MotoGP-Sachsenring

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German Grand Prix up next for Rizla Suzuki

Publish Date: Monday, July 11, 2011

Rizla Suzuki will be at Sachsenring in eastern Germany for the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship with ?lvaro Bautista looking to take the positives from Mugello last time out.

With his fitness back to 100%, Bautista is looking for a confidence-inspiring ride at the German circuit to propel him into the second half of the season. He was challenging for a top-six finish at the Italian Grand Prix before a huge front end slide put paid to his ambitions as he ran off the track and lost valuable time. Bautista completed almost 90-laps at Mugello in a post-race test and made some significant advances with the set-up, handling and electronics on the Suzuki GSV-R, all of which he hopes will assist him for the remainder of the season.

The historic Sachsenring track is situated near the town of Hohenstein-Ernstthal, about 80km from Dresden. The original street circuit was incorporated into a new purpose built track in the 1990?s, but modifications and alterations to the layout have meant that no part of the original track is now used. The 3,671m configuration of 13 corners is certainly a circuit of two halves; the first part is as tight-and-twisty as anywhere on the calendar, before the anti-clockwise layout opens out to include a scary right-hand blind crest taken at over 200km/h on to a fast downhill section, some sweeping bends and 700m long finish straight.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP takes to the track on Friday for two 45-minute free practice sessions, followed by a further practice session on Saturday morning, with an hour of qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday?s 30-lap race is scheduled to get underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

?lvaro Bautista:

?I cannot wait for the race to come - it will not be soon enough for me! I made some really big steps at Mugello in both the race and the test. We now have all that info to use at Sachsenring and the rest of the tracks this season. I think we are capable of running with the top-six or seven at most tracks now and just need a little bit of something to get us there - I don?t know if it?s luck or what it is, but we will keep trying until we find it! I like the Sachsenring circuit and I?ve been on the podium there three times. It is not an easy track to get the bike set-up right for, but when you do it?s great fun to ride at. It?s about a lot of edge grip, so we will have to work on that and get the bike set-up as quickly as we can.?

 

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Yamaha Factory Racing Prepares for Sachsenring

With two consecutive Grand Prix wins under their belts, Yamaha Factory Racing are preparing for The Grand Prix of Germany at the Sachsenring circuit this weekend in confident mood. A superb victory at the Assen TT for Ben Spies followed by a flawless ride by Jorge Lorenzo to claim the chequered flag at Mugello has left the team and riders eager to get straight to business in Germany.

Sachsenring remains one of the few tracks on the GP calendar where Lorenzo has yet to win, taking second place on the podium in 2009 and again in 2010. Last year?s race had been looking like another victory for the championship leader until a red flag changed the circumstances. The reigning World Champion will be looking to add the circuit to his list of vanquished tracks on Sunday.

Spies has unfinished business in Germany; the Texan was characteristically quick to learn the circuit on his first visit last year and had been on track for a strong grid position until an incident packed qualifying saw him relegated to 13th. Despite the setback the then MotoGP rookie put in a blistering performance and was at times one of the five fastest on track, eventually finishing in a hard fought eighth place.
The tight and twisty Sachsenring circuit which flows through the wooded hillsides of East Germany will be immediately followed by Laguna Seca in the USA. These will be the last of the back to back races before the MotoGP teams take a well earned summer break ahead of Brno in the Czech Republic on 12th August.
Jorge Lorenzo

"I feel very good after our victory in Mugello; an amazing victory that we needed for our confidence. We'll take more power from it for future races, especially for the next two in a row. Now it?s time for Germany; Sachsenring is a unique track which I've ridden since 2002 and still not won! I would like to do it, it's an interesting challenge in front my German fans. The team and I are ready to again try to reduce the gap to Casey, our aim is the podium, but we will try to push for the win."
Ben Spies

?I?m really looking forward to the next two races. I got on pretty well at Sachsenring last year; the end result didn?t reflect how good we were. I think if qualifying had not been so incident filled we would have started closer to the front. We are in pretty good shape right now with the team, the bike is feeling really good, I?m feeling confident on it and the results are showing it. Of course afterwards we head to my home race in the US and I get to run the red and white colours again!?
Wilco Zeelenberg


?I?m very much looking forward to the next two rounds after a great race in Mugello, coming back from a difficult period to win again. When we are able to deliver a great package like in Italy then Jorge is able to fight for victory. That is our target again in Sachsenring and Laguna. It is very important to make these next two rounds count before the holidays; we are only 19 points behind the lead with still half the season to go so anything can happen.?

Massimo Meregalli

?We are going to Germany with some optimism, in the last few races we got good results and we would like to continue this. In the last three years Yamaha proved to have a good bike for the Sachsenring track and we have a good set up for both riders now. I don?t know the circuit myself, it will be my first visit with the team but I am confident that we can perform well after looking at our history there.?


Jorge Lorenzo
Age: 24
Lives: Barcelona, Spain
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 37 (17 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc)
First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc)
GP starts: 154 (59 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 43 (16 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc)
World Championships: 3 (MotoGP 2010, 250cc, 2006/7)

Ben Spies
Age: 26
Lives: Longview Texas / Lake Como Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 1
First GP victory: Assen, Netherlands, 2011
First GP: Donington, UK, 2008 (MotoGP)
GP starts: 29
Pole positions: 1
World Championships: 1 (WSB 2009)

Grand Prix Results: Sachsenring 2010

1. J.Lorenzo Yamaha 12'27.482
2. D.Pedrosa Honda +0.335
3. C.Stoner Ducati +1.239

14. Ben Spies Yamaha Tech 3 +12.172


Sachsenring Record Lap
D.Pedrosa (Honda) 2009, 1'22.126

Sachsenring Best Lap
C.Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1'21.067

 

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CAPIREX AND DE PUNIET READY FOR SACHSENRING

After Loris Capirossis double absence at Assen and Mugello, the Pramac Racing Team is once again complete for the ninth round of the world championship, at the Sachsenring circuit. The Italian has undergone physical therapy in recent days to recover the strength necessary to take part in the German round. It will also be an interesting race for Randy De Puniet, who last year had a hard crash at the circuit, fracturing his tibia and fibula. The venue, which is located approximately 100 kilometers from Dresden, is the second-shortest track in the MotoGP series after Laguna Seca and, because of its many twisty corners and continuous changes of direction, is also among the slowest.

Fabiano Sterlacchini Pramac Racing Technical Director

Capirexs return to the track is definitely the most important aspect of this grand prix. Obviously, Loris wont be at 100%, but he has worked a lot these days in order to be able to ride the bike adequately. In the past he has competed even when in very bad physical condition, so I hope he can do so again. Randy seemed very focused during the Mugello test. He has had a very difficult start to the season, between crashes and other problems, so I hope that he can start fresh at the Sachsenring. The German track is very technical and difficult, with a pretty short straightaway, and I think that this could reward the characteristics of our Ducati in some ways.

Loris Capirossi - Pramac Racing Team rider

Im still not completely well, but I have a couple more days of physical therapy to recover a little more. Getting back on track will be positive, but my goal is to be back to 100% for Laguna Seca. Missing the race at Mugello was very difficult for me, and it affected me a lot. Now I want to turn the page and return to the track. Only I ride my Desmosedici.

Randy De Puniet - Pramac Racing Team rider

I like the Sachsenring circuit, despite the fact that I still have a bad memory from last year, when I fractured my tibia and fibula. I think that the tracks characteristics might match well with those of our bike, so Im confident that I can do well. We worked hard at last weeks test. I hope that the results will be positive.

 

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Simoncelli to use Mugello result as Sachsenring launchpad

Marco Simoncelli is looking on his fifth place result at Mugello last time out as a launchpad for his upcoming weekend in Germany. A positive if not entirely satisfactory result at his home Grand Prix has given the Team San Carlo Honda Gresini rider fresh confidence after the debacles of Silverstone and Assen and now ?Super Sic? is sure he can confirm his potential as a MotoGP frontrunner. Simoncelli confirmed his good form with the second fastest time of a post race test at Mugello, when he lapped just 0.096 seconds shy of Casey Stoner ? a promising sign ahead of the next race at a circuit where Simoncelli celebrated 250cc victory in 2008 and 2009, whilst last year during his rookie season he finished a creditable sixth. Hiroshi Aoyama returned to the team at Mugello following his brief excursion on the factory Repsol Honda Team RC212V at Assen and whilst he endured a tough weekend as he continued to recover from injuries sustained in a crash in Holland he enjoyed a positive test and is looking forward to Sachsenring.



