There is no doubt that all Malaysian MotoGP fans will have their sights trained on the Aragon Motorcycle Grand Prix, which revs into action in Spain tomorrow.
This is because the Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team (SRT) could very well clinch their first win in the premier class in Aragon.
After all, SRT’s rookie sensation Fabio Quartararo has already served notice of his huge potential when he put on his strongest performance of the season so far by finishing second at last week’s San Marino GP.
For the first time this season, the Frenchman was able to genuinely give Repsol Honda’s all-conquering Marc Marquez a run for his money before being outfoxed by the Spaniard in the last lap at Misano.
But whether or not Quartararo has learned enough to overcome Marquez and his more powerful RC213V Honda will be known on Sunday.
There is no doubt that the 20-year-old Quartararo’s confidence is sky high heading into this weekend’s race.
“Fighting with Marc at Misano means that I’m going to Aragon with a lot of confidence,” said Quartararo.
“It showed how good a job we did there. Now, only five days after getting off the bike (at Misano) in a really good condition, I get to ride again (at Aragon).
“The long straights (at Aragon) aren’t too much of a problem for us because we showed at the Red Bull Ring and at Misano that as long as you make a good start and (have) five strong laps at the beginning you can be in the fight.
“The first target will be to get on the front row (on the grid) again because we need to ensure a good start, and then we’ll try and do our best as always.”
Quartararo’s qualifying pace has not been an issue this season, having achieved seven front row starts so far, including pole positions at Jerez, Catalunya and Assen.
His race pace is getting stronger with each round.
A win this weekend for SRT, the first Malaysian-owned team in the premier class, would be the icing on the cake for the fledgling outfit in their MotoGP debut.
Quartararo, who is also in his debut season, is seventh in the overall MotoGP standings with 112 points, while teammate Franco Morbidelli is 10th on 80pts.