Final stop of Asian tour for RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP in Malaysia

This weekend, the 19th and penultimate Grand Prix of 2024 will be held at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. It is the last overseas race of the season before the Grand Prix paddock returns to Europe. After an eventful weekend in Thailand, Barry Baltus, Zonta van den Goorbergh and the RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP team hope to end this long trip on a positive note.

The 5.54-kilometre Sepang International Circuit has been on the MotoGP calendar since 1999 and has a very complete layout. Due to its alternation of slow and fast corners, hard braking points and long straights, the circuit has been used for official MotoGP testing for years. The tropical climate provides very challenging conditions for both man and machine and, as a result, a heavy rain shower is never far away either.

RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP comes straight from Thailand where the weekend ended positively on the side of Zonta van den Goorbergh with a strong race, which did not reflect the result due to the start from pit lane. Barry Baltus ended a difficult weekend with a crash in the race, which he fortunately got away from without any significant injuries. As a result, the whole team is keen to be able to bring home a good result this weekend in Malaysia.

Zonta van den Goorbergh: “My goal for Malaysia is to continue where we finished in Thailand. There we had a good race and learnt a lot over the weekend. We also made a step forward in terms of setup in the hot conditions so hopefully that will give the same feeling this weekend in similar conditions. Last year’s weekend in Malaysia went quite badly but we go into the weekend with confidence and hopefully we can make something nice out of this last Asian race.”

Barry Baltus: “Fortunately we have another race weekend which gives us another opportunity. Last weekend in Thailand was very tough so we need to forget it and be stronger this weekend. Last year I was quite strong in Malaysia so I’m very much looking forward to get on the bike again. We’ll try to enjoy this last weekend in Asia before our return to Europe, let’s make it a good one.”

Jarno Janssen – RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP team manager: “The season is nearing its end with this final overseas race. We have two more races ahead of us with Malaysia this weekend. The Sepang International Circuit is certainly not an easy track where weather conditions will also play a role. We had a difficult weekend in Thailand with a penalty for Zonta that you can’t recover from and a crash in the race for Barry. Everyone is incredibly motivated and looking forward to starting again. Let’s hope things fall a bit more our way this weekend.”

The race weekend at the Sepang International Circuit starts with free practice on Friday morning after which the first official practice session will be held in the afternoon. Then the second official practice will take place on Saturday morning after which it will be clear which riders will have to participate in Q1 or Q2. Qualifying starts Saturday afternoon at 13:45 local time (06:45 Central European time) and the 17-lap race will start Sunday afternoon at 13:15 local time (06:15 CET).