Marco Simoncelli
?Mugello was definitely a positive weekend with a positive end result although I wasn't completely satisfied. It was important to get to the end of the race without any dramas and put the misadventures of Silverstone and Assen behind me. The test on Monday was also positive ? we tried some solutions that could help us overcome the problems we had in the race at Mugello, where I seemed to struggle more than the others with a loss of grip due to the increased track temperature. Overall the visit to Mugello has given me confidence and motivation for the next round in Germany. Sachsenring is a circuit I like a lot, I have always been fast there in 125 and in 250, in fact I won the 250 races there in 2008 and 2009. Last year I had a good race in MotoGP, battling for fifth place. My objective is to do my best along with the team and try to improve on the result from Mugello.?



Hiroshi Aoyama
?After the experience at Assen on the factory Repsol Honda Team RC212V I struggled a little bit to get a feel for my Team San Carlo Honda Gresini machine at Mugello. To complicate matters I was still in a lot of discomfort from my crash in Holland but I gradually got back on the pace and with the help and dedication of all the guys on the team we came out with a satisfactory result. The test on the following day was much more positive with a view to Sachsenring. I actually missed the race there last year through injury so I have to go back to my 250 days for my last experience there. I was on the podium in 2005 and won the race in 2007 but the difference between 250 and MotoGP is too big to predict what kind of feeling I will have for the track with this bike.?



Fausto Gresini
?Simoncelli had to finish at Mugello and thankfully he did. The result wasn't quite what we hoped for the night before after seeing what he had been capable of in practice on Friday and Saturday but the most important thing for him was to finish the race. Unfortunately the high track temperatures meant there was less grip and Marco was unable to push as hard as he would have liked, but to finish was a crucial boost of confidence for him. We all know Marco's true potential and he showed it once again in the test when he was second only to Stoner by just 0.096 seconds. It was a constructive test with some positive feedback, which will be useful for the next race at Sachsenring. Marco likes the track and his motivation is really high, which indicates that he could be able to improve on the result from Mugello. Aoyama got his confidence back with our bike in Italy and even though he didn't get much out of the race he did a great job in the test that he will be able to capitalise on in the upcoming Grand Prix.?

 

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Honda rolls into Germany on top

The German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring marks the halfway point in the 18-round MotoGP World Championship with Honda riders first and third in the championship. The challenge to earn the final world championship of the 800cc era will be more difficult in the second half, with five of the final nine races being held outside the comfort zone of the teams? European bases.

Repsol Honda team-mates Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso are first and third respectively, in the MotoGP World Championship after the first eight races. Both have ridden their consistency to the top of the order, with Stoner winning four of the first eight races, with three other podiums and five pole positions. Dovizioso has been on the podium in four of the past five races, including a fine second in his home round in the previous race in Mugello. Whilst Dani Pedrosa, the third member of the Repsol Honda team, made a successful return to racing in Mugello following surgery on his right collarbone.
Stoner has a win a third and a fourth over the past four years at the Sachsenring, which has a layout that is a departure from the previous two races in Mugello and Assen. Coming from two of the three fastest race tracks on the calendar, the Sachsenring has one of the slowest average speeds and the second shortest lap time of any grand prix venue.

Dovizioso arrives for the final European round of the first half coming off the best result of the season in his home grand prix at Mugello. Following his second place finish, Dovizioso and the rest of the Repsol Honda team stayed on at Mugello for a one-day test to refine the RC212V for the second half of its final season. The team fine-tuned the RC212V?s set-up and tested a new swingarm, which they expect to put into use in Germany. Following the German GP is the U.S.GP, which has the slowest average lap speed and bears some resemblance to Sachsenring, with a preponderance of left hand corners and very little time to rest.
Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa clearly knows his way around the 3671m track. The Spaniard won two of the last four races, including last year?s running and the race in 2007. In addition, he was on the podium in 2009.

Following surgery on his right collarbone, there were concerns about Pedrosa?s physical fitness in Mugello, but he put them to rest with an encouraging result. Though his result doesn?t show it, the Spaniard proved to himself and others that he still had the speed to be among the sport?s elite. With a two week break since Mugello, Pedrosa?s endurance should be greatly improved. That the Sachsenring is heavily biased to the left hand corners should benefit Pedrosa.

San Carlo Honda Gresini?s Marco Simoncelli had an important finish in his home grand prix after two difficult races. Simoncelli came close to finishing fourth before coming fifth under the searing summer Italian sun. Simoncelli has often qualified well, with two poles and four other front row starting spots, but hasn?t been able to continue his proficiency in the races and is still seeking his first MotoGP podium. That could change in Germany. ?Super Sic? will be making his ninth visit to the Sachsenring, where he finished on the podium in the 125cc class and won the 250cc race in 2008 and 2009.

Simoncelli and the San Carlo Honda Gresini team also took part in the post-Mugello test and found a solution to his late-race traction issues caused by the hottest conditions of the year.

Team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama will be racing his San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V for the first time in Germany, having missed last year?s race through injury. Aoyama came off a difficult race in Italy, where he struggled with injuries suffered in the previous round in Assen. The Japanese star finished outside the top ten for the first time this season, other than a DNF in Catalunya. But he has had some success in Germany, winning the 250cc race in 2007 and finished on the podium in 2005. And in 2009 he was fourth to Simoncelli and less than a second behind.

Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP) was never comfortable in Mugello and struggled with the front end, preventing him from taking full advantage of the RC212V. Elias is hopeful that a change of scenery brings a change of fortune. The veteran from Manresa, Spain won last year?s race at the Sachsenring, one of seven victories he earned en route to the inaugural Moto2 World Championship.

Sachsenring replaced Hockenheim as the site of the German Grand Prix starting in 1998. Five-time Honda world champion Mick Doohan christened the track with a victory, his third success in Germany on three different tracks. A year earlier he?d won the German GP at the Nurburgring (1997) and he also won the German GP at Hockenheim (1992).

In the 15-year grand prix history of the Sachsenring, Honda has more premier class wins than any other brand. Six different winners have won on three different Hondas, the NSR5000, the RC211V, and the RC212V. The winning riders include Doohan, Alex Barros (2000), Valentino Rossi (2002), Sete Gibernau (2003), Max Biaggi (2004), and Dani Pedrosa in 2007 and 2010.

The history of racing in Saxony dates back to the 1920s on public roads near the town of Chemnitz. In 1996, the Sachsenring was built as a purpose-built track in the years after the former West and East Germanys reunified. Originally 2.9k, the track underwent revisions in 2000, 2001, and 2003 all of which increased the length to its current 3.671k, and average speed. The circuit is no longer the shortest venue on the calendar; Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, which follows the German race, is shorter by 60 meters.

The anti-clockwise track has ten left-hand corners and only three rights, with a longest straightaway of 700m. The first corners are the slowest before the riders encounter a series of increasingly faster lefts heading to the right hand turn 11, a blind, off-camber kink that sends riders descending precipitously to the last two lefts, where much of the passing takes place. From turn 12 the track heads uphill to the final 60 degree turn 13, which feeds onto the front straightaway.

The Sachsenring is one of the most popular races of the year, with crowds approaching 100,000 lining the hills of Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony.


HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES

Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner says:

?I'm looking forward to going to Sachsenring, it's a circuit where we've enjoyed good results in the past few years. The track is very tight and technical so it demands a different style of riding and we also need to set the bike up in a different way. It's pretty tough on tyres as the majority of corners are long left-handers so the wear on the left hand side of the tyre is quite significant. It takes a lot of work to get a good set up in order to have a good pace for the race distance. I really enjoy this race, the atmosphere is amazing and the countryside is beautiful. We've always been pretty fast there and I'm sure with the Honda we can be competitive.?

Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso says:

?We arrive in Germany strong and competitive. The second place in front of the Italian crowd at Mugello gave us an extra boost to continue working and improving race after race. The post GP test at Mugello was an important occasion to fine tune the set up of the bike and try a new swing arm. We had good feedback so we arrive in Germany with a good base and I think we will use the new swing arm as the feeling was positive and lap times came easier. I enjoy going to Sachsenring, it has a good atmosphere and there are always a lot of spectators. However, as a circuit it is very different from Mugello, it?s a quite short racetrack, with a very slow first section followed by a very fast second half. We will work hard from the first practice session, as we did in Mugello, this is very important to prepare the machine for the race. I?m very motivated, we are third in the championship and we want to continue gaining important points for the season.?

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says:

?The last race in Mugello was good because after a long time without racing, I saw that I haven't lost the ability to go fast. I have to regain fitness and this week I have worked hard. I've always had very good races at Sachsenring and it's good to get to a track where you know you can do well. Contrary to Mugello, Germany is all almost left hand corners and this must help me. Last year, we had a great race there and hopefully we can do a good job again during practices, hope nothing goes wrong and come out with a good chance for the race.?

San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli says:

?Mugello was definitely a positive weekend with a positive end result although I wasn't completely satisfied. It was important to get to the end of the race without any dramas and put the misadventures of Silverstone and Assen behind me. The test on Monday was also positive ? we tried some solutions that could help us overcome the problems we had in the race at Mugello, where I seemed to struggle more than the others with a loss of grip due to the increased track temperature. Overall the visit to Mugello has given me confidence and motivation for the next round in Germany. Sachsenring is a circuit I like a lot, I have always been fast there in 125 and in 250, in fact I won the 250 races there in 2008 and 2009. Last year I had a good race in MotoGP, battling for fifth place. My objective is to do my best along with the team and try to improve on the result from Mugello.?

San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Hiroshi Aoyama says:

?After the experience at Assen on the factory Repsol Honda Team RC212V I struggled a little bit to get a feel for my team San Carlo Honda Gresini machine at Mugello. To complicate matters I was still in a lot of discomfort from my crash in Holland but I gradually got back on the pace and with the help and dedication of all the guys on the team we came out with a satisfactory result. The test on the following day was much more positive with a view to Sachsenring. I actually missed the race there last year through injury so I have to go back to my 250 days for my last experience there. I was on the podium in 2005 and won the race in 2007 but the difference between 250 and MotoGP is too big to predict what kind of feeling I will have for the track with this bike.?

 

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Positive first day for Bautista and Rizla Suzuki in Germany

Rizla Suzuki?s ?lvaro Bautista produced a strong first day?s performance to put him inside the top-10 at Sachsenring today.

Bautista recorded a quickest time of 1?23.261 from his 46 laps around the 3,671m German circuit, to put him in ninth place in the overall standings and just over one second off the provisional pole position. Bautista tried both compounds of Bridgestone race tyre today to find the construction best suited to his Suzuki GSV-R. He is sure that if conditions improve, he will be able to reduce his lap-times significantly and move up the leader-board as he prepares for Sunday?s race.

Both of today?s practice sessions were held in dry conditions, but with cool air temperatures and a strong wind blowing over the Sachsenring circuit, track temperatures were kept down at only 36?C. Marco Simoncelli on a Honda took today?s honours by recording the fastest lap in both sessions to head the timesheets after day one

Bautista will have one more practice session tomorrow morning before the hour of qualifying in the afternoon gives him the chance of his final preparations in readiness for Sunday 30-lap race, which is scheduled to start at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

?lvaro Bautista:

?Today has been a good day, because finally the rain didn?t make an appearance! This morning it was quite difficult because the track was cold and grip was at a minimum. I took it careful and just got the feel of the bike because I didn?t want to crash like some of the other guys did. This afternoon we tried different combinations of tyres to get the best mix for the bike. I started with a used set of soft ones from this morning?s session and then changed to harder ones on the front and rear. These didn?t give me such a good feeling and I swapped the front for a soft and this was better. The rear worked well, but I still had some sliding from the left side and found it difficult to get a good line through the corners. I felt I had a good rhythm throughout the whole practice and I think that I can certainly improve quite a bit tomorrow, especially if the conditions are better as this will give us more grip from the rear and we will have a good opportunity to move forward.?

Paul Denning ? Team Manager:

?It?s a Grand Prix weekend and the weather looks changeable, so nothing at all new there! That said, today was probably our best first day of the season so far. ?lvaro showed solid pace in both sessions and he had a particularly strong final run in FP2 using the harder of the two rear tyres. There?s no doubt that for our bike, and ?lvaro, the soft rear tyre will produce a better lap-time, so we?ve got a good base to work on. ?lvaro looks very confident throwing the bike around this tight circuit and without question the latest generation GSV-R is quite a big improvement here at Sachsenring compared to previous seasons.?

eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland Free Practice Classification:

1. Marco Simoncelli (Honda) 1?22.225: 2. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +0.095: 3. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 0.207: 4. Casey Stoner (Honda) +0.317: 5. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +0.429: 9. ?LVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SZUKI MOTOGP) +1.036:

 

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Strong Start for Lorenzo in Germany

Day one of the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring circuit started with an incident fuelled free practice this morning as four riders crashed out on turn 11 of the twisty circuit. Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies managed to avoid the mayhem and spent the morning getting reacquainted with the track.

Lorenzo picked up speed quickly in the morning session, rising to second midway and holding in the top three for the duration of the heat. As the track temperatures rose for the afternoon session so did the Mallorcan?s speed; only being denied the top spot at the end of the second practice by a gap of 0.095 seconds.

Team mate Spies was still looking for the best set up for the Sachsenring track by the end of the afternoon session. The American was fighting off a head cold and struggled to find a perfect pace in either the morning or afternoon practices. He made an improvement of over half a second from the morning but will be looking for a bigger step in the third practice session tomorrow morning.

Jorge Lorenzo Position : 2nd Time: 1'22.320 Laps: 45


"I am pretty satisfied because I have improved my lap times today. I am almost faster than last year and I look forward to making another step tomorrow. We have made some changes and I feel much better on my M1; faster and more competitive! The slow corners are tough, but in the faster ones I take some tenths, especially T3 and T4. I hope tomorrow the temperature can be even hotter and we can fight for the first row."

Ben Spies Position : 7th Time: 1'22.894 Laps: 42


?I didn?t get my best shot at the track today, I?ve got a head cold which has left me a little fuzzy and makes it kind of hard to give it 100% and be on top form. The changing temperature from the morning to the afternoon also meant the track conditions were pretty different to set up for. I?m aiming for lots of sleep tonight and I?ll be ready to come back stronger in the morning.?

Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager

?This afternoon went quite well compared to this morning. The track temperature was much higher and that helped set up and especially the tyres. Jorge was very consistent and we managed to improve stability and turning so we are quite satisfied. We did everything on the hard tyre so let?s see if tomorrow we are able to make another step.?
Massimo Meregalli Team Director

?We are not so satisfied on Ben?s side today, the set up is not perfect and the different temperatures from this morning to the afternoon didn?t give us enough opportunity to work as we wanted. We did improve a little this afternoon and now we will check and understand what we need to make it better for tomorrow. Jorge rode very well in both sessions; he seems very confident and has found a good set up quite quickly for the circuit.?


Combined Free Practice Times

1. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'22.225
2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1'22.320
3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'22.432
4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 1'22.542
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 1'22.654
6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 1'22.882
7. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1'22.894
8. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Pramac Racing Team 1'23.037
9. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'23.261
10. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 1'23.352
11. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'23.431
12. Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team 1'23.433
13. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 1'23.533
14. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'23.760
15. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Repsol Honda Team 1'23.906
16. Toni Elias (SPA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'24.304
17. Sylvain Guintoli (Fra) Pramac Racing Team 1'25.964

 

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EIGHTH PLACE FOR DE PUNIET IN FREE PRACTICE. GUINTOLI TAKES PLACE OF CAPIREX

The first two free-practice sessions have been completed at the Sachsenring, site of the ninth Grand Prix in the MotoGP series. Loris Capirossi didnt take to the track in the afternoon, due to severe pain in his right shoulder: after the morning session, the Italian gave up his spot to Sylvain Guintoli, who had tested the Desmosedici during the official test at Mugello. The Frenchman stopped the clock at 1:25.964,while his compatriot, Randy De Puniet, registered the eighth-best time (1:23.037).

