think we had a very good chance of maybe even fighting for a victory today.”
All riders were in agreement however that the race was halted at the right moment, with Lorenzo very nearly crashing just before the red flags came out.
The Championship now heads straight to Phillip Island, where Pedrosa will aim to cut Lorenzo's lead further as the Yamaha man aims to protect it, and where Stoner will hope for better conditions at his home GP...
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