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PREVIEW - GERMAN GRAND PRIX - SACHSENRING 16/07/2006-----------------------------------------------------------------
MORE TWISTS EXPECTED AT ROLLER-COASTER SACHSENRING
MORE TWISTS EXPECTED AT ROLLER-COASTER SACHSENRING
A roller-coaster season continues for the Camel Yamaha Team this
weekend at the vertigo-inducing Sachsenring circuit in Germany, host to
the tenth round of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship. One of the
tightest and most undulating tracks in the world welcomes the most
unpredictable season in recent history, with Valentino Rossi and Colin
Edwards both having played their part in a dramatic campaign that has
seen five different race winners, nine different riders on the podium
and thirteen different front row starters.
Rossi added to his season-tally of three victories with a stunning
second place in the last round at Donington Park, where he rode through
the pain of hand and ankle injuries to put his YZR-M1 machine back on
the podium and cut the gap to series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) to 35
points. That memorable performance at his talisman track was the 121st
time that Rossi had stood on a Grand Prix podium - the same number as
Phil Read and a figure bettered only by the legendary Giacomo Agostini
and Angel Nieto. Rossi has now also scored a total of 2977 points in
all classes and victory in Germany would make him the first rider in
history to pass the 3000 mark.
Sixth place for Colin Edwards at Donington was the 30th successive race
at which he has scored points, a record made all the more remarkable by
the drama of the previous round at Assen, when he crashed out of the
lead in the final corner only to remount and bravely struggle across
the line in thirteenth place. The only rider with a longer sequence of
successive point scoring finishes is Mick Doohan, who managed it for 37
races, but the more pressing issue for Edwards now is a return to the
form that saw him fighting for victory in that breathtaking Dutch TT
two weeks ago.
VALENTINO ROSSI: BACK TO FITNESS
Valentino Rossi arrives in Germany with the benefit of an extra weekend
to recover from the hand injuries he sustained in the middle of a Grand
Prix triple-header at Assen. After struggling through the discomfort to
score valuable points in Holland and Great Britain, he is now hoping to
be fit enough to fight for his fourth win of the season and his fourth
in all classes at the Sachsenring circuit.
?I am very confident that by Sachsenring my hand will be back to 100%,
or near enough,? says Rossi, who won the German Grand Prix for Yamaha
last year to add to previous MotoGP and 250cc successes in 2002 and
1999. ?I have been working hard with my physiotherapist Marco Montanari
and Dr Costa and hopefully it will continue to improve at this rate.
It?s really nice to have had time for a rest now after three very hard
weeks, even if it?s not so long. I spent some time in Italy and then a
few days at home in London, relaxing and seeing friends.
?The important thing for Sachsenring is that we come out of the box on
Friday morning ready to make the most of every available minute of
practice time. We can?t afford to lose time in practice with set-up
problems like we had in Donington, and I am sure that Yamaha has been
working at the maximum over the break so we will be ready to be
competitive from Friday morning. Sachsenring is quite a different
track, very tight and twisty, but last year our bike worked very well
there, we were able to win and hopefully that will be the case again
this year.?
COLIN EDWARDS: TO JAPAN AND BACK
Whilst his team-mate and most of their rivals have had time to rest
this week, the relentless pursuit of speed has continued unabated for
Colin Edwards, who has been out in Japan completing testing work for
Yamaha ahead of the Suzuka 8-Hour race. Edwards was at Suzuka for two
days as he prepares to compete in the prestigious event on 30th July
alongside Yamaha Superbike rider Noriyuki Haga, but he is already back
in Europe and gathering his strength for another important weekend of
MotoGP action.
"It was hard to go straight out to Japan after such a long run of races
but I'm quite excited about doing the 8-Hour again, especially as it?s
ten years since Nori and I won it together before,? reflected Edwards,
who will ride for the Yamaha Blue Racing Team aboard a specially
prepared YZF-R1 SP. ?Testing has gone quite well this week, just
getting used to being back on a Superbike again and getting
reacquainted with the track. We've got a competitive package so
hopefully we're going to be in a position to really go for it when we
go back for the race after Laguna.