Marco Rigamonti - Randy De Puniet Track Engineer

It seems that the bike works well at this circuit. We mainly worked on the electronics setup, and we also compared the old frame with the new one. The difference between the two doesnt seem big, but we should really try it on a track where the bike has problems. Surprisingly, we didnt have many today. Well work on our consistency for the race, also trying to sneak a few more tenths off the time, which makes a difference when times are so close.

Randy De Puniet Pramac Racing Rider 8th best time in 1:23.037

Im pretty satisfied with this first day, as its been since Jerez that we havent had such a good position in the results. In the afternoon, we worked even better than we did in the morning. The feeling with the bike has improved, and we also finally had some good weather. Tomorrow well work on other areas, and we hope that the whole weekend will be positive. For me, its a pleasure to be in the group of riders who are currently going faster than the rest.

Sylvain Guintoli - Pramac Racing Rider 17th best time in 1:25.964

Apart from my lap time, I cant complain. The goal for this weekend is to improve session by session in order to find the right feeling with the bike heading into the race. I had some difficulties, of course, but Im happy to be here and to be racing in MotoGP. It was fun, and Im sure that tomorrow Ill improve my time and position.

 

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Edwards and Crutchlow target big improvements in Germany

Cal CrutchlowColin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow are confident they can make major improvements after the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders experienced a difficult start to the German MotoGP round today.

Edwards was 10th and Crutchlow 13th in cold and blustery conditions this morning, and while they were able to improve their lap times in more favourable conditions in this afternoon's second session, both slipped down the rankings by one position.

Experienced American spent the majority of the opening day working on trying to improve rear grip with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine and he set a personal best time of 1.23.431 to finish 11th on the combined timesheets. Edwards was less than 0.5s away from the top eight and he is confident overnight set-up changes will help him lap at a significantly faster pace tomorrow.

With track temperatures only reaching 21 degrees this morning, British rookie Crutchlow adopted a steady approach to learning the Sachsenring track, which is the second shortest on the MotoGP World Championship calendar at 2.281 miles.

He concentrated on improving his confidence with the front-end of his YZR-M1 machine, the former World Supersport champion trying a range of different set-up options to gain more turning performance on the undulating, tight and twisty Sachsenring track.

Crutchlow was able to lap 0.4s faster than his best pace from this morning as the track temperature increased by 15 degrees and the strong wind eased slightly. But a small crash with just over 15 minutes remaining prevented him from bettering his time of 1.23.760. The 25-year-old finished in 14th position but he was less than 0.5s from the top ten and with more track experience he is aiming for a strong performance in tomorrow's final practice and qualifying sessions.

This weekend's 30-lap race marks the halfway point of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship and comes before a trip across the Atlantic for next weekend's US Grand Prix at the spectacular Laguna Seca circuit.

Colin Edwards 1.23.431- 41 laps:

?I've definitely had easier Friday's than this that's for sure. I don't really know why but I never seem to get on with this track. My relationship with this track didn't exactly get the best start back in 2003 with the barbecue at the bottom of the hill, and since then I've always found it difficult here. I always seem to have to end up turning the bike inside out to get a setting that works. This morning was pretty difficult because I couldn't generate enough heat in the right side of the front tyre and I guess I just wasn't willing to push that hard and risk crashing. We saw what happened to the likes of Valentino and Dani and I felt that was going to happen to me with the way the right side of the front felt. But it was cold and windy and definitely not ideal conditions. I used the hard front and rear compound this afternoon for the whole session and we made the bike better. But I still need more rear traction. That's been my biggest struggle. It feels like I'm just skating on top of the tarmac but we've got some ideas to try tomorrow and I know we are going in the right direction to be closer to the front guys.?

Cal Crutchlow 1.23.760 ? 43 laps:

?It doesn't look good at all on paper but it is a lot better than it looks and I'm not too concerned. The times are pretty close and I was consistent at the end of the session when I was running a really old rear tyre after the crash. I lost precious time with the crash, which I can't really afford when I'm trying to learn the track. I went slow at the start of the lap and then I saw Stoner in the distance and tried to follow his line but just ran a bit wide in Turn 9. It is pretty fast and I ran onto the grass but hit the biggest pothole I've ever seen and I couldn't hold on. At least I tested the left shoulder out that I broke at Silverstone and it survived with no issues. This track is really tight and twisty and not that easy to learn, even though it is one of the shortest on the calendar. We worked a lot on improving the front-end feel today and we are making some progress but you always want more. Finishing 14th is not our usual position because normally I've been around eighth to sixth, but I know with some more improvements we can move higher up the timesheets.?

 

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THIRD ROW AND GOOD PACE FOR HAYDEN, DIFFICULT QUALIFYING FOR ROSSI

The qualifying session for the German Grand Prix went very differently for Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi. The American posted the eighth-best time, four tenths from the first row, after lapping all weekend at a pace that was very close to that of the top riders. The Italian wasn?t able to find a setup that gave him a good feeling, and tomorrow he?ll face an uphill race, starting from the sixteenth spot on the grid.

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 8th (1:22.388)

?I had hoped to be on the second row here, because I?ve been in the top six all weekend until this afternoon, and we know qualifying is so important at this track. Yesterday I had better grip when the track was cooler in the morning, and it was the same thing again today. When the track temperature comes up in the afternoon, I begin pushing the front. I?m not really happy with my lap time or my position. This morning I did 1:22.5 on a used soft tyre from yesterday, and I only managed a little better in qualifying. The team has done a good job because they found me some extra rear grip, which is so important around here, but then we just can?t find that front grip that we really need. There?s no doubt that it will be tough, but we?ll try to do something tomorrow when it counts.?

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 16th (1:23.320)

?Today we obviously had some big problems, or rather we haven?t managed to find a good compromise between the improved traction and acceleration that we?ve achieved with this bike, and front-end confidence, which is still missing. I?m not able to load the front and make it work like I can with the GP12 engine in the same chassis, which is why we?ve been so slow and are so far back. Naturally, we?re very disappointed, but we really can?t say that we haven?t tested because here we had four sessions with normal weather, and we tried many things. We?re thinking about a solution for the coming races in order to resume the positive improving trend that we were on until Barcelona."

 

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THIRD ROW FOR DE PUNIET, FIFTH ROW FOR GUINTOLI

The starting grid for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring was determined in this afternoons qualifying session. Randy De Puniet registered the ninth-best time (1:22.503), just behind Nicky Hayden, the only Ducati rider to finish the session ahead of the Frenchman, who will start from the fifth row tomorrow. Sylvain Guintoli, who prior to this morning had only ridden Capirossis Desmosedici here in yesterdays afternoon session, ended qualifying in eighteenth place with a time of 1:24.707.

Marco Rigamonti - Randy De Puniet Track Engineer

Today went rather well. This morning Randy was complaining about the rear, so this afternoon we tried two different solutions. One was pretty effective, and well use it again tomorrow. If the temperature is similar to todays, I think well start with the hard tyres, which give our rider more consistency and stability. In the Warm-Up, well do a little experiment with the front and see what happens, but were more likely to not change much on the bikes setup, considering the good results weve had these two days.

Randy De Puniet Pramac Racing Rider 9th best time in 1:22.503

Im pretty pleased with the work carried out over these two days, and as I said yesterday, its been a long time since I last left the garage happy. At the moment, everything is going according to our plans. Im able to go fast with both the hard and soft tyres. Well try some things tomorrow morning, specifically with the front. Im pleased with my ninth place, which a good start going into the race.

Sylvain Guintoli - Pilota Pramac Racing Team 17th best time in 1:24.707

Were a little far from the other riders, but anyway my feeling with the bike has improved compared to this morning. My tyres were ruined when I came back to the garage, and that could present a problem for the race. I did my best, and tomorrow Ill have to try to have a good race.

 

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Bautista shows good race pace in qualifying

Rizla Suzuki?s ?lvaro Bautista showed a strong race pace throughout this afternoon?s qualifying session at Sachsenring to leave him in an optimistic mood for tomorrow?s race.

Bautista (P10, 1?22.604) will start from the front of the fourth row after qualifying less than a second from pole position, but it was his consistency throughout the session which gives the whole team a positive outlook for Sunday. Bautista was never outside the top-10 for the whole session and was regularly in the leading pack as he made his final adjustments for tomorrow?s race. He was also the busiest rider on-track as he used the time available to its full extent to complete 36 laps of the 3,671m German circuit.

