It was really good to have a quick break from paddock life after an intense weekend in Japan

It's been nice to have a break -- I've spent some time on a fishing trip with my wife's family and some friends in the Gulf of Mexico and generally just enjoyed being at home for a while,

[The tropically hot conditions that prevail at Sepang make life tough
for tyres, but Michelin has always
been up to the track's demands.] Sepang is one of
those special places where you get a lot more
wheelspin than normal, ... The
hotter it is, the more wheelspin you get, so you just try to
keep the bike in line, you have to think about conserving your tyres
more. The place is very heavy on
the right side of the tyres, that's the side that gets all the
abuse, so Michelin takes all that into account
and builds something focusing 90 per cent on of the right side of
the tyre. The places that really
generate heat are turns three, six and coming onto the back straight
(turn 14) where the thing just
wants to light up.

Daniel would always give me a call and say, 'Hey, my dad and I are going here this weekend,' and I'd always follow them around.

[The tropically hot conditions that prevail at Sepang make life tough for tyres, but Michelin has always been up to the track's demands.] Sepang is one of those special places where you get a lot more wheelspin than normal, ... The hotter it is, the more wheelspin you get, so you just try to keep the bike in line, you have to think about conserving your tyres more. The place is very heavy on the right side of the tyres, that's the side that gets all the abuse, so Michelin takes all that into account and builds something focusing 90 per cent on of the right side of the tyre. The places that really generate heat are turns three, six and coming onto the back straight (turn 14) where the thing just wants to light up.

I probably made the best race start of my whole life, Valentino got away well too and we went together into the first bend. Elias came up on the inside and I actually saw everything happen but to be honest I thought Vale would be able to stay on the bike so I kept my corner speed and tried to just run it around the outside.