MotoGP preview: Sachsenring

Round eight: Sachsenring, Germany, July 12-14
Venue: Sachsenring, 300km south of Berlin
Circuit: 3.671km and 13 corners -- 10 left and three right.

One of the slowest tracks on the calendar as far as average speed is concerned, but that doesn’t mean the action is benign – far from it. In fact, the MotoGP finish in 2006 was manic, with just 0.307 seconds separating the top four riders. Car and bike racing in the region once ran through the nearby town of Chemnitz, and was still taking place until 1990. It was decided, however, that the course through such a densely populated area was no longer suitable and a new circuit was built 9km west of Chemnitz in 1996.

Sachsenring, with its twists and contours, first hosted MotoGP in 1998 – taking the event away from Hockenheim -- and many improvements have taken place since then, including a drastic layout enhancement in 2001 which also increased the size from 3.508 to 3.671km. An abundance of left turns keeps one side of the tyre nice and hot – although the fastest corner on the track is a right-hander, so grip obviously has to be at a premium for that one.

Lap records:        
MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 1:21.846 (161.47km/h), 2011
Moto2:    Alex de Angelis (FTR), 1:25.167 (155.17km/h), 2012
Moto3:    Sandro Cortese (KTM), 1:36.728 (136.72km/h), 2012

MotoGP
Sachsenring has a hard act to follow after the last round at Assen produced a host of highlights, including Valentino Rossi’s return to the top step and factory Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo’s gritty ride into fifth place after breaking his collarbone two days earlier.

All and sundry required a breather after that one – no-one more than Lorenzo, whose damage limitation at Assen by losing only two points to Pedrosa in the championship standings was a brilliant result.

But now the situation intensifies in Germany: Lorenzo has yet to win at the anti-clockwise Sachsenring layout, while Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) has greeted the chequered flag four times, including a demolition job in 2012 when he won by 14 seconds. There’s a little flattery in that result though, as Australia’s Casey Stoner was on Pedrosa’s bumper until crashing a few corners from home.

Moreover, the roles have been reversed: traditionally it’s been Pedrosa who’s carried injuries through campaigns, but now the tables have been turned.

“Sachsenring is going to be a little tough for me after the crash at Assen. It is true in Holland we achieved a stunning result for me, the team and also the championship but I have to be realistic and I have still a long way to recover my collarbone,” said Lorenzo. “I made a huge effort to race at Assen and finally I could manage a really difficult weekend getting an astonishing fifth position.

“The situation is still that I need more time to fix the injury though. I won’t be at 100 per cent in Germany but I’m pretty confident I can make a good weekend. At least I have had almost 10 days to stay calm and improve a bit my physical condition. The track is not one of my favourite tracks in the championship but at this level I don’t mind where we race. I have to give everything inside of me on each race.”

Since MotoGP came to Sachsenring in 2002, Honda has seven victories, compared to three for Yamaha and one for Ducati (Stoner in 2008). And when you add in Pedrosa’s obvious affinity with the circuit, it’s easy to see why the Spaniard is super confident ahead of this weekend.

“The Sachsenring has typically been a good track for me in the past and it's a circuit where I always enjoy racing, said Pedrosa. “It's a short track where you spend a lot of time turning to the left, but the fastest corner is to the right so tyre performance will be the key. It's important to keep the momentum and ride my best to keep fighting for race wins.”

Pedrosa’s team-mate Marc Marquez has won his last three races at Sachsenring (125cc in 2010 and Moto2 in 2011-2012). He will race with some small fractures in his wrist after a crash in free practice at Assen, which are being left to heal naturally.

“It was a tough and complicated weekend at Assen, but the important thing is that we learned a lot and picked up another podium and some important points,” he said. “Now we head to the Sachsenring -- another new circuit for us on the MotoGP machine. It will be interesting to see what the circuit is like on this bike because it's one of the smallest circuits on the calendar and I already found it small in Moto2 so I can't imagine how it will be in MotoGP!

And what of Rossi? He also loves slamming down the wins at Sachsenring – four in total and the last time in 2009. And his confidence has now gone through roof after the victory at Assen, which saw him become the rider with the longest winning career in MotoGP history at 12 years and 355 days. That figure surpasses Brazilian Alex Barros (11 and 204) and Briton Phil Read (11 and 16).

"I'm going to Sachsenring with a new spirit. I am very happy for the Holland race. Now I want to keep it going like that, said Ross. “We also want to confirm at Sachsenring the step we’ve made with the bike. We must continue to improve the bike, as we have done after testing at Aragon, because now we want to try to fight for important positions. We want to stay with the top guys every weekend. I really like Sachsenring and then there will be Laguna Seca. These will be two very important weekends.”

The grid maintains its line-up for the upcoming event. Ivan Silva continues to substitute for the injured Hiroshi Aoyama at Avintia Blusens, and Michele Pirro will again cover for Ben Spies at Ignite Pramac Racing, then handing over to San Marino’s Alex de Angelis for Laguna Seca.

At LCR Honda MotoGP, German Stefan Bradl – back on track after a shaky start to the year-- heads into his home race off the back of last week’s two-day test in Argentina. For the record, no German has won a premier class race in his home country since Edmund Czihak triumphed in the West German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in 1974 -- with that in mind, a Bradl podium would surely be welcomed…

Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) is again the clear candidate to cause some havoc in the factory ranks, while Aussie Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) wants to “confirm” recent progress with a good result in Germany.

“I go to Sachsenring feeling motivated because in the race at Assen I realised that I am capable of much better results than we have achieved so far,” the Perth native said. “I don't know the Sachsenring circuit but I hope it suits my riding style and I will certainly be giving my best to get to grips with it as quickly as possible. I am determined and looking forward to getting out there and trying to take that next step towards becoming a contender amongst the CRT bikes.”

Moto2
Spaniard Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Kalex) is the star turn at the moment, with wins in the last two races biting 17 points off Briton Scott Redding’s once massive lead in the standings. Redding (Marc VDS Kalex) still leads by 30 points (134 to 104), but he knows the second half of the season is going to be a grinding arm wrestle.

Redding enjoyed some nostalgia during the break between grands prix when he rode the Suzuki RGV500 two-stroke that American Kevin Schwantz campaigned in the 1994 world 500 GP title. He threw a leg over in a classic event at Spa alongside famous faces such as Giacomo Agostini and Australia’s Wayne Gardner.

Espargaro was fourth at Sachsenring in 2012, while it was a nightmare for Redding – he crashed on lap one.

Queenslander Ant West (QMMF Racing Speed Up) is 14th in the standings after four point-scoring races in 2013.

Moto3
Three riders continue to dominate: KTM-riding Spanish trio Luis Salom, Maverick Vinales and Alex Rins. However, Salom has been the master at finishing the job recently with three straight wins, which has edged him 10 points clear of Vinales, with Rins a further 25 points in arrears.

Aussies Jack Miller (Caretta Technology/RTG FTR Honda) and Arthur Sissis (Red Bull KTM Ajo) are both making piecemeal progress towards the front, and Miller will fancy his changes at Sachsenring where raw horsepower isn’t such a critical piece of the jigsaw.

Miller was fourth at Sachsenring last year, right on the tail of third-placed Salom and just over four seconds behind the race winner, eventual world champion Sandro Cortese.