The sun shone all day at Sachsenring and temperatures improved from yesterday?s chilly sessions, enabling Bautista to make a better evaluation of the performance of the Bridgestone race tyres. World Championship leader Casey Stoner took pole position, his sixth of the season.

Tomorrow?s 30-lap race signals the halfway point of the season, with Bautista looking to make a good start and battle for his best result of the year so far when the lights go out to signal the beginning of the event at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

?lvaro Bautista:

?I am not happy with the position because I think we should be higher up than that. I started with a hard rear tyre in qualifying and right from the beginning I followed some other riders but couldn?t quite get in a rhythm. After a few laps some riders went to the box, but I stayed out on my own and I started to make a good race pace. With a tyre that had done 20-laps I did a 22.7 so that is a good sign for the race and I feel very positive. When I used my first soft tyre I made a mistake and ran off the track and lost some of the grip from the rubber, so couldn?t really get the lap-time I wanted. With my second soft tyre I had a lot of riders in front of me and I just couldn?t make a good, clean lap - so I am not happy about that. My rhythm is certainly better than the position and I will need to make a good start tomorrow ? like Mugello ? because at this track it is very important to have a good first lap as it is difficult to overtake.?

Paul Denning ? Team Manager:

?The whole team ? ?lvaro included ? is disappointed with 10th place on the grid, because it doesn?t reflect our potential for tomorrow. ?lvaro?s qualifying lap on new soft tyres was only one-tenth quicker than what he achieved after 20-laps on the hard tyres. His race pace ? if he can get away with the fast guys ? looks good enough to challenge for the top-six tomorrow, so we must try to aim for that. The plan for tomorrow has to be to get the Rizla Suzuki off the line as well as ?lvaro did in Mugello and push hard for our best dry result of the year so far.?

eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland Qualifying Practice Classification:

1. Casey Stoner (Honda) 1?21.681: 2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +0.252: 3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +0.263: 4. Marco Simoncelli (Honda) +0.273: 5. Ben Spies (Yamaha) +0.375: 10. ?LVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.923:

 

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Edwards battles to super seventh in Sachsenring

Colin EdwardsColin Edwards called on all his experience and skill to qualify his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team machine in seventh place on the grid for tomorrow's 30-lap German MotoGP race at the Sachsenring.

Despite not being in peak physical condition after being struck down by a severe sore throat overnight, the American finished only 0.211s away from a second row start at a sun-drenched Sachsenring.

After yesterday's practice sessions were run in cool and windy conditions, today's weather was ideal with air temperatures hitting a pleasant 25 degrees this afternoon, allowing Edwards to focus on making major improvements to the set-up of his YZR-M1 machine.

Edwards, who was uninjured in a small front-end crash at the first corner in this morning's final free practice session, made significant progress with increasing front-end confidence around the tight and twisty Sachsenring circuit. And his hard work was rewarded with a brilliant final lap of 1.22.368 to finish top non-factory rider in a closely contested session that saw the top 12 riders divided by less than one second.

British team-mate Cal Crutchlow looked like joining Edwards inside the top 10. He improved his front-end feeling to break into the 1.22 bracket for the first time this weekend with just under 20 minutes remaining.

The 25-year-old had climbed into seventh place with a lap of 1.22.676, but as he pushed hard in the closing stages to secure yet another top 10 qualifying result, he crashed heavily at the fast Turn 8 left-hander. Crutchlow was able to walkaway unhurt from the high-speed accident but he fell to 12th on the timesheets, finishing just over 0.2s away from eighth placed Nicky Hayden.

Colin Edwards 1.22.368 ? 30 laps:

?Honestly, I have no idea where I pulled that last lap from. I didn't feel like I had a low 1.22 lap in me at all today but I just tried to push as hard as I could and stay as smooth as I could on that final lap and to get seventh is a great result for me and my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3. Today hasn't been easy because I woke up this morning with a really bad sore throat. It feels like I'm chewing gravel but I've lost my voice and can hardly talk, so communication with the crew wasn't that easy. But we've got such a great understanding that even though they could barely hear what I was saying, my team gave me a good bike for the end of the session. I've never got on with this track and today we've made so many changes to the bike that we're a million miles away from our normal setting. I'd say we haven't done big changes like this to the bike in about a year. I haven't been able to get the bike turned but we kept plugging away and found something this afternoon that was better. This track is so tight and twisty you need a good turning bike, so I'm confident we can have a strong race.?

Cal Crutchlow 1.22.676 0 26 laps:

"I am not too happy with today because we had a big crash at the end of the session. I thought we made a good improvement in the qualifying session and we made it into the 22s with an old race tyre and I was happy. I came in to put a new soft tyre on and with the extra grip we just pushed the front too much. We don't really know why at the moment, but we will have a look at the data to see if we can make some improvement for the race. It is the same issue that I have been complaining about at the last two or three races, so we have to start considering making some drastic changes. We will keep working and the aim will be to get in the top 10 for tomorrow and I am determined to bring the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team a good result."

 

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Lorenzo Secures Front Row for Sachsenring Grand Prix

Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo fought hard today to secure himself third place in qualifying and a front row start for tomorrow?s Grand Prix of Germany. The Yamaha Factory Racing rider was the fastest man on track in the morning?s final free practice, setting an impressive 1?22.112 to top the time sheets. The afternoon qualifying heat saw him again quick onto the pace, again fastest man on track mid way through the session. Unfortunately he was not able to take any great advantage from the softer tyre compounds available and had dropped out of the top four until the last moments. As the final minutes ticked down he broke under the 1?22 mark to beat Marco Simoncelli for the final spot on the front row by just 0.010 seconds.

Ben Spies was on much better form than yesterday, a good night?s sleep had shaken off most of his head cold and the Texan was keen to attack the track. The crew made some major set up changes midway through both the morning practice and afternoon qualifying to help deliver an optimum bike package for the twisty Sachsenring circuit. Clear improvements were evident, Spies climbing from seventh in the morning with a 1?22.772 to fifth on the grid in qualifying with 1?22.056, just 0.375 from pole.

Jorge Lorenzo
Position 3rd - Time 1.21.944 - Laps 33
?It?s been a strong weekend so far. I?ve never felt great on this track but this weekend I?m riding fast and feeling comfortable. It was a pity at the end of qualifying that the soft tyre didn?t improve anything so much. In the end I couldn?t make pole position but I think third position on the front row is a good place to start tomorrow for the race; I got it by just 0.010! Casey is very strong but I hope to be ready to fight for the victory with him. I think the fans will see a great race as there are a lot of riders who can fight for the win.?

Ben Spies
Position 5th - Time 1.22.056 - Laps 31

?Today was definitely better. I?m still not 100% but I?m feeling a lot more clear headed on the bike. We were able to make the bike a bit better and I was able to ride better today to get into the top five. I made a mistake on my last lap, totally my fault, two corners to go I lost the rear, then saved it but then lost the front as well which cost me a tenth. It might have made us a little closer to the front but we?re still in the middle of the second row so we can put a good race together tomorrow.?

Wilco Zeelenberg - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
?We?re very happy with a front row position, that?s very important on this track, especially the first part which is very tight so we need a good start. The race pace is very good with the hard tyres, the soft one didn?t bring out so much so we don?t have to bother with that as I think we will all be using the same tyres tomorrow.?


Massimo Meregalli - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
?It was a good qualifying session; the gap to the front is almost nothing. I think we solved most of the problems we had this afternoon with Ben, he is quite satisfied so I think tomorrow he can do a really good race. Jorge had a really good pace and I think tomorrow he can fight for the win.?




Qualifying 1 & Qualifying 2
I II
1 Casey Stoner Honda AUS n/a 1'21.681
2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP n/a 1'21.933
3 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP n/a 1'21.944
4 Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA n/a 1'21.954
5 Ben Spies Yamaha USA n/a 1'22.056
6 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA n/a 1'22.157
7 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA n/a 1'22.368
8 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA n/a 1'22.388
9 Randy De Puniet Ducati FRA n/a 1'22.503
10 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki ESP n/a 1'22.604
11 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP n/a 1'22.676
12 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR n/a 1'22.676
13 Karel Abraham Ducati CZE n/a 1'23.164
14 Toni Elias Honda ESP n/a 1'23.201
15 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN n/a 1'23.248

 

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Strong seventh for Suzuki?s Spaniard at Sachsenring

?lvaro Bautista gave Rizla Suzuki its best dry result of the season so far with a gutsy and battling performance in Germany today.

