Bridgestone analyse Sachsenring round

Bridgestone announced during the Sachsenring weekend that a proposition for the revision of the MotoGP tyre allocation had been made to the Safety Commission.

Following the ninth round of the 2011 season Hirohide Hamashima, Assistant to Director of the Motorsport Tyre Development Division at Bridgestone, analysed the performance of the slick compounds offered throughout at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland.

What happened on Friday morning?

“There were several crashes in which Valentino (Rossi), Casey (Stoner), Dani (Pedrosa) and Toni (Elías) all fell. In each instance it was through a right hand corner, and of course with only three rights in a lap it is the right side of the tyres that is lesser used and therefore tends to be cooler. Every crash happened as a result of the rider losing the front end. Turn eleven, where most of the falls occurred, is the first fast right of the lap and is over a blind crest before riders plunge downhill towards turn twelve. This means a few things: because it is the first fast right of the lap, the right side of the tyres hadn’t been subject to much residual load by that point so the temperature tends to be lower. It is a fast corner so the riders must commit to it and carry a lot of speed through it, which places sudden load on the front tyre. And finally, because it is over a blind crest, there is a natural tendency for the bike to go light which means as the circuit drops away the load exerted through the tyres is momentarily reduced, reducing contact patch and therefore grip. Plus, the track temperature was cold, and the combination of this contributed to the crashes we saw on Friday morning.

“It is important to point out though that we must select our tyre compound options for the conditions we expect in the race which are often if not always much better. Indeed, in the race our compound options were very well suited and performed very well. After Friday morning there were no repeat instances of the same situation so it is fair to say that the conditions on Friday morning were unique and unfortunate as we never like to see riders crash and make great efforts when developing and testing our tyres to make rider safety paramount.”

Softer rear slicks were selected for the German GP this year – what can you say about tyre performance?

“I am very happy with tyre performance in the race because we were able to see that riders could use both specs of front and rear tyres very well and the times and consistency were very good. Dani set a new lap record on the harder front and rear options, first on lap 9 indicating the performance was good from an early stage, and then finally on lap 20 indicating that the performance lasted well over race distance. The consistency from the top three in particular was also very impressive as they set mid-to-low 1’22s lap after lap from the first flying lap until the chequered flag. This resulted in the top three all recording race times faster than the previous total race time record which is a very good sign of tyre consistency and durability, as well as of course the consistency and talent of the riders.

“Then we could also see that Álvaro (Bautista) used the softer front and rear slicks for the race and was also very consistent and gave a good performance. Racing very closely with Valentino, Nicky (Hayden) and Colin (Edwards) until the finish, all of whom used the harder options, Álvaro had no problems with tyre wear or graining even on a circuit as severe as Sachsenring.

“We have selected softer slicks for many of the remaining races this year and based on the performance of this weekend’s revised rear tyre selection, combined with the changes to tyre allocation that we have proposed from Brno onwards, I am satisfied that we are moving in a good direction for warm-up performance and rider feeling.”

source: MotoGP Official Website

Another tough race for Elias at twisty Sachsenring

The reigning Moto2 World Champion worked on getting more feeling and easier handling from the front end of his RCV at the twisty race track but after another good start Elias had to face his usual problems with the rear managing to finish the race in 16th position. Now LCR Team will move straight to Laguna Seca circuit for the USA GP on the 24th of July.

Toni Elias:

“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 a full tank of fuel when the bike was heavier, I struggled a lot to control it. Suddenly, our usual problems came back again and I started to lose the front in the braking and had no confidence in the rear. I managed to cross the line in 16th position, but obviously I am very frustrated. I don't want to lose my motivation and concentration. We’ll see what's going to happen at Laguna.”

LCR Honda press release.

Pedrosa celebrates 'amazing' Sachsenring win

Having surprised himself by qualifying second, in his second race back from a broken collarbone, Dani Pedrosa went on to claim an 'amazing' victory in Sunday's German MotoGP.

Pedrosa had been sidelined for three races after breaking his right collarbone in a controversial clash with Marco Simoncelli at Le Mans in May.

It had been a devastating blow for the 2010 title runner-up, who had only just overcome complications with a broken left collarbone - sustained late last season - and who taken his first win of this season at the previous Estoril.