?Obviously there?s a lot of work to do before then and the small matter
of two GPs in two weekends, including my home race! Sachsenring will be
really important because we had a lot of problems with the bike at
Donington that we didn?t solve and we can?t afford to lose any more
time. The track itself has two different parts ? one where it?s very
difficult to overtake and another which requires a massive physical
effort because it works the left-hand side of your body really hard The
tyres are under a lot of strain and it's vital to make the right choice
so they don't overheat on the left-side. Generally I get along pretty
well with the layout and there are always a lot of fans so it should be
a good weekend?.
VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION
Age: 27
Lives: London, UK
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
GP victories: 82 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 166 (106 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 41
World Championships ? 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4
x MotoGP)
COLIN EDWARDS: INFORMATION
Age: 32
Lives: Conroe, Texas
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP)
GP starts: 58 x MotoGP
World Championships - 2 World Superbike
DAVIDE BRIVIO: STILL ENOUGH TIME
Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is hopeful that a fully fit
Valentino Rossi will appear at the Sachsenring on Thursday afternoon in
readiness for a renewed assault on the championship standings when the
action gets underway on Friday morning. Rossi?s recent progress has
been hampered by his injuries but with the benefit of a brief rest
behind him Brivio remains confident that the World Champion has enough
races to turn the situation around and successfully defend his title
for the fifth time.
?Now it?s funny because we almost consider a weekend off as a break!?
smiles Brivio. ?Anyway we are hoping that this week gives Valentino a
chance to recover and arrive at the Sachsenring with his injury
troubles behind him. We are expecting him to be fit from Friday morning
so we are hopeful of a ?normal? weekend for both him and Colin. The
situation with Valentino has delayed our recovery in the championship
over the past couple of rounds but there are eight races left and we
still have enough time.
?Our aim is to close the gap even further before the summer break so
this race and the next one at Laguna Seca are very important. As far as
the Sachsenring is concerned we had some problems with our bike there
the first season with Valentino but we found a good setting last season
and he was able to win the race. Sincerely I think the track suits the
characteristics of the 2006 version M1 but we will have to wait and see
on Friday morning. I hope so!?
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: SACHSENRING ACCORDING TO MIKE NORTON
Located in the heartland of the former East Germany?s once glorious
motorcycle racing industry, the Sachsenring is built right next to the
old road course, a characteristic the track shares with Brno in the
nearby Czech Republic. The current circuit could not be more different,
its ultra-modern nature showing in its relatively slow lap times, with
slow corners juxtaposed with some dazzlingly fast ones ? including a
super fast downhill right hander which was added in 2003. It is this
that provides the circuit?s biggest challenge, for riders and
technicians alike.
?The Sachsenring is a difficult track ? it?s quite short and it?s not
one of Valentino?s favourites,? explains Mike Norton, ?hlins Suspension
Technician for Valentino Rossi. ?It?s one of my busiest weekends
because the set-up of the bike is all about finding a compromise
between braking for that monstrous downhill section and handling
through the slow sections. It?s a bit of a trade-off really between
getting Valentino good through the slow part and good enough to stop
the bike at the bottom of the hill. Valentino often wins races on the
brakes so he?s a little bit different to most riders and you always
have to have some margin in the front fork.
?You also spend a lot of time on the edge of the tyre at Sachsenring,
right on the angle, and again that causes us an imbalance in the bike
compared to normal. But Valentino?s feedback is very good compared to
other riders I?ve worked with. You can give him a change and be miles
off centre but he?ll ride around it and you?ll either see a good lap
time or a bad one, which then gives us an idea of where to go. From
that point of view he?s very good to work with and he always gives you
100%.?
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Pole position left
Lenght: 3671 m
Width: 10 m
Right corners: 4
Left corners: 10
Constructed in: 1996
Last modified: 2003
Sachsenring Lap Record: Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2005, 1?23.705
Sachsenring Best Lap: Max Biaggi (Honda) 2004, 1?22.756
2005 German Grand Prix Results:
1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, 35?04.434
2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Honda, +0.685
3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, +885
8. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, +14.849