Starting from 10th on the grid, Bautista knew a good start was required and by the end of the first lap he had moved up into ninth place. Over the next two laps he became involved in what turned out to be a race-long battle with the Ducati?s of firstly Nicky Hayden and then also Valentino Rossi. The trio swapped places many times over the remainder of the race, but Bautista saved his best till last. He produced his quickest lap of the race on the penultimate lap and then badgered and passed both Rossi and then Hayden on the final corner to take a well deserved, but hard-fought seventh.

Bautista chose the softer option of the Bridgestone race tyres today as the track temperatures and overcast, but humid conditions gave him the confidence to use the softer rubber. The 101,309 spectators at trackside were not only treated to the three way battle involving Bautista, but the action at the front was equally as hot, with Dani Pedrosa eventually coming out on top from World Champion Jorge Lorenzo in second, with current championship leader Casey Stoner third.

Rizla Suzuki now heads straight to the United States of America for the next round on the calendar, which is scheduled for Sunday 24th July at the Laguna Seca Raceway in California.

?lvaro Bautista:

?I am happy with today?s result because it was a fun race and I am quite pleased with where we finished. At the beginning I had to try and get a good start, because in the first corner you have to be very careful with other riders. I got a decent start and was in a good position just behind the top riders, but I was a bit too far away from them, and my rhythm wasn?t quite as quick, so I couldn?t quite stay with them. I got involved with the two Ducati guys and really enjoyed the race with them. At the end it was very difficult to overtake Valentino and Nicky because they brake very hard and very late, making it tough to get past. On the last lap I overtook Valentino at the end of the main straight. I then followed Nicky and waited for the last two corners because I knew I had an opportunity there to get him. I had to brake with everything I had to get past him on corner 12, but I ran a bit wide and lost some speed, Nicky overtook me on the last corner, but he entered too quickly and he went out, so I got past him on the exit of the corner. I am very happy that we are the first finisher after the top six because they are on a different level at the moment. For the next race I hope to continue with this way of working and get closer to the top.?

Paul Denning ? Team Manager:

?I think we showed this weekend at Sachsenring ? a track that has traditionally been very tough for Suzuki ? that both the GSV-R and the rider have made good steps in 2011 - despite the bad luck and huge injury at the start of the season. The high-speed crash that ?lvaro suffered at the end of warm-up this morning was not ideal race preparation and it might have had a small effect on his ultimate pace, but nonetheless he dug deep and a rode a very entertaining and aggressive 30-laps. Maybe with a better qualifying position ? which we have to keep working on ? or with a luckier first couple of laps, he might have been able to tow along on the back of the fastest riders. We won?t know if that could have been the case until we get the opportunity again at Laguna Seca next week. It was an incredibly competitive race today, all the top riders finished and we were beaten by only the four Factory Hondas and the two Factory Yamahas - this weekend has definitely been a step in the right direction.?

eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland Race Classification:

1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 41?12.482: 2. Jorge Lorenzo(Yamaha) +1.477: 3. Casey Stoner (Honda) +1.568: 4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +10.513: 5. Ben Spies (Yamaha) +10.719: 7. ?LVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +27.451:

World Championship Classification:

1. Stoner 168: 2. Lorenzo 153: 3. Dovizioso 132: 4. Valentino Rossi (Ducati) 98: 5. Pedrosa 94: 13: ?LVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 39:

 

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EIGHTH AND NINTH PLACES FOR HAYDEN AND ROSSI IN GERMANY

Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi finished eight and ninth, respectively, in the German Grand Prix, after a nice charge by the Italian and a subsequent three-way battle with his teammate and Alvaro Bautista. Of course the result isn?t what the two Ducati Team riders had hoped for, but the work carried out over the weekend helped them to gather important information.

After Saturday?s very difficult qualifying session, Valentino and his team found a setting for the GP11.1 that enabled him to improve his pace by approximately five tenths.

Nicky won the duel with his teammate for eighth place, although he had hoped to be closer to the front after a good showing in practice.

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 8th
?I tried to go with that group in front of me off the start, but about the second or third lap I had a pretty big moment over the bumps in Turn 1 and they took off. From there I had a big battle with Bautista and Vale. It was fun, with a lot of overtaking, but battling for seventh place, 27 seconds back is hard for me to take at a track that I love and where I?ve been on the podium several times. I got to seventh toward the end and did my best lap, but they came with me. Bautista got me on my last lap, at the bottom of the hill. I re-passed him in the last corner, but he squared it up and nipped me to the line. It?s easy to say now, but I wish I raced the soft tyre. Thanks to the team and everybody that worked hard, but we had better hopes for today, going into Laguna.?

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 9th
?Today went a little better. This morning in the warm-up we made a change to the setup that helped me to slightly improve the feeling compared to the very, very difficult practice sessions. After the opening laps, I realized that my pace was the same as that of Nicky and Bautista?s group, maybe even a little faster, but I had small glitches with the gearbox in the second half of the race. It was mainly hurting me in the last corner, when I changed to third, because the bike wheelied and it took me half the straightaway before I could put it back down. At the end of the race, I wanted to pass Nicky on the brakes into the first corner, where I was pretty strong, but instead even Bautista passed me on the straight. Anyway, that?s not where we want to be. We definitely improved today compared to Saturday, but we?re still too far back. We find the race setup late, and that makes everything more difficult, but in order to improve we have to try many things, which makes it easy to lose our direction. It?s understandable, because we don?t know this bike well and I think we have to take chances and try everything. Now we?ll analyze the data from this weekend and decide what to do for Laguna Seca.?

Vittoriano Guareschi (Team Manager)
?It was a very difficult weekend, as we had to work really hard until the last minute in order to put Valentino in a position to have a decent race. Of course our goals are different from our today?s results, but it?s positive that we were able to find a setup, even if it was at the last minute, that let Vale lap half a second faster than in qualifying. Nicky had a close call in the opening laps and lost a little confidence, but he regained it in the second half of the race, maintaining a good rhythm until the finish.?

 

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SACHSENRISNG GRAND PRIX: THIRTEENTH PLACE FOR RANDY DE PUNIET. GUINTOLI THANKS THE PRAMAC RACING TEAM

Randy De Puniet finished the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, site of the ninth stop in the MotoGP world championship, in 13th place. After a positive weekend for the Frenchman, who was one of the fastest and most solid Ducati riders, the race didnt go as the Pramac Racing Team had hoped. A mistake on the first lap cost No. 14 precious seconds, and several positions as a result. His teammate Sylvain Guintoli, riding the Ducati Desmosedici in place of Loris Capirossi, finished at the rear, in eighteenth place.

Marco Rigamonti - Randy De Puniet rack engineer

Randy had a race pace that was pretty similar to that of the second group, composed of Bautista, Hayden and Rossi. Unfortunately, the first lap affected the rest of his grand prix; he didnt want to risk crashing and was a little cautious, mostly when cornering. Lap by lap, he wasnt able to maintain the rhythm of the others, especially because of some problems with the front that showed up midway through the race. As he wasnt able to push very hard, he decided to finish the race as well as he could. We could have done better if we hadnt lost the group ahead in the opening laps.

Randy De Puniet - 13th in race - 17th in MotoGP standings

"I'm not satisfied about my thirteenth place. I was able to start from the third row, having lost all those seconds in the first lap has affected the whole race. I have lost the group in front of me, the one composed by Hayden, Rossi, Edwards and Barbera and I was no longer able to shorten the distance. Halfway through the race, then, I had problems with the front: I could not close the gap, and I lost more positions. I tried to finish the race, I could not do better. We will try to improve in next weekend".

Sylvai Guintoli - 17th in race

"It was a great experience for me. In these two days my goal was to understand the bike. I've done it: today, lap after lap, I improved my bests lap times, and the best one has arrived at the end of the race. I would like to thanks Pramac Racing Team for giving me this opportunity and, of course, my Superbike team which allowed me to be here. MotoGP is always a good test".