Eighth in both qualifying and the race on his comeback at Mugello, Pedrosa made a jump forward this weekend at the Sachsenring, one of his most successful tracks.

First into turn one, the Spaniard dropped as low as fourth in the race, before overtaking Repsol Honda team-mates Andrea Dovizioso and Casey Stoner, then Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo to regain the lead on lap 22 of 30.

Pedrosa went on to win by 1.447sec.

"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," said Pedrosa. "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".

Pedrosa's victory was his 14th in the premier-class, making him the most successful rider yet to win the title. Pedrosa is now up to fifth in the 2011 championship, but 74 points from Stoner.

source: crash.net

Dovi wins fierce Simoncelli, Spies battle

As so often this year, Andrea Dovizioso found himself battling countryman and fellow factory Honda rider Marco Simoncelli for much of Sunday's German MotoGP.

And they were later joined by Factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies, creating an entertaining three-way duel that went down to the final turn.

The fight was narrowly won by Dovizioso.

“It was a good battle with Simoncelli and Spies for fourth position and I'm happy we won this battle!" said Dovi. "We were consistently fast during the whole weekend and even though today we were struggling, we finished fourth."

Just 0.2sec behind Dovizioso was Spies, who capitalised on an error by Simoncelli at the final turn.

“We caught up to [Dovizioso and Simoncelli] with three laps to go and then all hell broke loose!" said Spies. "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.”

Simoncelli's last-gasp attempt to outbrake Dovizioso saw the Gresini rider run wide and open the door for Spies. The #58 took the chequered flag 0.2sec from the Texan.

"It's a shame because fourth place would have felt completely different," said Simoncelli. "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.”

Simoncelli, who has crashed in four races this year and been penalised in another, has taken a best finish of fifth so far this season.

source: crash.net

Stoner caught out by Lorenzo at final turn

MotoGP World Championship leader Casey Stoner looked on course to for his fifth win of the season, as he moved from fourth to first in the opening laps of Sunday's German Grand Prix.

The Repsol Honda star remained in front for nine laps, but wasn't able to break Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, both of whom passed the Australian just after the midway stage.

Pedrosa then broke clear, leaving Stoner and Lorenzo fighting for second. 

Stoner looked to have done enough to hold off his nearest title rival, but left a Yamaha-sized gap at the final corner of the final lap - which the reigning world champion dived into.

"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," explained Stoner.

"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".

Losing second to Lorenzo means Stoner's title lead has been cut to 15 points heading into this weekend's Laguna Seca round.

source: crash.net

Bautista passes Hayden and Rossi on final lap

Rizla Suzuki's Alvaro Bautista spent the majority of Sunday's German MotoGP locked in combat with factory Ducati riders - and world champions - Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi for seventh place.

The Spaniard overtook both Desmosedici riders on the final lap to finish just 0.059sec in front of Hayden, with seven-time MotoGP champion Rossi a mere 0.066sec further back.

“I got involved with the two Ducati guys and really enjoyed the race with them," said Bautista. "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.”

Seventh was Bautista's best dry result of the season, which began badly when he broke his leg in practice for round one in Qatar. 

Bautista was one of three riders to use the softer rear tyre, the others being Sylvain Guintoli and Hector Barbera.

source: crash.net

Lorenzo: It was a miracle pass!

MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo clipped another four points of Casey Stoner's 2011 title lead with a perfectly executed last-turn pass on the Honda rider in Sunday's German Grand Prix.

Factory Yamaha star Lorenzo was the only non-RCV rider in the top five for much of the race, which he led from laps 14 to 21.

At that point eventual winner Dani Pedrosa burst past along the home straight, leaving Lorenzo and Stoner to dispute second.

The pair swapped positions repeatedly over the remaining nine laps, culminating in Lorenzo outbraking the Australian at the last turn.

“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," said double 2011 race winner Lorenzo.

"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."

Denying Stoner of second place means Lorenzo has moved to within 15 points of the title lead, with nine rounds still to go.

“To make up four championship points in the last corner at the end of the race is of course great, especially mentally for Jorge," said team manager Wilco Zeelenberg berg., "The rest of the season is coming up and we're closing the gap with still a few races to go!”

