Sachsenring

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2013 FIM Roadracing World Championship Grand Prix Round eight of 18, German Grand Prix, Sachsenring
12/13/14 July 2013
Preview: MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3

PEDROSA & MARQUEZ RETURN TO HAPPY HUNTING GROUND

Honda rider Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) takes his World Championship lead to Germany this week, to a racetrack at which he has won on his last three visits. He will be joined at the Sachsenring by MotoGP rookie team-mate Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) who is still very much in the battle for the world title after a storming ride to second at the Dutch TT a fortnight ago. Marquez has also won on his last three rides at the Germany GP venue.

Pedrosa and the Sachsenring have got along well together ever since he graduated to the 250 class after winning the 125 World Championship in 2003.
Since then the 27-year-old has won six Grands Prix at the track; on his Honda RS250 in 2004 and 2005, on his RC212V in 2007, 2010 and 2011 and last year aboard his RC213V. The sinuous circuit that climbs and falls in countryside near the ancient city of Chemnitz demands inch-perfect accuracy and therefore suits Pedrosa’s sublimely neat riding technique. His 2012 win at the track kicked off a stunning run of results that had him win seven of the season’s last 11 races.

Although Pedrosa leads the points chase, nine points ahead of reigning champ Jorge Lorenzo
(Yamaha) and 23 ahead of Marquez, he has had a difficult last three races, never quite getting his machine to extract the maximum from the Bridgestone control tyres. The Spaniard was second behind Lorenzo at Mugello and Catalunya, but only fourth at Assen, where he struggled to find grip as the race wore on.

Marquez too has an impressive record at the Sachsenring, which first hosted a Grand Prix (as a street circuit) back in 1961. The 20-year-old won on a 125 in 2010 and on a Moto2 bike in 2011 and 2012. The reigning Moto2 World Champion has made an astonishing entry into the elite class this year, scoring podium finishes at six of the first seven races, including his debut win at April’s Grand Prix of the Americas, which made him the youngest premier-class winner in six and a half decades of Grand Prix racing. Only one other rider has scored six podiums from his first seven races in the premier class: American Kenny Roberts, who went on to take the title at his first attempt, in 1978.

Inevitably, so much speed so early in his MotoGP career has come with a few mistakes, including a record-breaking crash at 337.8km/h (209.9mph) during practice at Mugello and another heavy fall at Assen, which left him nursing a broken finger and toe. That didn’t stop the tough youngster from challenging for the win.

The German Grand Prix is, of course, the biggest weekend of the season for home-grown hero and
2011 Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda
RC213V) who will be aiming for his first MotoGP podium just two weeks after scoring his first MotoGP front-row start at Assen. Bradl has had an up-and-down start to his second season in the premier-class. After two tumbles at the first three races his crew refined the set-up of his RC213V and at Mugello he equalled his best MotoGP result with a fine ride to fourth place. Since then his team have made another significant change, switching to Brembo brakes at the last race.

Bradl has good form at his home Grand Prix. He has twice finished second – in the 2008 125 GP and the 2011 Moto2 race – and last year he finished a strong fifth on his RC213V.

Between Assen and this weekend’s race, Bradl and Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini
RC213V) visited Argentina to try out the new Termas de Rio Hondo circuit which will return the nation to the MotoGP calendar next year. Both men praised the circuit and look forward to racing there in 2014. Bautista comes to the Sachsenring hoping for a good result after a difficult race at Assen and first-lap tumbles at Mugello and Catalunya.

The rookie season of Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) nears its halfway stage this weekend, with the Australian working hard to get in the points again. Staring scored his first MotoGP points last month at Catalunya – where he finished 14th – and knows that he once again has a huge amount to learn at another circuit that is new to him.

The Honda-powered Moto2 World Championship is sure to provide plenty of entertainment at the tight and twisting Sachsenring as the battle for the 2013 title tightens into a three-way fight.
Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) currently leads the way, thanks to five podium finishes including wins at Le Mans and Mugello.
He is chased by Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons
Kalex) who has won the last two races following a lean spell that had him score just one podium from four races. Also in the mix is Espargaro’s third-placed team-mate Esteve Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex), who scored his first Grand Prix victory at May’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Fourth overall, though some way behind the leader on points, is Redding’s team-mate Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex), making this year’s
Moto2 series something of a duel between the Spanish Tuenti HP 40 Pons squad, owned by twice 250 World Champion Sito Pons, and the Belgian Marc VDS outfit.