 

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PEDROSA SCORES HEROIC WIN, STONER A CLOSE THIRD

Just two weeks after returning from injury, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) was back on the top step of the podium at the Sachsenring today after a thrilling race-long battle with reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and current points leader Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC212V).

The trio dominated the race, all of them taking their turn to lead, but in the end it was Pedrosa who had winning speed, the Spaniard crossing the finish line 1.477s ahead of Lorenzo. It was a heroic weekend?s work from the former 125 and 250 World Champion who had missed the Catalan, British and Dutch rounds with a fractured collarbone that required two operations.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) continued his strong run of results, running with the leaders in the first half of the race and taking fourth place after a frantic battle with Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) who was beaten into sixth by Ben Spies (Yamaha) at the final turn.

Stoner started the race from pole position, but played it safe in the very early stages, slipping to fourth on the first lap. Anxious to prevent his tyres from overheating ? this anti-clockwise circuit places huge stresses on the left side of the tyres ? Stoner was planning to save his best for last. He started moving forward on lap four, passing Pedrosa, then the next lap bettering Dovizioso and Lorenzo to take the lead, but he couldn?t break away.

Lap after lap, Lorenzo stayed close, with Pedrosa, Dovizioso and Simoncelli swapping positions right behind. Then on lap 14 Lorenzo dived inside Stoner at turn 12. The Yamaha man managed to pull a gap of six tenths in a couple of laps, Stoner apparently struggling as his RCV got lively in some of the circuit?s fast, undulating turns. Sure enough, on lap 16 Pedrosa went past his team-mate at turn one and set off in pursuit of Lorenzo. It took him just five laps to catch his fellow Spaniard, zooming ahead on the start-finish at the start of lap 22 after Lorenzo lost drive out of the final turn.

Pedrosa was in sensational form, quickly making the break, leaving the other two to dispute second place. Not surprisingly, Pedrosa was exhausted in the final stages, but the remarkably resilient 25-year-old didn?t slacken. Only after the race did he reveal that he has been suffering from anaemia, probably the result of going under the knife twice in recent weeks. This was his second win of the year and his fifth at the Sachsenring ? three on MotoGP bikes and two on 250s.

Stoner?s hopes of keeping his tyres from getting too hot came to nothing. In the final lap it was obvious that he was lacking grip in left-handers, which allowed Lorenzo to close right up on him halfway through the lap then dive inside at the final corner. That pass cost Stoner four points and shrank his World Championship lead to 15 points, with nine races done and nine to go.

The Dovizioso v Simoncelli also duel went all the way to the flag, Spies joining the two Italians in the final two laps and splitting them at the finish. Dovizioso?s fourth place ? 10.5s down on the winner ? means he hasn?t finished outside the top four in the last seven races. His consistency is paying dividends in the title hunt ? he is currently a very strong third, 21 points behind Lorenzo and 36 behind Stoner.

Simoncelli was disappointed to have lost out to Dovizioso and Spies, but nevertheless it was another strong finish for the former 250 World Champion who has managed to avoid making major mistakes at the last two races.

Still suffering from his nasty crash at Mugello, Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) struggled all weekend here, crossing the line in 15th position to claim the final point. Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP RC212V) had another challenging race and finished 16th.

MotoGP rider quotes

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V): race winner
?It?s an incredible feeling to be back and win a race so early; I didn?t expect it, but this circuit has been always very good for me and I made it happen. I was already surprised yesterday with second position in qualifying and to finish the weekend in this way is amazing, a huge relief for me after a very hard time with injuries. Here I suffered less than in Mugello because of the layout, but in the race today I had a strange feeling, something I?ve never had before. At the beginning of the race I wasn?t feeling great on the bike, I was fourth, but I didn?t get nervous or worried because I?m still not mathematically out of the championship battle, but I know it?s almost impossible. So, I just let the laps pass and in the middle of the race, with less fuel in the tank and when the tyres started sliding, I decided to step it up a little and it worked perfectly. I?m very happy with this victory; I?ve been suffering a lot even though this race track is not physically demanding, because I?m still weak. So a big thanks to my family and doctors that helped me to be back here because they all know how hard it has been. Also to my team and to all my fans that never gave up, they deserve it also.?

Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: 3rd
?We knew today would be a hard race, we found a good set up yesterday in qualifying but we had an issue with the rear tyre and the temperatures getting too high, with it spinning too much. We took it easy in the early part of the race and thought we?d try to preserve the tyre and warm it up slower than we did in Mugello. After a few laps I decided to make a move to the front to see what we could do and we were able to pull a small advantage, but too small compared to the effort we were putting in so I backed off on my pace a little and tried to stay as smooth as possible and see what happens. They came past me and Dani was riding so strong and was able to get past Jorge before I got there, he built a small advantage and by the time I got past Jorge and I struggled to chase him down. I made a few small mistakes and that left just Jorge and I for the last few laps. I tried everything I could, riding the cleanest lap possible and trying to block my line, but Jorge came up on the dirty part of the track and I thought it would be too high a risk, but he made it stick and I have to settle for third place. I?m still leading the Championship and I?m thankful for the points here today.?

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 4th
?It was a tough race because this circuit is small and difficult. Our target was the podium so I?m a little disappointed with fourth position, but if we look at today?s race in a bigger perspective, we took a big step forward in terms of race pace compared to my previous records at this circuit. We had a good start and tried to stay with the front riders. It was a good battle with Simoncelli and Spies for fourth position and I?m happy we won this battle! We were consistently fast during the whole weekend and even though today we were struggling, we finished fourth. We confirm that we are there and we have retained third position in the Championship, even if we aimed to gain more points on Lorenzo and Casey. My congratulations go to Dani, Casey and Jorge for a great race.?

Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 6th
?It?s a shame because fourth place would have felt completely different. I was faster than Dovizioso for the first half of the race and maybe I took too long to pass him, losing contact with the leaders in the process. We passed each other a few times and then the tyre wear was so bad on the left side I was really struggling and it was hard to control the bike. I tried everything I could on the last lap but it wasn?t enough and Spies also came through. It is a shame but this was still a good race for us because we were close to the front and if we can just find another couple of tenths in race trim we?ll be fighting for wins.?

Hiroshi Aoyama, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 15th
?It wasn?t an easy race, especially the first half, but I tried to finish it in the best possible way. Unfortunately my physical condition has been a problem all weekend and I have not found it easy. I have tried to get more confident with the bike from session to session but it has been hard. I am sorry for the team and I hope to be in better shape for the next race at Laguna Seca.?

Toni Elias, LCR Honda MotoGP: 16th
?Yesterday we thought we made a good step forward and I was hoping for a better result. But at the beginning of the race with the full load of fuel when the bike was heavier I struggled very much to control it. Suddenly our usual problems came back again and I started to lose the front in braking and had no confidence in the rear. I managed to cross the line in 15th position but obviously I am very frustrated. By the way, I do not want to lose my motivation and my concentration and we?ll see what is going to happen in Laguna.?


Pole position : Casey Stoner
Fastest lap : Dani PEDROSA 1'21.846 161.469 Km/h Lap 20
Circuit record lap : Dani PEDROSA 1'21.882 161.398 Km/h 2010
Circuit Best Lap : Casey STONER 1'21.067 163.020 Km/h 2008
Event results - Round 9 - Race 1
1 Dani Pedrosa 41'12.482 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo +1.477 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Casey Stoner +1.568 AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Andrea Dovizioso +10.513 ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
5 Ben Spies +10.719 USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
6 Marco Simoncelli +10.923 ITA HONDA Honda Gresini
7 Alvaro Bautista +27.451 SPA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP
8 Nicky Hayden +27.51 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
9 Valentino Rossi +27.576 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
10 Colin Edwards +33.491 USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
11 Hector Barbera +38.944 SPA DUCATI Aspar Ducati
12 Karel Abraham +39.148 CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Ducati
13 Randy De Puniet +39.415 FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
14 Cal Crutchlow +39.477 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
15 Hiroshi Aoyama +54.516 JPN HONDA Honda Gresini
Championship standings
1 Casey Stoner 168 pts AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo 153 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Andrea Dovizioso 132 pts ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Valentino Rossi 98 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
5 Dani Pedrosa 94 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
6 Nicky Hayden 85 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Team
7 Ben Spies 85 pts USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
8 Marco Simoncelli 60 pts ITA HONDA Honda Gresini
9 Colin Edwards 59 pts USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
10 Hiroshi Aoyama 57 pts JPN HONDA Honda Gresini
11 Hector Barbera 49 pts SPA DUCATI Aspar Ducati
12 Karel Abraham 41 pts CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Ducati
13 Alvaro Bautista 39 pts SPA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP
14 Toni Elias 35 pts SPA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
15 Cal Crutchlow 34 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
16 Loris Capirossi 22 pts ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
17 Randy De Puniet 15 pts FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
18 John Hopkins 6 pts USA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP
19 Kousuke Akiyoshi 3 pts JPN HONDA Honda Gresini

 

[KUCIAR666]

Lorenzo and Spies Save it for the Last Lap in Sachsenring Thriller

The Grand Prix of Germany provided some of the most exciting racing yet this season as Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies kept it to the last corner to deliver second and fifth places respectively.

