Rossi on course to claim title in Malaysia

Valentino Rossi is on track for his seventh premier title from this weekend's Malaysian MotoGP with a 38-point advantage.

A top-four ride in Sepang, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur, will be enough for the 30-year-old Italian to be crowned 2009 World champion on Sunday.

Rossi, fresh from second place in Australia last weekend, has sweet memories of wins in Sepang - the season's penultimate event and a circuit he has repeatedly said is a personal favourite.

"Phillip Island was like gold dust for us in terms of points and now we go to Malaysia, another of my favourite tracks," he said
Rossi has a history of good form in the Malaysian heat
.

"Of course anything can happen but it's a great track for me and the Yamaha works well there. We have a good chance but there is no chance to relax - everybody is focused, motivated and excited."

Rossi has a history of good form in the Malaysian heat. He won from second on the grid in 2008 and has had seven podium finishes there, including five wins.

Second place in Australian extended his championship points tally to 270 after title rival and Yamaha team mate Jorge Lorenzo's first-lap crash.

Lorenzo's inability to complete the race means that, even if he wins in Sepang, Rossi only needs to finish fourth to take his ninth World title across all classes. Lorenzo is second with 232 points.

He is the only rider who can stop the Italian from taking the title on Sunday but there will also be interest in the battle for third in the championship
'It's not easy to find the perfect set-up there' - Stoner
.

Dani Pedrosa was overtaken by Casey Stoner at Phillip Island, whose win on home soil moved the Ducati rider up to third in the standings at Pedrosa's expense.

Stoner said: "Sepang will be a tough race. It's not easy to find the perfect set-up there but that's always been the case and with every day that passes I feel stronger and more confident that I can be competitive in both of the two races that remain."

Honda rider Pedrosa, six points behind Stoner on 195, is determined to beat Stoner. This is the penultimate outing of the season so he knows how crucial the race is.

First free practice will be on Friday, the race on Sunday. - AFP

Championship points

MotoGP
1 Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 270
2 Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Yamaha) 232
3 Casey Stoner (AUS/Ducati) 195
4 Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 189
5 Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Honda) 152
6 Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha) 145
7 Alex de Angelis (RSM/Honda) 101
8 Randy de Puniet (FRA/Honda) 101
9 Loris Capirossi (ITA/Suzuki) 101
10 Marco Melandri (ITA/Kawasaki) 100

250cc
1 Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN/Honda) 227
2 Marco Simoncelli (ITA/Gilera) 215,
3 Alvaro Bautista (ESP/Aprilia) 198
4 Hector Barbera (ESP/Aprilia) 194
5 Mattia Pasini (ITA/Aprilia) 128

125cc
1 Julian Simon (ESP/Aprilia) 239
2 Bradley Smith (GBR/Aprilia) 183.5
3 Nicolas Terol (ESP/Aprilia) 162.5
4 Pol Espargaro (ESP/Derbi) 142.5
5 Sergio Gadea (ESP/Aprilia) 128

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