Riders on the German GP

[Newsbot]

As we head into the German MotoGP weekend the 2006 championship has past it's half-way point with 10 races completed and 9 remaining. Despite having just the one win to his name this year Nicky Hayden is still at the top of the points table, but Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa and one Valentino Rossi are closing in on his lead. Can the Kentucky Kid get another win in Germany and put a bigger gap between himself and the competition or will an on-form Rossi be too quick to beat?

Nicky Hayden

“We’ve had a short break and I’m really looking forward to getting to Germany – it’s a track I quite like. In the first section it’s pretty well follow-the-leader and you’ve just got to be patient and get through there, but the last part of the track I really like. The 5th gear drop-away is really good and it’s a pretty sweet feeling when you get that one right. There’s a lot of racing still to go this year and there’s ...

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[Dom]

Yamaha Quotes

Valentino Rossi: Back to fitness

Valentino Rossi arrives in Germany with the benefit of an extra weekend to recover from the hand injuries he sustained in the middle of a Grand Prix triple-header at Assen. After struggling through the discomfort to score valuable points in Holland and Great Britain, he is now hoping to be fit enough to fight for his fourth win of the season and his fourth in all classes at the Sachsenring circuit.

"I am very confident that by Sachsenring my hand will be back to 100%, or near enough," says Rossi, who won the German Grand Prix for Yamaha last year to add to previous MotoGP and 250cc successes in 2002 and 1999. "I have been working hard with my physiotherapist Marco Montanari and Dr Costa and hopefully it will continue to improve at this rate. It's really nice to have had time for a rest now after three very hard weeks, even if it's not so long. I spent some time in Italy and then a few days at home in London, relaxing and seeing friends.

"The important thing for Sachsenring is that we come out of the box on Friday morning ready to make the most of every available minute of practice time. We can't afford to lose time in practice with set-up problems like we had in Donington, and I am sure that Yamaha has been working at the maximum over the break so we will be ready to be competitive from Friday morning. Sachsenring is quite a different track, very tight and twisty, but last year our bike worked very well there, we were able to win and hopefully that will be the case again this year."

Colin Edwards: To Japan and back

Whilst his team-mate and most of their rivals have had time to rest this week, the relentless pursuit of speed has continued unabated for Colin Edwards, who has been out in Japan completing testing work for Yamaha ahead of the Suzuka 8-Hour race. Edwards was at Suzuka for two days as he prepares to compete in the prestigious event on 30th July alongside Yamaha Superbike rider Noriyuki Haga, but he is already back in Europe and gathering his strength for another important weekend of MotoGP action.

"It was hard to go straight out to Japan after such a long run of races but I'm quite excited about doing the 8-Hour again, especially as it's ten years since Nori and I won it together before," reflected Edwards, who will ride for the Yamaha Blue Racing Team aboard a specially prepared YZF-R1 SP. "Testing has gone quite well this week, just getting used to being back on a Superbike again and getting reacquainted with the track. We've got a competitive package so hopefully we're going to be in a position to really go for it when we go back for the race after Laguna.

"Obviously there's a lot of work to do before then and the small matter of two GPs in two weekends, including my home race! Sachsenring will be really important because we had a lot of problems with the bike at Donington that we didn't solve and we can't afford to lose any more time. The track itself has two different parts - one where it's very difficult to overtake and another which requires a massive physical effort because it works the left-hand side of your body really hard The tyres are under a lot of strain and it's vital to make the right choice so they don't overheat on the left-side. Generally I get along pretty well with the layout and there are always a lot of fans so it should be a good weekend."

Davide Brivio: Still enough time

Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is hopeful that a fully fit Valentino Rossi will appear at the Sachsenring on Thursday afternoon in readiness for a renewed assault on the championship standings when the action gets underway on Friday morning. Rossi's recent progress has been hampered by his injuries but with the benefit of a brief rest behind him Brivio remains confident that the World Champion has enough races to turn the situation around and successfully defend his title for the fifth time.

"Now it's funny because we almost consider a weekend off as a break!" smiles Brivio. "Anyway we are hoping that this week gives Valentino a chance to recover and arrive at the Sachsenring with his injury troubles behind him. We are expecting him to be fit from Friday morning so we are hopeful of a 'normal' weekend for both him and Colin. The situation with Valentino has delayed our recovery in the championship over the past couple of rounds but there are eight races left and we still have enough time.

"Our aim is to close the gap even further before the summer break so this race and the next one at Laguna Seca are very important. As far as the Sachsenring is concerned we had some problems with our bike there the first season with Valentino but we found a good setting last season and he was able to win the race. Sincerely I think the track suits the characteristics of the 2006 version M1 but we will have to wait and see on Friday morning. I hope so!"

Technically speaking: Sachsenring according to Mike Norton

Located in the heartland of the former East Germany's once glorious motorcycle racing industry, the Sachsenring is built right next to the old road course, a characteristic the track shares with Brno in the nearby Czech Republic. The current circuit could not be more different, its ultra-modern nature showing in its relatively slow lap times, with slow corners juxtaposed with some dazzlingly fast ones - including a super fast downhill right hander which was added in 2003. It is this that provides the circuit's biggest challenge, for riders and technicians alike.

"The Sachsenring is a difficult track - it's quite short and it's not one of Valentino's favourites," explains Mike Norton, Öhlins Suspension Technician for Valentino Rossi. "It's one of my busiest weekends because the set-up of the bike is all about finding a compromise between braking for that monstrous downhill section and handling through the slow sections. It's a bit of a trade-off really between getting Valentino good through the slow part and good enough to stop the bike at the bottom of the hill. Valentino often wins races on the brakes so he's a little bit different to most riders and you always have to have some margin in the front fork.