Mugello race winner Lorenzo spent the entire 30 lap race distance embroiled in a battle at the front with Championship leader Casey Stoner and fellow Honda rider Dani Pedrosa. Having retained second off the grid, the Yamaha Factory rider passed Stoner with 17 laps to go. As the laps counted down Lorenzo conceded first to Pedrosa then second to Stoner before coming back with a stunning pass on the last corner of the last lap to steal second place back at the line.

Spies dropped one place to sixth off the start line, the Texan battling with a lack of grip that prevented him from closing down the front group early on. A consistent pace for the majority of the race saw a lonely ride holding position until his patience paid off as Marco Simoncelli and Andrea Dovizioso were gradually reeled in. The fighting of the two in front made it difficult to make a pass on the twisty track. Spies held off until the last corner on the last lap to pass Simoncelli for fifth, echoing his team mate?s pass on Stoner just seconds earlier at the same spot.

Denying Stoner second place means Lorenzo has now taken a step to close the Championship lead down, trailing by just 15 points with a total of 153 as they head to Laguna Seca. Team mate Spies holds onto sixth position, now just 13 points behind Valentino Rossi in fourth.
Jorge Lorenzo Position : 2nd Time: +1.477


?I?m very happy! It has been a fantastic race today. From the middle of the race I got very tired in my left hand so I didn?t know where I could find the force to push and keep pushing to the end. Then Casey stopped the bike a lot two corners from the end so I took profit from it, opened full throttle and in the last corner I went for it. It was a miracle pass! This race is very important so we are very proud and happy with the result. I have to thank my Yamaha crew who worked very hard to give me a fast bike all weekend, they have been fantastic.?

Ben Spies Position : 5th Time: +10.719


?Unfortunately I got to the front group a little too late but I tried as hard as I could. I just lacked some rear grip in the beginning, I tried to be consistent and hope they came back to me because I couldn?t run the pace they were running in the beginning. Lap time wise it was probably the most consistent I?ve ever done in a race. We caught up to them with three laps to go and then all hell broke loose. Simoncelli started trying to find a way past Dovizioso and every time I tried to look to go past one of them was on one side of the track and the other on the other side. It was fair play, they were racing each other but it kind of messed up my game plan! Simoncelli ran wide at the end so I got him again in the last corner. I wish we could have got Dovizioso because we had the pace, we just ran out of laps.?

Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager

?A great result, of course we would have liked to win it but it was clear that Dani had a little bit extra, he?s very good at this track and was also strong last year. To make up four championship points in the last corner at the end of the race is of course great, especially mentally for Jorge. The rest of the season is coming up and we?re closing the gap with still a few races to go!?

Massimo Meregalli Team Director

?A good weekend for us, we are catching Stoner. I think Jorge did a really great job and a very impressive last lap. He saw a door almost open and he just went in and took the place cleanly, a perfect job. Ben had a big lack of grip but he was really consistent; he did almost all the race at the same pace. I don?t think he could have found an additional tenth of a second. Fifth place is not so bad looking at the pace and I think he could have finished fourth with a couple more laps. We are looking to Laguna Seca now, and I am confident we can make another step forward.?

 

[KUCIAR666]

Edwards and Crutchlow collect valuable points in Germany

Colin EdwardsMonster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow collected valuable points after both were engaged in exciting battles throughout today's German MotoGP race at the Sachsenring.

Edwards delivered a determined ride throughout the 30-lap encounter, the American shrugging off the lingering affects of a nasty sore throat to finish in a hard fought 10th place.

Edwards was locked in a captivating four-rider battle for seventh that included Alvaro Bautista, Valentino Rossi and compatriot Nicky Hayden, who are all riding full factory machinery.

But with four laps remaining he had to abandon his pursuit of the trio in front when he encountered a rear grip problem in the left-hand corners. Edwards though was still satisfied having set a personal best race time at the Sachsenring, which has traditionally been a bogey track for the 37-year-old. He is now confident and looking forward to competing for a top six finish in his crucial home round at the Laguna Seca in California next weekend.

Crutchlow meanwhile rode with typical aggression and he produced a fantastic ride under intense pressure to keep Randy de Puniet, Hector Barbera and fellow MotoGP rookie Karel Abraham at bay in 11th position.

Battling a lack of front-end feel that Crutchlow had worked tirelessly to improve over the course of the weekend, the British rider was unable to keep his line entering Turn 3 on lap 26 and he dropped back to 14th place. The 25-year-old quickly got back into his rhythm, but despite launching a concerted effort to reclaim the lost places, he finished less than 0.5s away from 11th.

Colin Edwards 10th ? 59 points:

?That was a difficult race because it was one of those where you can see a few places up for grabs in front of you but you can't do anything to try move forward. I was with Valentino, Nicky and Alvaro for pretty much the whole race but it didn't matter what I did or tried, I couldn't get close enough to try and pass them. One tenth round this track feels like a million because it is so short but it felt like I was on a bungee rope the whole time. Each time we started going through the series of lefts from Turn 4 onwards, they just seem to have more traction than me. They'd pull a few bike lengths on me but then I'd gain it all back in the hard braking for Turn 12 at the bottom of the hill and hard braking for the last corner. My bike was really stable on the brakes but the bike lengths I'd catch up I'd lose again on the next lap and the process would start all over again. With a few laps to go I was in Turn 2, off throttle and the rear came round. From that point on I had less grip and a bit of vibration and I couldn't stay with them and I was making more mistakes trying to keep their pace. So I just took 10th place, which is not where I want to finish, but I've never gone great at this track and I've gone faster than I've ever run here. Usually it's a disaster here, so I'm actually happy with my race and going to Laguna Seca now to race in front of my home fans, I feel really good and confident.?

Cal Crutchlow 14th ? 34 points:

?Obviously I can't be happy to have finished 14th because I believe I should be fighting inside the top ten. But taking the positives out of a difficult race, I was able to fight for the whole race with riders that are a lot more experienced than me, and who have much more knowledge of this track. I really wanted to finish 11th but when I ran wide with a few laps remaining, it was always going to be an uphill battle to get back three places on a track like this that is tight and twisty. But I didn't give up and I pushed as hard as I could right to the end and nearly recovered a couple of places. I just didn't have enough grip from the front or the rear and it was difficult. I didn't feel I could push any harder and it strange because we made a lot of big changes to the bike this weekend without ever really finding an improvement. We've learned a few things that will help in the future and now I'm looking forward to getting to Laguna Seca where I'll be aiming to get back inside the top ten.?

Herve Poncharal ? Team Manager:

"The feeling is better than the result looks because Colin had a strong race. He had a good start and he rode most of the race together with the factory Ducati and factory Suzuki. The pace was good and I think there was not a lot more we could do. This is a tough track for Colin but his pace was pretty strong and consistent and I am happy. Cal finished 14th and he is not happy with that. I think he has learned a lot today and after a tough period it means something to finally see the chequered flag. I don't want to say that we are happy to finish 14th, but I think together with Randy and the other Ducatis he has been learning a few things. Cal has done some really good performances in the beginning of the season, but we should never forget that it is a learning year and he has to understand that if he has to finish 14th like today, it is all about learning from that experience. The target we are working on this season is that he becomes a better MotoGP rider, even if sometimes he doesn't get the result he expects. Now we can focus on Laguna Seca, which is a massive race for Colin and Monster, so everybody at Tech 3 Yamaha will be giving maximum effort as usual to deliver a top result in America.?