After the opening day of track action at the Shell Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Ducati Team test rider Michele Pirro gives us his five key points to look at for the rest of the weekend:
1. Moto2™ and Moto3™ title races
"It will be a very important GP for the Moto2™ and Moto3™. The world titles are at stake and in the lightweight class, the two suitors are very close in the standings. In Moto2™ Bagnaia has a little more margin but I think it is very interesting."
2. Close competition
"Today I saw that Suzuki are fine and even Yamaha has improved a lot. Dovizioso in the dry was very quick. The dry race can be interesting with four or five riders confident of potentially winning."
3. Lorenzo's injury struggles
"I'm sorry for Jorge who did not do a lot of laps due to the problem in his wrist, but I think he will be in Valencia to fight for the victory."
4. The weather
"Given the sudden change in weather, it is important to have two bikes in the box ready for the sudden change, with two setups."
5. Championship still alive and kicking
"Marquez must win to prove to be the strongest, Dovizioso must win to stay ahead of Valentino who will surely give everything to beat him. Syahrin pushed by the home crowd will want to become the 'Rookie of the Year'."