German Grand Prix at The Sachsenring

29, 30, 31 July 2005

HONDA MEN DETERMINED TO TOP PODIUM IN GERMANY

After a damp and dismal British GP at Donington Park Honda's big names in MotoGP are resolved to make amends at the Sachsenring on Sunday. The 17-race season is now past the halfway point with just eight races left to run and this is the last chance to put pressure on World Championship points leader Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) before the summer break.

Four of Honda's big names: Max Biaggi (Repsol Honda RC211V), Marco Melandri (Team Movistar Honda RC211V), Sete Gibernau (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) and Alex Barros (Camel Honda RC211V) have tasted success here before, three of them in the premier class, and Melandri twice on a 250.

If ever any of them needed a win here around the twisting dips and climbs of the sinuous Sachsenring, now is the time. With Rossi now on 211 points overall to second-placed Melandri's 107, nothing less than a win for Honda's young hotshot will do if he is to put pressure on the reigning World Champion.

But Max Biaggi, currently lying fourth on 100 points, is still in a position to put a late-season charge together. But this race surely represents his last chance to claw his way back into contention. He won here in 2001 and tasted victory here last year too. Never a rider to give less than his best whatever the circumstances, his first win of the season is overdue and the Sachsenring could be the place where it happens.

The 3.671km track is the shortest of the 17 tracks visited this season. Set in the rolling heartlands of German motorcycle sport in the Hohenstein-Ernstthal region, the former public roads circuit is close to the MZ motorcycle factory and huge crowds of up to 250,000 attended the event in its heyday, when the race took place on the old road course.

The tight twisting nature of the track demands acceleration rather than outright speed, six left-hand turns in succession put great stress on tires and a steep downhill plunge followed by an uphill section to the start-finish straight requires precision from riders and stability from machines.

Alex Barros is itching to ride, and said, "I'm happy to be heading to the Sachsenring, where we're all hoping for a nice sunny day for the race! It's an unusual track; tight and twisty, but I like it because I've had some good results there both on the 500cc bikes and on the MotoGP bike. Last year I battled for victory with Max and I think I did one of the best races of the year, so I'm quite confident for Sunday. The podium in Donington was satisfying because the conditions were truly awful, but I want to do even better before returning to Brazil for the summer break."

His team-mate Troy Bayliss (Camel Honda RC211V), who failed to finish last weekend, said, "I was really annoyed at Donington, even though there's nobody to blame for what happened considering the rotten conditions in the race. I returned home to Monaco, and took out my anger with a good bike ride and now I'm ready to race again. I love the Sachsenring, I can't wait to race there next Sunday. I feel so much more comfortable with the bike, We've made some steps forward with the front settings and if we continue in this fashion, I will have my say on Sunday."

Sete, who won here in spectacular fashion in 2003, beating Rossi at the final turn on the last lap, said, "The Sachsenring is a slow and difficult track for MotoGP. It's the shortest and most tortuous of all the tracks in the Championship and it is for this reason that the 250cc times are similar to ours in MotoGP. Due to the weight of the bikes and the slowness of the track, this is a very physically demanding circuit."

His team-mate Melandri said, "Overtaking is quite difficult here and the best place to do it is the braking at the end of the start/finish straight and at the Sachsenkurve. The atmosphere is fantastic here, the track is small so the public is all packed in tight, near the track, and you can really feel their presence. I achieved my first victory in the 250 class in 2001 here, but I also fell here last year."

Max said, "After the disaster at Donington I come to the Sachsenring determined to have a good result and good performance for my fans, for my team and for myself. I remember well last year when we took pole position and won the race. It was the perfect weekend and sadly one that has not happened since last year. It's so frustrating knowing that I have the ability to be regularly on the front row and be regularly on the podium but at the moment it is just not happening. Let's hope that the race this weekend will see a change in fortune."

Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) said, "I've gone pretty well at the Sachsenring in the past. I wouldn't say it's the most fun track but we've had some pretty good results there. The first year, I started 15th and finished fifth and last year got a podium. Some of the big left-handers really remind me of some of the dirt tracks back home, and I really like the downhill section towards the end of the track when it really falls away. As always when we have a bad race day I just want to get straight back on the track."

Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) needs a strong race here and said, "From this Grand Prix onwards I expect to improve my results, because as I promised before the United States of America Grand Prix, I want to, and I believe I can, reach my season objective: to improve on the final position of sixth obtained last year."