One place behind Kallio sits Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert Suter), who scored his first podium of the season with a fine ride to third place at Assen.

Following on from Bradl, Germany’s strongest
Moto2 riders so far this year are Marcel Schrotter (Desguaces La Torre SAG Kalex) and reigning Moto3 World Champion Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact P Kalex) who are 17th and 21st in the standings. Schrotter has scored one top-ten finish this year, at Jerez, while rookie Cortese has already achieved three points-scoring results as he serves his apprenticeship in this challenging category.

Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda) is Honda’s best-placed rider in the Moto3 World Championship, the Frenchman holding seventh overall after a run of strong top-ten performances. Masbou goes well at the Sachsenring – last year he scored his first GP podium at the track, just six tenths away from victory.

South African teenager Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing Suter Honda) and Australian teenager Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG FTR Honda) round out the championship top ten, with just one point between them.

Even before Pedrosa began his dominance of the Sachsenring event, Honda riders have enjoyed plenty of success at the track. At the end of the 500cc era, five-time World Champion Mick Doohan won the venue’s inaugural premier-class GP in
1998 and Alex Barros took victory two years later, both men riding Honda NSR500s. Honda dominated the first years of MotoGP at the track, with Valentino Rossi winning in 2002, Sete Gibernau in 2003 and Max Biaggi in 2004, all riding Honda’s RC211V. Pedrosa followed with his first success in 2007.

The original Sachsenring street circuit was first used for racing in the late 1920s and hosted the first GP behind the Iron Curtain in 1961. The track regularly attracted crowds of 350,000 and was last used for World Championship racing in 1972. Following German reunification, a Sachsenring short circuit was constructed. The venue hosted its first GP in 1998 and underwent substantial upgrades a few years later. It is a slow but complex and challenging circuit, with an ultra-tight first section that leads into a rollercoaster series of high-speed left-handers that are its dominant feature.

After Sunday’s racing the MotoGP circus immediately heads across the Atlantic for next weekend’s United States GP at Laguna Seca, which hosts only the MotoGP class. The sport’s traditional three weekend break is followed by the Indianapolis GP – for all classes – on August 18.

Honda MotoGP rider quotes

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda:
“This week we head to Germany and I hope we can get a good feeling and have a good weekend.
Sachsenring has typically been a good track for me in the past and it’s a circuit where I always enjoy racing. It’s a short track where you spend a lot of time on the left, but the fastest corner is to the right, so tyre performance will be key.
It’s important to keep the momentum and ride my best to keep fighting for race wins.”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda:
“It was a tough and complicated weekend in Assen, but the important thing is that we learned a lot and picked up another podium and some important points. Now we head to Sachsenring, another new circuit for us on the MotoGP machine. We will see how the weather is there, as it can change quite a lot! 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! When we get there, I’ll take my time to learn the lines with my team, as we do every week, and try our best for another good result.”

Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini:
“I didn’t have confidence with the bike in the race at Assen and couldn’t ride it as I wanted but it was important for me and the team to make it to the end of the race after two DNFs in the previous two rounds. We have to look at this as a building block for the second half of the season now. I’m a little tired after the trip to Argentina, where the authorities, press and fans gave us an incredible welcome. I could have never imagined motorcycle racing to be so popular in Argentina but the track at Rio Hondo is spectacular, one of the nicest I have ever ridden. It has a lot of long, fast corners and plenty of run-off so you can ride hard and have fun. There are still a few minor things to sort out but I think there could be some great races there. For me it was a nice opportunity to try out a new track and enjoy myself without any pressure and it has given me a little boost ahead of the next round. I had a good race in Germany last year, coming from the back of the grid following my penalty after an incident at Assen.
I made it back up to fifth place but made a mistake and ended up seventh after an otherwise great race. I am confident that by using the data from last year and with the determination we have to get a result after the disappointment of the last race we can do very well at this Grand Prix.
Sachsenring is not an easy track and it is one of the slowest on the calendar, especially through the first section. There are a lot of left-handers with elevation changes that make it difficult to find a set-up but we will try to find something that makes the bike handle well and accelerate hard.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP:
“The last period has been pretty busy for me but I am looking forward to this weekend. Sachsenring is a short and difficult circuit with no major straight and a lot of left-handers. Honestly, it’s not one of my favourite race tracks but my family, my friends and my fans will be there to support me. The Assen GP front row was a great achievement for us but it would be nice to reward my local crowd with another good performance.”

Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini:
“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.
I feel we have made progress recently and I want to confirm this in Germany. 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 rider quotes

Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team:
“I think this weekend could be a bit like Assen.
Last year we had some issues setting up the Kalex at both tracks, but we knew some of the problem was down to my riding style; I was just too aggressive. This year I’ve changed my style to be a bit smoother, so hopefully we can get the bike dialled in quickly on Friday morning. As always, the goal this weekend is the podium, but it would also be good to extend my lead in the championship by a few points ahead of the summer break.”

Pol Espargaro, Tuenti HP40 Pons:
“After winning the last two races I feel so confident, but we still need to reduce the gap to Scott after taking 17 points away from him at Catalunya and Assen. I think Sachsenring will be a good place for us to recover some more points.
Last year there I was very fast in the dry, but I made a mistake in qualifying and had to start from 17th on the grid. In the race I overtook a lot of riders to finish fourth. I hope we can have another good race and then go on holidays with less of a gap to Scott.”

Esteve Rabat, Tuenti HP 40 Pons:
“After making a mistake at Assen when the podium was near, I really want to be on the podium in Germany to reduce the gap between me and Pol and Scott, or to help Pol reduce the difference to Scott. I’ve just got back from Argentina where we tried the new circuit. The whole trip was a really good experience and it was great to ride the track. Every time I’m on the bike – whether in Argentina, at Almeria or at a GP – I feel so happy. I think it’s possible to have a good result in Germany. I didn’t have a great time there last year but this year is different.”

Honda Moto3 Rider quotes

Alexis Masbou, Ongetta-Rivacold:
“For me this race is always quite difficult – in fact this is always the most difficult point of the season for me – but last year I took my first Grand Prix podium at the Sachsenring! I am still not expecting much, just staying focused and working hard to get what points we can.”

Brad Binder, Ambrogio Racing Suter:
“Sachsenring has always been a track that I’ve been good at. I had three second places there in the Red Bull Moto GP Rookies Cup, and last year I was fourth in the Moto3 race when my bike broke down. I am very confident going into the weekend. The straights aren’t so long, so it will be easier to be closer to the front.”

Jack Miller, Caretta Technology – RTG:
“I got my best result at the Sachsenring last year, and I hope to improve on it this time. The track should suit the bike more than the last few tracks, and I like it a lot. My goal as always is to be top Honda.”

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HONDA RACING INFORMATION

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2013 FIM MotoGP/Moto2/Moto3 World Championships Round 8, German Grand Prix, Sachsenring Qualifying, Saturday, 13 July 2013

Weather: warm and dry
Temperature: Ambient 23 degrees C / Track 38 degrees C

MARQUEZ & HONDA ON POLE, INJURED PEDROSA HOPING TO RACE

Today was a day of mixed fortunes for the Repsol Honda team during free practice and qualifying for the German Grand Prix, at the Sachsenring, with rookie Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) storming to pole position while team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) was helicoptered to hospital following a heavy fall this morning. The World Championship leader has a small fracture to his left collarbone and will reassess the situation tomorrow morning before deciding if he is able to race. Two weeks after the first front-row start of his premier-class career at Assen, local hero Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) was a close fourth fastest in front of his home crowd despite a low-speed fall during qualifying.

This was Marquez’s third premier-class pole (after Austin and Le Mans) and he did it in fine style, his second run putting him more than a tenth of a second in front of Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha), who had started the previous race at Assen from pole. Assen race winner Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) completed the front row in third place.

Marquez loves this tight and twisting track, and has won on his last three visits, once on a 125 and twice on a Moto2 bike. The 20-year-old reckons that the difference between riding a
Moto2 bike and a MotoGP bike is less than at most circuits, simply because the Sachsenring is so full of corners that a MotoGP bike never gets the chance to really stretch its legs.

