After an amazing week in Phillip Island in Australia which saw Australian Remy Gardner race at home for the first time in three years, Tech3 KTM Factory Racing is already settling at the Sepang International Circuit for the Grand Prix of Malaysia, the penultimate round of the 2022 MotoGP season, to be held this week on October 21-22-23. It will be the final race overseas for the crew before heading back to Europe in Spain in two weeks time.
Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez both had a decent weekend in Australia following an amazing MotoGP race, at the end of which local boy Gardner came out with one point, and Fernandez in sixteenth. Unlike the last three races, both rookies are heading to the Malaysian Grand Prix with track experience and data on this circuit, following both the Shakedown and Official Test earlier this year during the winter testing period. Now that they almost have a full MotoGP season in the bag, they will approach this track differently and there might be room for a good result, with the aim for both Remy and Raul to be ending the overseas tour in the points before the final round of the season in Valencia.
As we face another time zone (GMT+8), watch out for the schedule as it will be different to the past week in Australia. We will see the MotoGP class heading on track in the last of the three categories, starting from Friday at 10:50 (GMT+8) with the first free practice session followed by FP2 in the afternoon at 15:05 local time. Saturday will be busy as usual, with Free Practice 3 at 10:50 for forty-five minutes, before the final chance to practice with FP4 at 14:25. Qualifying sessions will follow immediately from 15:05 (GMT+8). The Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix is scheduled on Sunday at 15:00 (GMT+8), for twenty laps.
-
Remy Gardner
Championship: 23rd
Points: 10
"We already tried the Sepang International Circuit during the winter tests back in February this year, so we will already have experience with the bike and information to start from, which is already a bonus compared to the last three overseas races we have just done. I hope that we will be able to fight for points, and we will see if we get lucky with some rain, which might help us."
-
Raul Fernandez
Championship: 24th
Points: 9
"We had a few busy test days in Malaysia before the start of the season earlier this year, so we will be approaching the Malaysian Grand Prix differently as we already have references on this track. We had done really good work back in February, my pace was good and I was feeling well on the MotoGP bike. The last three races overseas have been positive for me, and I think that we can have a good weekend if we continue working the way we have. I hope that we will be able to fight for points again this weekend."
-
Hervé Poncharal
Team Manager
"Just a few days after the positive weekend we have had in Phillip Island with both Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez, we are already ready for the next round in Sepang, Malaysia. This time, both riders will already know the track very well following the winter tests and will have references with Michelin tyres, the carbon brakes, etc. Although it will probably not be a massive advantage, I hope that at least it will be on a level playing field with the rest of the class. They both had good feelings on their bikes in February, and all we can hope is that they have this feeling back, as they are both looking to feed from the positives of the last race in Australia.
The conditions will be very different as we are set to go from a windy and chilly weather to a hot and humid climate, set to be tough physically for all riders. We don't know what to expect weather wise, as we could eventually get hit by tropical showers... Anything is possible in Malaysia!
Either way, we are ready to finish these flyaway races, which have been interesting but long and tiring, on a good note before heading back to Europe for the Grande Finale of the 2022 MotoGP season."
