The Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia has been around for years in various forms of motorsport, and it’s been a longstanding fixture on the MotoGP calendar.

However, in my opinion, it’s not one of the easier tracks to learn right away, especially on the super powerful MotoGP bikes. There’s some hard braking zones and also tricky cornering sections that need some practice to nail, as well as restraint on the accelerator.

Regarding a bike setup, you definitely need something that’s good on the brakes round here, but can also get round sharp corners as well as prolonged ones.

I did some testing and found a good setup that can do just that, modded for my own preferences.

Update – I just updated my generic starter setup to find a really nice stable setup that will come in handy on a tricky circuit like Sepang.

Here is a bike setup for the MotoGP class for Sepang:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 1
    • Oil Quantity – 1
    • Front Spring Hardness – 1
    • Front Swingarm compression – 5
    • Front Swingarm extension – 7
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 7
    • Swingarm connector – 4
    • Rear spring hardness – 3
    • Single shock absorber compression – 4
    • Single shock absorber extension – 7
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 1
    • Trail – 7
    • Steering plate position – 7
    • Rear swingarm length – 5
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 6-5-5-4-3-3
    • Final ratio – 6
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 355 mm
    • Rear disc – 220 mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 2
    • Engine braking – 5
    • Anti-wheelie – 5
    • Power mapping – 3

Once I got the hang of the braking zones and corners on a MotoGP bike, I was able to lap consistently using this setup without running off or falling off too much. It felt good!

Alternative Malaysia Circuit MotoGP Class Bike Setup

There is another setup I tried that did also work quite well, and it’s basically a modded version of the template setup we provide for all the bikes on MotoGP 22.

Here it is:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 4
    • Oil Quantity – 4
    • Front Spring Hardness – 4
    • Front Swingarm compression – 7
    • Front Swingarm extension – 4
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 7
    • Swingarm connector – 4
    • Rear spring hardness – 4
    • Single shock absorber compression – 4
    • Single shock absorber extension – 7
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 4
    • Trail – 5
    • Steering plate position – 7
    • Rear swingarm length – 5
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 7-7-7-6-5-4
    • Final ratio – 5
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 355 mm
    • Rear disc – 220 mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 2
    • Engine braking – 5
    • Anti-wheelie – 5
    • Power mapping – 3

This has some stiffer suspension and geometry settings, which is what some people prefer. It was a decent setup for me, but after some back and forth testing, I preferred the first setup to this one.

But this setup is still perfectly decent and worth trying out – lots of players might prefer it because setups and handling are quite subjective, especially on a tricky game like MotoGP 22.

Moto2 and Moto3 Class Bike Setups For Sepang Circuit

The Moto2 and Moto3 bikes are far less powerful and easier to handle than the monster MotoGP bikes, so it’ll be easier to get the braking zones nailed on this track on these bikes.

Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a custom setup, see the generic setups we provide for Moto2 and Moto3 class bikes, for a starting setup which you can test and modify to your preference. You can also try porting over either of the above setups as far as they can be (many of the settings are the same across classes of bikes, with a few bits missing or different. But setups can sometimes translate over fine).

Tips For Riding Around Sepang

Sepang for me feels like a tricky circuit to get right initially with all the turn in points, but very fun once I do. Here’s some extra tips for lapping around this track.

Braking zones – There’s a couple of really heavy braking zones round here following by sharp turns that you need to get right – the first corner and the last corner especially. The last turn is very easy to over-run and I actually start braking even before the racing line tells me to. Add the rear brake to complement the front brake if needed and also dabbing the rear brake on corner entry can help get the bike leaned in a bit easier on those sharp hairpins. Also regarding settings, use a higher engine braking and slipper clutch value and use the strongest brake discs.

Accelerator – Sepang is another track where you have to be super cautious on the power through the middle part of the lap. Other than the pit straight and the back straight just before it, you’re actually not on full accelerator for much of the rest of the lap. It’s just short dabs and bursts on the power, but nothing more or you’ll over-run corners. To get sectors 2 and 3 right, you need to be really restrained on the accelerator, with lots of coasting, braking and gentle leaning and easing round sections on partial power.

Wheelies – There’s a couple of parts of this track where the front end of the bike really wants to come up on corner exit and throw you off the bike. Use an Anti-Wheelie setting of 4 or 5 to counter this, but even with a high setting you still need to be progressive on the accelerator to prevent wheelies out of some corners.