Pedrosa, who currently leads the points chase, fell during this morning’s FP3 session, run in cool temperatures and after a brief rain shower that had sent riders back to the pits, waiting for the rain to abate. His rear tyre let go a few laps later as he rode through the first turn. The tyre then gripped suddenly, triggering a huge highside that had the Spaniard landing heavily on his left shoulder. He previously broke his left collarbone at Motegi in 2010. After medical checks at the track Pedrosa was taken by helicopter to Chemnitz hospital for further examination.

Although he was unable to take part in
qualifying, Pedrosa’s lap times from free practice automatically seed him into the race, in 12th position on the grid, though he has yet to decide if he will make the start.

Tomorrow’s race will certainly go ahead in the absence of reigning World Champion and Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) who crashed heavily yesterday, aggravating the left collarbone injury he sustained at Assen. The impact of the tumble bent the titanium plate inserted to fix the broken bone. Lorenzo currently sits second in the championship race, nine points behind Pedrosa. He also looks set to miss next weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

Bradl was in the hunt for another front-row start when he slipped off at the low-speed Turn Three right-hander. He quickly rode back to the pits and continued the session on his second bike, ending up just 0.551 seconds behind Marquez.

Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini
RC213V) ended qualifying in eighth place. He made the mistake of letting his tyres cool down too much before pushing for his qualifying lap, though he believes he has a good enough race pace to stay in touch, so long as he gets a good start.

MotoGP rookie Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) had a nasty highside at turn four during QP1, which damaged his first machine.
Although the Australian got back to the pits, his second bike was set up differently, so he didn’t have the confidence to push to the maximum. He will start the race from 22nd on the grid.

Xavier Simeon (Desguaces La Torre Maptaq Kalex) scored his first ever Grand Prix pole position with a thrilling ride in the Honda-powered Moto2 class qualifying session. The Belgian, who scored his first GP podium at May’s French GP, bettered Jordi Torres (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 Suter) by little more than one hundredth of a second. Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex) was a close third fastest, with the front row covered by just 0.175 seconds.

The Moto2 grid is always tightly packed but more so than usual at this track, because the lap is short and the circuit layout is tight. Due to those two factors the top 25 riders are separated by just 1.219 seconds, suggesting close and frantic racing tomorrow.

Row two is led by fourth-fastest Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Suter), his best qualifying performance since returning from injury at the Spanish GP. The Swiss ace will start tomorrow’s race alongside Simone Corsi (NGM Mobile Racing Speed Up), with Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) completing the row.

Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) heads the third row, two weeks after crashing and breaking his left collarbone at Assen. The Japanese had the break plated and is already back to full speed. World Championship leader Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) had a difficult qualifying after topping yesterday’s times. The Briton ended up eighth, albeit less than the tenths off pole. He will start the race between Nakagami and team-mate Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex)

Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG FTR Honda) had another strong Moto3 qualifying, scoring his fifth second-row start from the first eight races. The Australian teenager was in fine form, using the sweet handling of his FTR Honda around this tight and twisty track to qualify less than three tenths of a second off pole. And he believes he could have been even closer to the front if he hadn’t been held up by slower riders on his final lap.

Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda) also enjoyed today’s Moto3 session, achieving his best qualifying performance of the year and is first third-row start, in eighth place. The Italian teenager was just 0.510 seconds off pole.

Third fastest Honda rider was Spaniard Isaac Vinales (Bimbo Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR Honda) in 11th and just ahead of Niccolo Antonelli (GO&FUN Gresini FTR Honda) in 13th, Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing Suter Honda) in 14th and Lorenzo Baldassarri (GO&FUN Gresini FTR Honda) in 16th.

Honda MotoGP rider quotes

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: pole position – 1m 21.311s “I’m very happy with this pole position. It’s important to start from the front row at this circuit, since it’s quite difficult to overtake!
I felt very comfortable, especially after the pace I had in FP4. In qualifying I struggled a little to get the most out of the bike, but things went better on our second exit. I think we have done a great job and we will try to do our best, have a good race and fight for the podium, and with a little luck for the victory. After I saw Dani’s crash this morning I was definitely a little more cautious going through turn one. I really hope he recovers quickly and can race tomorrow. It will be a difficult race, because Valentino will be fighting also Stefan and Cal, if he’s okay physically, will be up there as well.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 4th – 1m 21.862s “We did a good job in FP4 and our consistency is very good. Actually, we have just missed one maximum fast lap in qualifying but I am still very pleased with my fourth place on the grid.
Unfortunately I had a little crash on my first run because I hit a little bump. At least I was able to start the bike and get back to the garage. After that I jumped on bike two and pushed more than 100 per cent but I could not set the perfect lap time to make the front row. I really wanted a front-row start at my home race but we are quite happy anyway because we are doing a good job. It’s difficult to set any target because the race is very long, but I sternly want to perform well for my home crowd.”

Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 8th – 1m 22.484s “We have made a slight improvement yesterday and found a bit more grip and confidence with the rear of the bike. We worked hard with the electronics and found some benefits that allowed me to improve my lap time. Unfortunately I made a mistake in qualifying and let the tyres get too cool before pushing for a fast lap. My race pace isn’t so bad but it will be important to get a good start if we are going to stay in touch with the lead group.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 12th – 1m 22.221s “It was definitely a scary moment and I’m still not totally sure what happened. I hit my head hard and immediately felt a lot of pain in my shoulder and I checked to see if I could feel anything. Thankfully in the medical centre they saw it wasn’t broken but maybe a small fracture, and I was also feeling very dizzy but never lost consciousness. Just to be safe, we flew to Chemnitz Hospital for a CAT scan and then returned to the Clinica Mobile at the circuit.
They confirmed I had a small fracture in my left collar bone but I am thankful it’s not a complete break. Now I will rest tonight and see how I feel in the morning. If I feel strong enough I will have the medical check to clear me for the race.”

Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 22nd – 1m 27.273s “Unfortunately when I came into turn four the rear came round on me and threw me into the air.
It was a big crash and we didn’t need it. We went back out on the second bike but the set-up as different and I didn’t have the same confidence with it. Now I have to get over the pain in my left foot and try to get ready for the race.”

Moto2 rider quotes

Xavier Simeon, Desguaces La Torre Maptaq: pole position, 1m 24.665s “I didn’t expect to be on pole – I was expecting anywhere on the first two rows. I’ve had a good pace from the start of the weekend and at the end of qualifying I tried to concentrate very hard for a good lap. The race will be very different, however, but we have a good pace and I think we can be there.”

Jordi Torres, Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2: 2nd, 1m 24.678s “I’m very happy with my first front-row start because I feel very good on the bike. I have really good feeling from the tyres and that’s really important. A big thank you to my team because they work harder and harder for me.”

Pol Espargaro, Tuenti HP40 Pons: 3rd, 1m 24.704s “This track is so short that all the riders are very close. I’m very happy to be on the front row, with Scott [Redding] on the third row, so we have a good opportunity to recover some more points. I have a good rhythm and feel confident with my bike. Now we have to wait for the race but I know it will be tough. Anyway, I’m happy to be fit and feeling confident.”

Honda Moto3 Rider quotes

Jack Miller, Caretta Technology – RTG: 5th, 1m 27.599s “That wasn’t so bad, though I lost some time on my last lap when I was behind [Maverick] Vinales and [Efren] Vazquez. They were going at it like it was the last lap of the race and I couldn’t get by without messing us all up. We’ve tried quite a few different things today and I can’t complain about fifth – it’s another strong second row for us. It’s very close at the front, so I think it’ll be a big group and a hard fight in the race. We’ve got a new, stiffer swingarm from FTR here. I’m a bigger rider, so it gives me more feedback. We tried a softer swingarm at Catalunya, just to give us a direction, and it had too much twang. Not we’ve gone in a the opposite direction and it’s the right way.
Yesterday we had our usual swingarm and the bike was moving around more than I like; now we’ve fitted the stiffer swingarm I’ve got more confidence in the tyres.”

Romano Fenati, San Carlo Team Italia: 8th, 1m 27.810s “I’m very happy. The team and I worked hard and were able to make the most of the softer tyres.
Starting closer to the front will be a huge help during the race. We will start with the right spirit to try and get our best result of the year.”

Isaac Vinales, Bimbo Ongetta-Centro Seta: 11th, 1m 27.954s “I’m happy because I managed to ride very fast, only six tenths of a second behind [Alex] Rins who got pole. However, we had some problems with rear grip, so I couldn’t go any faster. The lap times of the top 15 riders are really tight, I am very motivated to try and get a good result in the race tomorrow.”

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