Malaysian GP - Round 13 - MotoGP
Sepang - Sunday 25th September, 2005 - Race

Difficult race for Barros. Byrne in the points

Alex Barros has struggled to find feeling in the front end of his bike this
weekend,  and in the Sepang race he couldn't use one of his best weapons,
late-braking. The Brazilian rider was unable to get this area right at the
Malaysian track, where there are several hard-braking zones in rapid succession,
and was forced to ride a defensive race which gave him eighth position in the
end. Shane Byrne took his first points on a Honda even though he had higher
aspirations, having concluded the whole race weekend without a single error and
having put in some intense work with the team. This will help as he looks
forward to the next race at the Losail circuit, in Qatar, with higher confidence
and expectation.

Sito Pons - Camel Honda

"Today Shane managed to complete this challenging race pretty well, and scored
points, he didn't make any mistakes, although he obviously he needs time to
learn all the secrets of this bike to get the most out of it. In the next race
in Qatar he will undoubtedly make another step forward. As for Alex, here in
Malaysia he had problems finding the feeling with the front end, and didn't have
the right sensations to get the bike braking and cornering well. We tried lots
of things, even in the warm up, but we were unable to improve the feeling and we
had to take a step back. In the race he couldn't attack to improve his position,
but in any case he managed to bring it home, even though it will be a position
he won't be satisfied with, as for us. We have to work hard to get him in a
position where he can ride as he likes in Qatar."

Alex Barros - Camel Honda - 8th

"Today I had to ride a defensive race, without be able to attack. I was behind
Roberts and I stayed there, blocked. I only tried once to pass him and I ran it
wide, risking crashing. Every time I braked the bike didn't stop, it jumped,
there was no grip at the front and that meant I couldn't attack to make up
places. Probably with this heat everyone had a few difficulties and there are
time you can ride over the problems, but this was not really possible on this
occasion. I tried to finish the race without crashing, because I didn't want to
do as I did in Motegi and I managed that, but I can't be happy with eighth place."

Shane Byrne - Camel Honda -  14th

"Having got to the end of this weekend I can safely say that I expected fewer
problems, but I quickly changed my opinion, after the first practice. Probably
if these two races were in Europe it would have been a bit easier for me, but
that's not the case and I have to do the best I can. The team has done a
fantastic job, and in the end I'm quite satisfied to have finished the race and
to have not committed any serious errors. Running wide in a corner at the
beginning meant I lost contact with the small group in front of me, and I
couldn't get back up there. On the last lap I did manage to enjoy myself
battling with Xaus though. With a race under my belt I hope to get off to a
better start in Qatar and to take a  better result."