Team Suzuki MotoGP hopes to carry on where it left off
Team Suzuki MotoGP will be competing in this weekend's Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland at Sachsenring in Germany, eager to capitalise on the superb second place Kenny Roberts Jr secured last week in England.

Roberts Jr qualified in third place at last year's German Grand Prix and both he and team-mate John Hopkins then raced their Suzuki GSV-R's to top-10 finishes at the demanding eastern German track. A feat both riders will be hoping to at least repeat - if not improve upon in Sunday's race.

Sachsenring is the shortest European circuit on the MotoGP calendar at only 3.671Km long. It regularly manages to produce top-class racing due to its tight and twisty character - where grip is more important than horsepower - and set-up is vital to a good lap-time. It is also a venue that gets one of the biggest spectator attendances of the season, over 200,000 fans turned up to watch last years meeting and a similar number can be expected this weekend.

Sunday's race is round 10 of the 17 event MotoGP World Championship and will begin at an earlier than usual time of 12.30CET.

Paul Denning - Team Manager:

"Sachsenring is a very twisty circuit that will put tremendous demands on the Bridgestone tires and the set-up of the GSV-R. Whilst outright power is not a priority as such, the riders still need excellent acceleration and strong mid-range power. We hope the improvements at Donington will prove themselves to be a step forward at Sachsenring, whether the conditions are wet or dry.

"The team is still on cloud nine from last Sunday's result but we know that we will have to start all over again this weekend - beginning with Friday's free practice. Last weeks podium is now in the past and we will have to carry on working with the same drive and enthusiasm we have shown all season to make sure the step by step improvements continue, and that we allow the riders to use their talents to the full."

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Round 10: Sachsenring, Germany
Track length: 3671 m
Opened: 1966
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 24.056 (Alex Barros, 2004)
MotoGP lap record: 1' 24.056 (Alex Barros, 2004)
Last year MotoGP winner: Max Biaggi
Circuit tel: +49 3723 65330
Circuit web site: http://www.sachsenring.de

2004 MotoGP Race Summary
Yamaha Factory rider and reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi entered the 2004 German Grand Prix, held at the Sachsenring with high expectations since the tight and twisty circuit has traditionally suited the nimble Yamaha. But after a determined fourth place in what was a dramatic and changeable race it was Max Biaggi (Honda) who mounted the podium as winner.

Rossi's fourth place came after an incident-filled race, and his team-mate Carlos Checa was one of many riders who did not make the finish. The Spaniard tumbled out on lap five, shortly after passing a string of riders. Rossi encountered his own challenges in the final laps, running wide on two corners and experiencing a violent weave as he tipped into the fast left hand curve at the top of the hill, losing places on each occasion after the rear tire began to fade.
Rossi chased the eventual race winner Max Biaggi in the early laps, sitting second and harrying his fellow Italian throughout. Sete Gibernau (Honda) closed in on the pairing until he fell from third place on lap eight, allowing fellow Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Alex Barros to move in on the act. Rossi broke Biaggi's lead on lap 16, 0.7 seconds ahead at one stage, heading the order for a total of six laps. The young Italian's challenge for maximum points faded, however, when he lost places consecutively to Biaggi, Barros and finally Hayden.

Meanwhile massive misfortune visited the Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 team when both riders crashed out on lap 21 of the 30-lap race. Marco Melandri lost control of his YZR-M1 when the rear wheel touched the grass. The bike highsided the young Italian into the air and then Norick Abe hit the stricken machine at nearly 200kmh, crashing spectacularly as a result.
Both riders were circulating the 3.671km track in close company as they both tried to get the better of Honda runners Colin Edwards and Makoto Tamada. Marco and Abe were both well into the points places in seventh and eighth when the double disaster unfolded.

2005 Set-up report YZR-M1
The tight and twisty nature of Sachsenring lends itself to close racing. This is partially influenced by its rather short overall length, only just scraping in on the minimum allowed distance to host a MotoGP race, while the looping layout itself has the reputation of making passing moves on fellow competitors difficult even at the best of times. The design of the circuit, with virtually only three pieces of straight tarmac, has seen the MotoGP machines reach their top speeds at the back straight, with two key passing points - the final two left-handers.

Like Donington Sachsenring is made up of low and high speed sections. For this reason the Yamaha YZR-M1 will need to offer agility and a degree of stability too - a difficult combination - although agility takes priority. For 2005 this has become a major strength with the re-born YZR-M1 and should provide each of the four Yamaha pilots an advantage.
Due to the long radius turns, and the low speeds a smoother power delivery is especially useful at such an undulating circuit as much of the driving is done off the left side of the tire. All of this with little camber on offer.

