2007 Malaysian Grand Prix - Preview

2007 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX SEPANG

PREVIEW

Following a short break after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix,
the Honda Racing F1 Team arrived in Kuala Lumpur at the beginning of
this week to begin preparations for Round Two of the 2007 FIA Formula
One World Championship, the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang.

The first official F1 test was held at the Sepang International Circuit
this week as the Honda team continued the development programme for the
RA107 race car in the hot and humid conditions which make Malaysia one
of the toughest and most physically demanding stops on the F1 calendar. 

SHUHEI NAKAMOTO - Senior Technical Director

"At the Sepang test this week we focused our efforts on evaluating the
aerodynamic developments for the RA107 alongside work on braking
stability and general mechanical set-up. Although we were unable to
realise our potential in Australia, we are confident that the RA107 is
fundamentally a good car and expect to be able to make good technical
progress with it in a wide range of areas. We will use the next few
races to improve to a more competitive level."

JENSON BUTTON

"The Malaysian Grand Prix is a race which has great significance and
memories for me as I scored my first F1 podium here back in 2004. The
Sepang circuit is a very tough track and the race weekend is hard work
for everyone, not just the drivers behind the wheel, but for the team
and the car as well. The intense heat inevitably focuses our technical
concerns on cooling, particularly as we run for almost seventy per cent
of the lap at full throttle. The humidity is physically very wearing and
you have to spend your time balancing the need to keep cool with the
need to be physically prepared to deal with the heat during the race. In
the build-up to the weekend, I'll be training outside as much as
possible to acclimatise and spending last week here for the test has
also helped with that process. 

Sepang has some great opportunities for overtaking. Turn one is a good
chance, along with the right hander at Langkawi and the left hander at
Berjaya Tioman. For a really quick lap, you need a car which is
aerodynamically sound but with the least drag possible. Too much front
end grip will lose you a lot of time in turns five and six."

RUBENS BARRICHELLO ON THE SEPANG INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT

"The Sepang International Circuit is one that the drivers really enjoy.
When you go past your pit board on the start / finish straight, you are
at 250kph and about to reach 300kph before the braking zone at the end
of the straight. Turn one is a very slow corner taken in first or second
gear depending on your gear ratios. You will see plenty of action here
in the race because it is a very wide track but quite tight for the
racing line so the drivers go all over the track trying to overtake. 

Turn one leads into another tight left-hand corner taken in second gear,
power down and then a long right-hander at turn three which is about two
and a half Gs. When you come out of turn three, it is flat up through
the gears to seventh reaching around 270kph before the next braking zone
into the right-handed turn four, taken in second or third gear depending
on the ratios. It's not a difficult corner although braking can be
tricky because of the bumps. Out of there and you're into a lovely left
and right at turns five and six which are done very quickly in fifth
gear. It's really demanding around this section as the Gs force your
neck from one side to the other. We used to be almost flat through here
but perhaps not this year with the different spec tyres.

You then have a small straight before the two apex corners at turns
seven and eight. You have to come in quite fast, wide and then tight and
an understeering car could cause you some problems. Then you're onto the
first back straight going into the hairpin at turn nine in first gear.
It's important to have good traction out of here as it goes straightaway
to the right and turn ten which is not really a big corner but leads you
into turn eleven, another right-hander taken in third gear at around
130kph. Then another straight and a fast left-hander at turn twelve
taken flat out in sixth gear at 250kph.

Turn thirteen leads you into the tight turn fourteen and onto the long
back straight, a good place for overtaking. The final corner at turn
fifteen is another overtaking opportunity, a second gear corner which
brings you onto the start / finish straight and over the line for the
end of your lap."

SEPANG INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT, MALAYSIA

Race Distance	56 laps
Circuit Length	3.444 miles (5.543 kms)

Designed by Hermann Tilke, the Sepang International Circuit is a
visually dramatic and beautifully equipped facility which has been given
much praise by teams and drivers alike since joining the FIA Formula One
World Championship in 1999.

The demanding 15-turn, 5.543km track features a pair of parallel
straights plus a combination of low and medium-speed corners that really
test the drivers. The surface is wide and smooth with overtaking most
likely to occur under braking for the tight corners at the end of each
straight. Sepang is regarded as one of the most physically demanding
tracks on the F1 calendar with the extremely high levels of humidity
making the race particularly demanding. 

The Sepang circuit also provides wonderful spectator facilities,
including a unique "double-sided" 30,000 seat grandstand with an unusual
roof in the shape of a hibiscus - the national flower of Malaysia.

HONDA IN MALAYSIA

* Honda has been operating in Malaysia for 40 years
* Honda automobile sales in 2006 were 26,527 units with a market share
of 5.7%
* The Honda factory in Malaysia produces four models and is running at
full capacity 
* The most recent model launched in Malaysia was the new look CR-V 
* Automobile parts produced in Malaysia are exported to the UK, China
and other global markets
* Honda Malaysia is working with the WWF to support the Relief for
Rhinos in Sumatra campaign