MotoGP World Championship. German GP. Preview
 THE
REPSOL RIDERS LOOKING FORWARD WITH OPTIMISM TO THE RACE IN
GERMANY
Dani Pedrosa goes to the circuit where he won last year as
the leader of the MotoGP category. Nicky Hayden will be out
to get the first podium finish for the engine with pneumatic
valves
This weekend there is the final sprint for the riders in the
World Motorcycling Championship. For the riders in 125cc and
250cc the German GP will bring an end to the first half of
the season and their well-deserved summer holiday. A break
that will be very useful to rest and recharge their batteries
after an intense programme of races over the last few months.
For the MotoGP riders the race in Germany is the start of
the final “double weekend” before their hard-earned
summer rest.
As Dani Pedrosa has mentioned in the last few months it is
at this point in the season when the riders challenging for
the world title can be seen clearly, with just a glance at
the standings. The MotoGP riders will travel to the USA on
the Monday after this weekend`s race for the GP at the Circuit
of Laguna Seca the following weekend. After this race they
will get a deserved rest too, then they will return to action
on 17th August at the Czech Republic GP.
The Repsol Honda Team rider Dani Pedrosa goes to this weekend`s
race in Germany as leader of the World MotoGP Championship.
A place where he won last year, and so Pedrosa will be racing
at the Sachsenring out to repeat this result and extend his
lead in the overall classification. At the moment he has a
four point lead over the second placed rider, the Italian
Valentino Rossi. His teammate Nicky Hayden, after staying
in the Netherlands after what could have been the Repsol Honda
Team`s first one-two in 2008, is confident that the HRC engineers
have been able to find the technical improvements necessary
to avoid a repetition of the fuel problem on the engine with
pneumatic valves that snatched his first podium finish of
the season away from him at the last gasp. This is a season
that is turning out to be very complicated for him.
For the young Repsol riders in 125cc and 250cc, the last
race in the calendar before the summer break will motivate
them to get a good result, one that allows them to go off
on holiday with a pleasant taste in their mouths. Last year
the KTM 250cc bikes got a one-two at this circuit, and so
Julián Simón will hope to get the best performance
possible out of his motorbike this weekend, and so be up with
the race leaders.
This weekend the youngest Repsol riders will have another
opportunity to be seen alongside the race leaders too. Esteve
Rabat hopes to get the result that has been tantalisingly
close in the last few races, two weeks ago at Assen he was
leading the race on the final lap. Marc Márquez, after
his brilliant podium finish in the British GP, almost caused
another upset in the Dutch GP, although in the end it was
not to be. In Germany he is aware that he will start from
zero again and he will have to learn all about the twisty
German track very quickly.
Quotes
MotoGP
Dani Pedrosa >>
“We are working very hard at the moment, trying to improve
our performance. We will do our best to repeat my 2007 German
GP win but we know it won’t be easy. Sachsenring is
quite a slow track, most of the corners aren’t so fast.
My favourite section is the final, faster part: the fast,
downhill right-hander near the end of the lap and then the
uphill run into the final corner. There is always a good atmosphere
at this race with a lot of fans and overflowing grandstands.
The track was resurfaced for last year’s race which
made it a lot better because before it was very bumpy. Set-up
is always difficult at Sachsenring because it’s a long
race, so you need a harder-than-normal compound on the left
side of the tyres. You use quite a static riding style here,
riding more gently and making fewer movements than usual on
the bike.”
Nicky Hayden >>
“The bike is working good, the engine is running plenty
good, but we just had that little issue at the end of Assen
which stopped me getting third. I’m sure the guys at
HRC will have the electronics all fixed for this race because
I quite like the Sachsenring and I’ve always gone pretty
well there.
It’s a short little lap and some people complain it’s
too tight and twisty but I like fast left-hand corners and
it’s got a lot of them. I’m a dirt tracker so
I like going left! The first bit is quite technical, then
you’ve got that fifth-gear drop-off round the back which
is really good, definitely one of the best. The key for going
down that hill is getting the bike so you’re confident
in the front. The next right-hander (Turn 12) is a big one,
it’s blind and it’s downhill, so you can’t
go tip-toeing through there if you want a good lap, you’ve
got to be committed and charge it. Last year the track had
a new surface because tyre wear had been a big issue there.”
250cc
Julián Simón >>
“The Circuit of Sachsenring is a very special one for
KTM. There last year Kallio and Aoyama were first and second.
It is a circuit, where I think because of the way the KTM
works, that can help us a lot.
It is a short track, and I think for our motorbike it will
give us a little push regarding results, since I am convinced
that we can do well there, and I am dying to get on the bike.
I have rested well the last few days and my arm has recovered
a little more. We will be working to set up the bike quickly
and so be in a position to have a good race and do a good
weekend`s work.”
125cc
Esteve Rabat >>
“This is a circuit that I like a lot; it has a lot of
ups and downs, and it is great fun. And there the engine is
not so important; this is a circuit where the rider is more
important, so we will have more of a chance.
I am dying to start and I am really motivated, this is my
last chance to have a good race before the summer break, and
so go on holiday with a pleasant taste in my mouth. That is
why it will be important to have some good practice sessions,
taking things step by step, improving each time we go out
on the track. At Donington we made progress, at Assen too,
and here we will try to make more. The objective will be to
be up with the leaders, but the most important thing will
be to carry on making progress, and so always be up with the
leaders. I am very confident because the bike and the team
are helping a lot, and we are all improving bit by bit.”
Marc Márquez >>
“I have been warned about the type of track to expect,
the Circuit of the Sachsenring is like a circuit for karting:
very twisty but bigger. There you have to take things calmly
and to ride very gently.
As it is twisty, if you go out from the off trying to attack
and set a good time that is when things do not work out.You
have to ride calmly and very gently. We hope that the engines
responds the best it can, and when we are there we will see
exactly what it does and how I manage to adapt. The circuit
is not very fast, but it requires quite a lot of acceleration.
We will try to adapt to it the best we can. From the first
lap we will be lowering the lap times, something normal at
a new circuit, and we will get the bike set up so that we
can set really fast times.”
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