To help the YZR-M1 in this regard Yamaha will opt for a more linear characteristic from the rear suspension linkage - to suit the needs of the circuit and the flatter torque characteristics likely to be used by the inline-four. Such a linkage ratio will offer a plusher movement through the first stage of the stroke before gradually increasing in intensity. It will not only improve traction off the turns, allowing the rider to get on the power harder and earlier than before, the new linkage should also reduce the effects of the M1's front wheel pawing for the clouds. This is often an issue for the 240 plus horsepower 145kg machines.

This will be supported with a rear shock set-up that sports a setting a little more on the softer side; offering more feel while working the rear tire less over the bumpy surface. It is necessary, however, to ensure the swingarm motion is predictable, as these setting, combined with the undulating layout and lack of grip, can lead to instability. To prevent this from becoming an issue the shock's damping will be dialed in to compensate, while the front forks will be set to provide the best all-round balance. This is possible with the limited amount of hard braking that takes place at the Sachsenring.

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DUCATI MARLBORO MEN FIRED UP FOR GERMANY

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa are fired up for this weekend's German Grand Prix, following their impressive rides in last Sunday's rain-lashed British GP. Both men were amongst the fastest riders in the Donington race after a difficult two days of dry-weather practice.

"We come to the Sachsenring in positive mood, after our good results at Donington," says Ducati MotoGP manager Livio Suppo. "Maybe we were a little lucky with the weather, but in life you sometimes need a little luck! Bridgestone have proved they have fully competitive rain tires that work wherever we go, like in China and in Britain. That's a positive sign of the company's capabilities, which is why we are confident we can obtain similarly consistent dry-weather performance. We are already strong in the dry at some tracks like Mugello, and Bridgestone will bring new spec tires to the Sachsenring, which proves how hard they are working and makes us very confident for the future."

The Sachsenring is one of MotoGP's tightest, slowest tracks, where easy handling counts for much more than sheer horsepower. "Straight-line speed isn't that important at this track," says Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. "What matters is nimble handling and easy turning. Like all tracks, you need a compromise between manoeuvrability and stability, but for the Sachsenring you err on the side of manoeuvrability."

After a quick-fire trip to the USA and two back-to-back European GPs, the MotoGP circus takes a well-earned three-weekend break after Germany, reconvening in the Czech Republic at the end of August.

CAPIROSSI: "IT'S LIKE A GO-KART TRACK'
Ducati Marlboro Team man Loris Capirossi was satisfied with his British GP ride but what the Italian really wants is to repeat his podium finish from June's Mugello GP.
"It's a strange track, like a go-kart track," he says. "For sure it's very difficult on a MotoGP bike, anyway we go there with a strong feeling, determined to get a good result before the holidays, but we will see what new tires Bridgestone bring. The first few corners are so, so slow, but after the horseshoe right-hander it becomes quite a nice track. There's the fast run downhill and the very fast turn 12, a really exciting corner because you're in fifth gear, maybe 220kmh, and it's blind and also negative camber.
After Germany I go home and I stay home, I'm going nowhere! I have a 45-foot motorboat, which we use most days. There are a lot of beautiful bays around Monaco, but the problem is there are also a lot of boats, so you have to go early, because it's like supermarket parking!"

CHECA: "SLOW DOESN'T MEAN EASY"
Carlos Checa comes to Germany fresh from an impressive British GP, where he rode the third fastest lap on his way to finishing fifth, after running 17th at the end of the first lap. Checa was second at the Sachsenring in 2001.

"It's a special kind of track and I like it, apart from the first part, which is too slow," says the Ducati Marlboro Team rider. "I always enjoy tracks that feature plenty of elevation changes and the Sachsenring is very up and down. It's slow circuit but that doesn't mean it's easy because MotoGP bikes are big, very powerful and have wide tires, so this place is a lot of work. It's so tight that you hardly ever use full throttle, maybe only for seven per cent of the lap. Maximum horsepower means absolutely nothing, so you work in other areas of engine performance, like low- and mid-rpm. We don't change the base set-up too much from track to track, we just hope that our Bridgestone tires work well on this asphalt.
My main aim during the break is to have some rest. I will spend some time at home in London, plus I'm going trekking and climbing in the Pyrenees for a few days. I'm really looking forward to that. It's good that everyone in the team gets a break, we all need to recharge!"