MotoGP: Pedrosa out, Lorenzo to win title

Pedrosa's small accident last weekend in Japan resulted in significant injury. Quite how remains a mystery as he - and others - have walked away from bigger crashes.

But it means that everyone else is fighting for glory.

Or just to be bloody minded.

Enter Valentino Rossi. He's back on form after his injuries and in Japan he managed a whole weekend without falling off. That's the Rossi of old.

He really is not Lorenzo's biggest fan. And although he can't beat Lorenzo to the title, Rossi has every intention of pushing Lorenzo off the top step at every race and, if possible, off the podium.

Lorenzo has been on the front row of the grid for every race this season: until Japan. He has been on the podium almost every race: until Japan.

Rossi has had a terrible year, hidebound by injuries and generally out of sorts with the front end of his bike - like many other expected front runners, the front of his Yamaha has given him many problems.

And in first official practice at Sepang, Rossi stamped his authority. Fastest by more than a tenth of a second. Dovizioso was second fastest. Lorenzo? Point 174 behind his team-mate.

Rossi says Sepang is his favourite track. In part, that's because he grades it "difficult." There is one thing he is not looking forward to "I am curious to see how much pain I will have with the shoulder" he said last night. In his press conference, he said that he will leave for Australia where MotoGP runs its third race in three weeks at the fabulous Philip Island circuit. But, he admitted, whether he races there and at the remaining two races after Sepang will depend on how much pain he is suffering.

As soon as the season ends, he will have an operation on the shoulder that he injured in a motocross accident in April.