"A good weekend for us, we are catching Stoner," added team director Massimo Meregalli. "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."

source: crash.net

Edwards and Crutchlow collect valuable points in Germany

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

With four laps remaining, Edwards had to abandon his pursuit of the trio in front when he encountered a rear grip problem in the left-hand corners. The Texan was still satisfied having set a personal best race time at the Sachsenring. 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 producing 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:

“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 around 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 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. 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:

“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.”

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team press release

Hayden and Rossi eighth and ninth in Germany

The results aren'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:

“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:

“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.”

Pictures: Sachsenring 2011 After Race

After race pictures, Sachsenring 2011

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Repsol Honda victory and another double podium in Sachsenring

It was a great race for Dani Pedrosa who returns to the top step of the podium at only his second race after having missed three races due to an injury to the right shoulder. The Repsol Honda rider today sealed his second win of the 2011 season and his fifth Grand Prix victory at the Sachsenring circuit (three wins in MotoGP class, and two in 250cc). On lap twenty, Dani also broke his own Circuit Record Lap record here at Sachsenring with a 1'21.846.

Championship leader Casey Stoner celebrated a seventh successive podium finish today, a personal record in MotoGP class. He led the race for nine laps but was unable to match the pace of Pedrosa and was robbed of second place at the very last corner by Jorge Lorenzo.

Andrea Dovizioso had an exciting duel with Marco Simoncelli, finally finishing ahead of him in fourth and retaining his third position in the Championship standings.

The Repsol Honda Team will have no time to rest, as they pack all the race equipment tonight and leave for the United States tomorrow. The U.S GP hosted at the fascinating circuit of Laguna Seca will take place next Sunday, July 24th.

Dani Pedrosa:

"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:

"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:

“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.”

Repsol Honda press release

Lorenzo and Spies save it for the last lap in Sachsenring Thriller

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 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: 

“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 strength to push and keep pushing to the end. Then Casey stopped the bike a lot two corners from the end so I took advantage of it, opened the throttle full stand 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: 

“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.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

Strong seventh for Suzuki’s Bautista at Sachsenring

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 Nicky Hayden and 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 action throughout every part of the 30 lap race.

Álvaro 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 Álvaro 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.”

Rizla Suzuki press release

Pedrosa wins German GP clash

Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa had his usual great start, taking the hole shot ahead of Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and Stoner (Repsol Honda) at the start of the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland MotoGP race in what was to be a 30 lap fight to the finish at the Sachsenring circuit. The Spaniard’s win is his fifth Grand Prix victory at the Sachsenring circuit and only his second race after returning from surgery for his broken collarbone.

At the end of lap one, Lorenzo was in the lead ahead of the three Repsol Honda’s of Pedrosa, Stoner and Dovizioso, who fought amongst each other for second until the Australian made his attack on lap 5 to take the lead, only to have Lorenzo regain the lead status a few laps later. The Mallorcan then tried desperately to defend his line, until lap 21 when Pedrosa got a huge drive out of the last corner to launch himself into the lead for the last time.

Meanwhile a three man battle for fourth ensued behind the leaders between Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing), out of which Italian Dovizioso crossed the line first 2 tenths of a second in front of American rider Spies and 4 tenths ahead of fellow countryman Simoncelli.

Another intense fight starred Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and the two Ducati Team riders Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi. Bautista crossed the line seventh with Hayden less than a tenth of a second behind the Spaniard and Rossi just 6 thousands behind the American, with of Colin Edwards (Tech 3 Yamaha Monster) following the trio in tenth.

Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) had an off-track excursion in the early stages of the race, who then staged a great comeback from the back of the pack to finish eleventh, in front of Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing)

source: MotoGP Official Website

Stoner sustains leadership status in warm up

Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner set a lap of 1'22.132 to put him first of the field in the MotoGP warm up at Sachsenring, after setting pole the previous day for his sixth time this season. The Australian was 0.177s ahead of third place starter Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and 0.280s faster than team mate Dani Pedrosa.

Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) set the fourth fastest time, a 1’22.555, before he crashed out of the warm up session, with Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), who starts from the second row, in fifth and Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) 0.016s behind the Italian in sixth.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) posted a time of 1'22.765 to rank him seventh, with Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team), Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) rounding out the top ten. Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) slightly improved his best time from yesterday to finish eleventh with a 1’23.260.

'Upset' Rossi ready to ditch new Ducati

Valentino Rossi's struggle to turn around his Ducati fortunes hit a new low on Saturday at Sachsenring, when the MotoGP superstar qualified just 16th out of the 17 riders.

Rossi's best lap time, of 1min 23.320sec came on only his sixth of 30 laps and was 1.639sec behind pole sitter Casey Stoner.

The Italian - without crew chief Jerry Burgess for the second event in a row - also lapped 0.925sec slower than he had managed on his return from a broken leg at last year's event, when he qualified fifth on a Factory Yamaha.

Rossi, the only Ducati rider using the latest GP11.1 motorcycle - which features an 800cc engine attached to next year's (1000cc) chassis and a new seamless transmission gearbox - was almost one-second behind the 'standard' Desmosedici of his team-mate Nicky Hayden (eighth).

As such, Rossi has now revealed that he could ditch the GP11.1 and go back to the previous version.

"We are very upset, because we are struggling very much this weekend. I am very slow and close to last," Rossi told the official MotoGP website.

"For three races now we've used the new [GP11.1] bike to try to improve on the performance of the old one. 

"I tried this bike with the 1000 engine and it was not so bad, but with the 800 engine the bike became very difficult to ride and I cannot load the front of the bike.

"So our performance at the last three races has been very, very bad. Especially in practice. And here it has been worse.

"So now we think maybe to come back to the normal, standard, bike. I don't know when. Maybe after Brno [mid-August]. We will decide after tomorrow. 

"We've tried changing more or less everything on the bike [here] and, at the end, the lap time and our performance does not improve. 

"So I don't know what we can do for tomorrow's race, but we won't give up and will keep trying to improve."

Saturday marked Rossi's worst qualifying performance since he was 17th, out of 19 riders, for the 2007 Valencia Grand Prix - when he only completed five qualifying laps due to a massive accident.

Rossi claimed one of his most memorable wins with an eleventh to first charge in the 2006 German Grand Prix, when he held off three Hondas by just 0.307sec.

Despite his problems, Rossi is fourth in the world championship after eight of 18 rounds.

source: crash.net

Crutchlow considers 'drastic changes' after big crash

MotoGP rookie Cal Crutchlow was lucky not to re-damage his healing collarbone in a big crash at the end of Saturday's qualifying session for the German Grand Prix.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider - criticised by some for pitting with front-end problems at the previous Mugello round, having needed a new front tyre at the event before that - lost the front of his M1 at turn eight.

The Briton was lucky to avoid his bouncing bike as he tumbled through the gravel and feels drastic changes could be needed to solve the problem.

"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," said Crutchlow, who will start twelfth.

"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 team a good result."

Crutchlow broke his collarbone at Silverstone in mid-June.

Team-mate Colin Edwards will line-up seventh on the grid. The Texan was stunned by his best lap.

"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," said Edwards.

"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.”

source: crash.net

Lorenzo: The fans will see a great race

Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo was unable to repeat his pace-setting final practice form in the afternoon qualifying session for the German GP, but the Yamaha star will start a close third and is predicting a 'great race'.

Lorenzo led qualifying through the middle stages of the hour, but was unable to make any significant gains on the softer tyre and had dropped out of the top four until the last moments.

Saving his best for last, Lorenzo then pinched a place on the front row by just 0.010sec from Marco Simoncelli on his final lap.

Lorenzo will line-up alongside pole sitter Casey Stoner and the Australian's Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa on Sunday.

“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," said Lorenzo, 19 points from title leader Stoner. 

"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.”

Lorenzo's team-mate 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. 

Clear improvements were evident, Spies climbing from seventh in the morning to fifth in qualifying, just 0.375sec from pole. 

“Today was definitely better," said the Assen winner. "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.”

source: Crash.net

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Third row for Hayden, difficult qualifying for Rossi

The qualifying session for the German Grand Prix went very differently for Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi. Hayden 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:

“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:

“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."

Ducati Team press release