Image: Supplied.

Valentino Rossi admits he’s still satisfied with his performance at Sepang’s penultimate round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship, despite coming up short on earning a podium result.

The Monster Energy Yamaha rider displayed a surge in form during the Malaysian grand prix as he set a new in race lap record, however a battle for third with Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) in the closing stages of the 20-lap encounter ultimately saw the multi-time world champion forced to accept P4.

“I had a good start, but then on the first straight some riders overtook me,” Rossi commented. “After that I was very competitive. I managed to set the fastest race lap, a new track record, and made several overtakes, until I got close to Dovizioso.

“Together with Dovizioso we had a good fight – it was very nice. I was a little better in the twisty parts of the track, but Dovizioso was faster on the straights. I hoped that I could be quicker on the last laps, but I couldn’t. We are faster in the turns, but it is also true that we stress the tyres more when we are cornering.

“So, at the end I wasn’t as fast as I was at the beginning, but I’m happy because the degradation was less than usual. At the end I’m satisfied, because during this weekend I rode well, and I learned a few things. We are making improvements, trying to use all the potential of the M1. At the end I managed to keep off Rins, but I’m very sorry because I didn’t make the podium, then I would have been even happier.”

Rossi sits seventh in the championship standings ahead of Valencia’s finale on 17 November in Spain.

Image: Supplied.

Australian Jack Miller has downplayed the contact Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) made with him during the Malaysian grand prix, the Pramac Racing rider labelling it a racing incident.

The fan-favourite, fresh from scoring a podium during his home grand prix at Phillip Island one week earlier, qualified fourth for Sunday’s race, where he remained in the front group early on before fading to eighth.

“It’s not the first time, it’s not the last time,” Miller stated. “It’s racing, we have to touch, but sometimes, the Suzuki turns well, so I guess it’s inviting to be able to make moves like this.

“But it’s difficult for us on the Ducati, especially on such a corner like this with off-camber, hairpin, very slow – we need to sort of square it up, but as soon as you do that, you leave a little bit of space for guys to do this.

“He was obviously in a hurry to get through, I guess. Marc did it there as well, same thing, but he was a little bit more polite about it, let’s say. Rins really did just drive into the side of me. There was contact coming from both ways, let’s say.

“Because I’m on my normal line, just trying to ride my normal line like I do every lap. And like I said before, that Suzuki turns well. I mean, Barcelona, there’s many tracks on the calendar where we’ve had moments like that.”

Miller is ranked eighth in the MotoGP World Championship standings as one remains at Valencia in Spain on 17 November.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Bryan Staring says his crash in race two at Sydney Motorsport Park’s Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) finals came as a result of riding his absolute hardest as he looked to deliver Kawasaki BCperformance one more podium for the season.

The former champion was competitive in both 13-lap stints, finishing fourth in race one – just 0.014s shy of third’s Wayne Maxwell (Team Suzuki Ecstar).

Staring put on an excellent display of riding in race two as he challenged for the top three, however his campaign came unstuck 10 laps in when he crashed at turn nine.

“Again, it was a weekend where we had quite good potential, so I was pretty disappointed to miss the podium in race one,” Staring explained. “It was a shame because we’ve been a bit light on with podiums in the second half of the season and I really wanted to deliver one for the team.

“In race two I was pushing for the podium again and I went down riding my absolute hardest to get that top three finish. I went down fighting, but it doesn’t make it feel any better! The positive thing is that we were super-competitive racing in the front group again and we will take the positives from that.”

The Western Australian completed the series ranked sixth with an overall victory to his name at The Bend Motorsport Park.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Matt Walters claimed top privateer honours for the second-consecutive season in the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), the Kawasaki-mounted contender earning a top 10 finish at Sydney Motorsport Park’s finale last weekend.

The New South Welshman was hoping for more at his home round after a strong showing at Phillip Island, however his 11th in race one was enough to secure the top privateer award.

He bounced in race two, charing to seventh for eighth overall, granting him an impressive championship ranking of seventh.

“It wasn’t too bad of a weekend,” Walters reflected. “I would’ve liked to have been up in the top five for my home round, but I simply didn’t have the pace to go with the front guys. It was good to be back – I had no crashes throughout the year, and we claimed back-to-back privateer championships.

“I’m really happy and it was a nice way to finish off the weekend. I think throughout the year, the highlight was qualifying third at Phillip Island. It’s not a race win, but it shows we have pace, and we’re slowly working towards it. From a shop, our little team is getting better and better, especially with developing the bike and our set-up.

“I think come next year, we should be in the box seat to have a really good package with a really good bike that can compete with the factory teams.”

Walters’ best finish of the season came at Phillip Island’s penultimate stop, where he qualified on the front row and finished fifth overall.