Newly-crowned world champion Casey Stoner will attempt to add the Sepang circuit to his list of conquests this Sunday, but rival Valentino Rossi is determined to deny the Australian a victory.
Stoner, who rides for Ducati, has never won in Malaysia in the MotoGP class, while five-time world-champion Rossi and his Yamaha have dominated the long and challenging circuit.
Rossi was the victor of the 2006 race, and he has only finished lower than second at Sepang on one occasion during his MotoGP career.
The Italian won the Malaysian race in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2006, and another triumph would ensure a consolation prize for his efforts this year.
But with the individual, team and constructors titles already in the bag for Stoner and Ducati, the main interest in the MotoGP class lies in whether the Australian can chalk up another win, and who will take second place in the premier class.
"I'm still trying just as hard to win races now that we've got the title, because every race is as important as the others to me, but being champion does make it different," Stoner said.
"I'm looking forward to Sepang -- it's always been a pretty good circuit for me. I won there two years in a row on the 125 and 250 in 2004 and 2005," he said.
But Rossi said he was intent on spoiling Stoner's party and was targeting the top step of the podium as he aims to finish a difficult season on a high note at his favourite track.
"Our target is unchanged. I did everything I could in Australia but we couldn't challenge Stoner so our target for the final two races is unchanged -- to fight for the win," he said.
Ducati MotoGP project director Livio Suppo said the team was also eyeing a win in Malaysia.
"We go to Malaysia in a very good mood. We hope we can maintain our momentum at Sepang," he said.
"We hope to score another podium because so far this season we have had a Ducati rider on every podium apart from Jerez," he added.
The penultimate round of the year, which takes place at the Sepang circuit, sees the riders and teams preparing for a final push for pride, points and positions in the MotoGP World Championship.
Rossi currently holds a 29-point advantage over Spain's Dani Pedrosa, who rides for Honda, with 50 still up for grabs as they head to a track where both riders were on the podium last season.
Riders said Wednesday that 22-year-old Stoner, who is on top form this season, would blaze past Rossi in Malaysia.
"Casey Stoner will be the man to beat this weekend," said Suzuki's John Hopkins.
"He has been in hot form throughout the season and I expect him to be in the same awesome form this weekend."
But Hopkins said it would be a challenging race this weekend for all the riders as they compete on a newly resurfaced Sepang track.
"Basically, it will be a new experience for everybody as we do not know whether the tyres' grip will favour the Bridgestone or the Michelin tyres," he said.
"So, we will just need to wait and see," said Hopkins, who rides a Suzuki machine on Bridgestone tyres.
The Anglo-American rider sits at fourth overall with 165 points after the Australian Grand Prix.
After Malaysia, the final race will be in Valencia on November 4.
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