Marco Melandri was immense at Sepang, finishing fifth in a race that only two days ago he did not expect to compete in because of his injured right foot. Starting from the third row of the grid, Melandri joined the front group on the opening laps and made a massive effort to stay on the bike for the entire 21-lap race.

For Sete Gibernau it was another bitter race, the Spaniard crashing out  again on the second lap when trying to pass Shinya Nakano.

MARCO MELANDRI (5^th):. “I am so tired… the foot wasn’t too painful but the area around the cut is much more sensitive to the heat and I almost burnt it. We worked really well with the rear end for the race because it was painful for me to push down on the rear brake but with that we lost a bit of feel for the front. Because of the problems under braking the bike was also sliding a lot on the exit but luckily from the halfway stage onwards, with less fuel and weight on board the bike, I found my rhythm and pushed a little. I’m happy with this result because it was unthinkable that a race could end this way a few days ago. I want to thank all the Clinica Mobile doctors for all their help.”

SETE GIBERNAU (DNF): “I’m really sorry that I’ve failed to finish the race again – there’s not much else to say. We had a good warm-up this morning but once again we’ve been unable to finish things off in the right way on Sunday. All I can say about the crash is that I’m sorry. I tried to pass Nakano on the inside on the brakes but made contact with his front brake lever and lost the front end.”

MALAYSIAN GP
1. Loris Capirossi (Ita/Ducati) 43’27”523
2. Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) + 1”999
3. Carlos Checa (Esp/Ducati)+ 2”069
4. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) +9”227
5. Marco Melandri (Ita/Honda) + 15”886

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Valentino Rossi 281 points
2. Max Biaggi159 points
3. Loris Capirossi 142 points
4. Colin Edwards 139 points
5. Marco Melandri 137 points
6. Nicky Hayden 134 points
7. Alex Barros 122 points
8. Sete Gibernau115 points