KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — The Shell Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix to be held at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) from Oct 23 to 25, will go on as scheduled despite the haze which has reached unhealthy levels in Sepang.
SIC chief executive officer Datuk Razlan Razali said Dorna, the MotoGP commercial rights holder, want the race to go on albeit some minor changes if the haze condition worsen.
“I had a discussion with Dorna this morning and they have experience in organising races under such conditions in other countries. We also have contingency plans in place like omitting the warm up sessions or reduce the duration of the race.
“The event need to go on because it involves points to decide the overall champion since Sepang will be hosting the penultimate race for the season,” he said when contacted by Bernama, here today.
The Malaysian MotoGP is expected to decide the winner of the MotoGP title between two Movista Yamaha MotoGP riders, Valentino Rossi (Italy) and Jorge Lorenzo (Spain).
Rossi currently leads the overall championship race with 296 points while Lorenzo is just 11 points behind.
Apart from deciding the winner of the main race, the Round 17 of the MotoGP will also decide the winner of the Moto3 category.
The Moto2 category title had already been decided with French rider Johann Zarco from Team Ajo Motorsports claiming the title at the Motegi Circuit in Japan on Oct 11.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian MotoGP will also see four Malaysian riders in action, namely Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah, Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, Mohd Ramdan Mohd Rosli (Moto2) and Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Moto3). — Bernama
