Andrea Dovizioso

This year's Malaysian round of the MotoGP series has offered a glimpse of the future, for those with an interest in seeing it. While the series is locked in a series of arguments over the future of the technical regulations, the massive economic problems in its key television markets, and the Spanish domination of the sport in all classes, Sepang pointed the way forward, and that way is definitely east.

It starts with the crowds. Where crowd numbers have been falling almost everywhere at the European rounds, Sepang is seeing record attendances this weekend. Grandstand tickets are selling out fast, and despite the rain, fans are turning up in large numbers. How much those numbers are being inflated by Australians flocking to the circuits they can fly to affordably to see Casey Stoner ride the last few races of his career is uncertain, but that they should be packing the grandstands in Malaysia seems unlikely. There are also plenty of local fans, coming to see riders from the region threaten the top of the timesheets for the first time in history, and not just make up the numbers at the rear.

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and the single-tire supplier after qualifying at Sepang:

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and the single tire supplier after the first day of a rain-affected practice at Sepang:

Press release previews from the MotoGP teams and single tire supplier Bridgestone ahead of this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang:

Press releases issued by the MotoGP teams and the single tire supplier after Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi:

Another Brno. That is the hope of every MotoGP fan around the world after qualifying sessions like the one at Motegi on Saturday. The breathtaking battle in the Czech Republic, which saw Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo on each others' tails all race long and the result settled in almost the final corner, was the natural outcome of two equally-matched men on very different but equally-matched machines. There was nothing to choose between the two during qualifying at Brno, and there was nothing to choose between them during the race.

Motegi is shaping up to be similar. Both Lorenzo and Pedrosa have very similar pace, and both have the consistency, the talent and the desire to push to the end. Jorge Lorenzo may have taken pole - the 50th of his career and one of his finest, with a blistering lap in near-perfect condition to destroy the existing pole record - but Pedrosa's race pace is fractionally faster than that of the polesitter. Where Lorenzo's near-robotic consistency has him lapping in the low 1'46.1s, Pedrosa is posting high 1'46.0s. The two men are separated by hundredths of a second only, and appear to have the measure of each other.

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and single tire supplier after qualifying for Saturday's Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit:

There is little that motorcycle racing fans love more than a good conspiracy. No mishap, contract dispute, or rider swap is ever the result of chance, error, greed or incompetence; there are always darker and greater powers involved, be it Dorna, Honda, or a major sponsor. They do not let the fact that their theories bear little resemblance to reality in 99.999% of the cases spoil the fun, and rightly so, moving happily on to the next dark conspiracy.

It took less than 10 minutes of the first session of MotoGP free practice before they had plenty to get their teeth into. Casey Stoner barely made it out of the pits before his Honda RC213V packed up, and he was forced to park it up by the side of the track, the bike felled by a mystery electronics issue. Stoner lost a lot of time in that first session, working with just a single bike as his mechanics tried to find out what had caused his first bike to fail. In the afternoon, an issue with the brake caused Stoner similar problems, losing valuable track time he needs to get back up to speed again.

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and the single tire supplier after the first day of practice at Motegi:

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and the single tire supplier ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi:

After two days of miserable weather at Aragon, race day dawned dry, sunny, though still a little cool. Paddock regulars who had spent the last two days scurrying from pits to hospitality to shelter from the rain poured out into the paddock to catch the warmth of the sun which they had just about given up on previously.

The blue skies brought out some great racing, at least in Moto3 and Moto2, as well as some fantastic displays of riding in MotoGP, though the excitement in the premier class was to be found in the battle for the final spot on the podium rather than in the fight for victory. But there were also a few signs of improvement in the near future.

The race of the day was undoubtedly Moto2, which turned into a display of what motorcycle racing is supposed to be. The class is currently blessed with three riders who despise each other enough to do almost anything to win, but with the intelligence to understand the very thin line between hard and dangerous riding. Pol Espargaro, Marc Marquez and Andrea Iannone all swapped places and fairing paint in a good old-fashioned barn burner of a race. The action was fueled by the most intense rivalry in MotoGP at the moment, between three young men all hell-bent on winning.

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and Bridgestone after Sunday's race at Aragon:

The weather at Aragon is a fickle thing. The weather forecasters had predicted rain all day, but the rain lifted during the morning and stopped falling completely before lunchtime, leaving only threatening skies looming over the track like a slate-grey cloak. The track dried surprisingly quickly, the Moto3 riders going out on rain tires and with a wet set up once pit lane opened for the first of the three qualifying sessions on Saturday afternoon, only to return straight away for slicks and stiffer springs front and rear, the dry line appearing on the track now wide enough to push very hard.

It stayed dry for Moto3, MotoGP and Moto2, more or less, but there is more to going fast than just having a dry track. It was cold and overcast, and the chilly track temps caught a lot of riders out, especially on the finicky Bridgestone tires which, while vastly improved, still give problems in very cold conditions. The combination of the track temperature, a stiff breeze and the lack of right handers mean that the right side of the tire soon loses temperature, and the few right handers there are at Aragon are not turns which you spend braking into, loading the tire and generating heat, Andrea Dovizioso explained.

Press releases after Saturday's qualifying session for the MotoGP class at Motorland Aragon:

Press releases from the MotoGP teams and Bridgestone after a wet first day of practice at Aragon: