RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP returns to the tropical heat of Malaysia for the final overseas Grand Prix

The twentieth Grand Prix of the 2025 season will take place this weekend at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. It is the last of the four overseas race weekends before the MotoGP paddock returns to Europe. The event offers RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP another opportunity to score points with both riders in the highly competitive Moto2 class.

The 5.54-kilometre-long Sepang International Circuit has been on the Grand Prix calendar since 1999 and has become familiar territory for many. Located near Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur, the track offers a mix of fast and slow corners, heavy braking zones, and long straights, making it a popular venue for testing over the years.

Following an impressive top-ten finish in Australia — where Ayumu Sasaki was even in contention for a podium spot for much of the race — motivation is high to continue that momentum this weekend in Malaysia. The Japanese rider has now established himself as a consistent top-fifteen contender and will once again aim to take that next step toward the top ten.

For Zonta van den Goorbergh, the weekend in Australia proved more challenging, but motivation is equally high on his side of the garage to show his potential again in Malaysia.

Ayumu Sasaki:
“After a great weekend in Australia, I am excited to start again and continue our work. Sepang is a track that I like and our focus is to keep improving like we have done in the previous races. It is going to be hot so we’ll have to get used to those conditions. We’ll also have to improve the riding, so I can put less stress through my arm as I have been struggling with that in the past races. I am going to continue to work on that and try to help my arm as much as possible. Let’s have another great weekend.”

Zonta van den Goorbergh:
“For the last time this year, we’ll be racing in tropical conditions, and it will be a very different weekend compared to Australia. It’s a completely different circuit, and the conditions are different as well, so we’ll need to adapt again. It will be important to make sure we start off strong from the beginning, as that seems to have a big impact on how the rest of the weekend unfolds.”

• The race weekend at the Sepang International Circuit begins with the first free practice session on Friday morning, followed by the official practice session at 14:05 local time (08:05 Central European Time). This session determines which fourteen riders will go directly through to Q2.
• After a second free practice session on Saturday morning, qualifying will begin at 13:40 local time (07:40 CET), where the starting grid for Sunday’s race will be decided.
• The 17-lap race will get underway on Sunday afternoon at 13:15 local time (06:15 CET). Note: Winter time will begin during the night from Saturday to Sunday, and the clock will move back one hour.