"You also spend a lot of time on the edge of the tyre at Sachsenring, right on the angle, and again that causes us an imbalance in the bike compared to normal. But Valentino's feedback is very good compared to other riders I've worked with. You can give him a change and be miles off centre but he'll ride around it and you'll either see a good lap time or a bad one, which then gives us an idea of where to go. From that point of view he's very good to work with and he always gives you 100%."

[Dom]

Honda Quotes

Nicky Hayden said, “We’ve had a short break and I’m really looking forward to getting to Germany – it’s a track I quite like. In the first section it’s pretty well follow-the-leader and you’ve just got to be patient and get through there, but the last part of the track I really like. The 5th gear drop-away is really good and it’s a pretty sweet feeling when you get that one right. There’s a lot of racing still to go this year and there’s quite a few races coming up at tracks I like, so I’m definitely feeling ready for the second half of the season.”

His team-mate Dani said, “As always this year my first job is to learn how to ride the RCV at this track. Sachsenring has some really slow sections and really fast sections so I don’t know how it will be to ride this bike.
For sure the first part will be very tight because it was very tight on a 250 so I’m waiting to see how a MotoGP bike will feel through here. My results at this track have been pretty good in previous years but of course in MotoGP it will be a different challenge and I’m taking nothing for granted.”

Marco said, “It was nice to be back on the podium just two weeks after the accident. Donington was a real achievement for me and I’m pleased because Barcelona hasn’t affected me. The Germany-United States double will be tough but I hope to be able to tackle it at my best. Sachsenring is a peculiar circuit but I like it because it’s technical. The setting of the bike has to be perfect at this track and as far as riding technique is concerned you have to be very careful to control the throttle without being too aggressive.”

Toni Elias said, “I'm happy to come back after a forced three-week break at home. It's been a tough period because the shoulder has been really painful. It hurts every time I move my arm and I can't even rest properly because it is even painful when I lay down. I've tried to recover as quickly as possible by having two sessions with the physiotherapist each day. I want to race even though I am aware it will be very difficult and painful.”

Makoto Tamada said, “The Sachsenring is always better if you do not have to make up positions. The track is tortuous, with not many long straights and, especially in the first part, it is difficult to overtake because the track is very narrow.
In the last days, during the tests I made in Suzuka, I did not lower my concentration level. I come back to Europe ready to continue working with my team, trying to improve the feeling with my RC211V.”

Kenny Roberts said, “We’re trying to get both our chassis to react in the same ways now so we can get more time out on track between adjustments during practice. I’ve always gone well here, I know the track well and I’m really hoping for something good here.”

Stoner said, “I’m looking forward to this race after two weekends where I’ve just missed out on podium finishes. We’re working hard to keep up the momentum in the team and if I can go well here, then we’ve got Laguna to look forward to the weekend after.”

[Dom]

Ducati Quotes

LORIS CAPIROSSI, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 5th overall (107 points)

"I hope to be 80 to 90 per cent fit for the race at Sachsenring. I don't think I will be 100 per cent fit because my doctors told me I would need 30 to 35 days from the accident to fully recover. The problem is that the injury is internal, so it's impossible to work on it effectively and it doesn't really respond to pain-killing therapies. I am looking forward to being able to ride properly once again.

"The first part of the Sachsenring is just too tight and too slow for a MotoGP bike, I think that part is better suited to go-karts! But the second part, from turn six or seven, all the way to the finish can be quite interesting. Turn 12 is really tough, a very exciting corner, because you come out of turn 11 in third, shift to fourth, then fifth and throw the bike into Turn 12 at over 200 kays. This corner is blind, then it's steep downhill and you get sixth gear on the run to turn 13."

SETE GIBERNAU, Ducati Marlboro Team rider, 13th overall (44 points)

"I am really looking forward to returning to action! The shoulder is recovering well and I have been working to get fit as fast as possible. It is a pity that I've lost three races but now I just want to ride my Desmosedici again. I haven't watched the races on TV because I know that watching them would only make me feel really mad about not being there but I have been in constant contact with my team. I want to thank the team, the Dexeus hospital, especially Drs Mir and Ginebreda, and everyone else who has supported me because I have been looked after so well.

"Sachsenring won't be the most comfortable circuit to ride with a collarbone injury. It's physically demanding because it's tight and slow, that's why the 250s can do similar lap times to MotoGP bikes. Anyway, I like the circuit and it holds good memories because I won there in 2003 and got second last year after a great race. I hope that all will go okay this time and that my shoulder won't be too much of a problem."

LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager

"We are really looking forward to having Sete and Loris together again. We hope Loris will be close to 100 per cent fit for this race and we also hope that Sete will be strong enough for a good comeback. We were so unlucky to have both riders suffer injuries at one of the busiest points of the season. We must keep looking forward and keep working for the best-possible results."

[Dom]

Kawasaki Quotes

Randy de Puniet: #17

"The ten day break between Donington Park and Sachsenring is just what I needed to sort out the back injury I sustained in the first corner crash at Le Mans. I was able to start training properly again after Donington, so I arrive in Germany for this weekend's race fully fit and ready to go. Shinya finished sixth in this race last year, less than five seconds behind the race winner, so I know already that this circuit suits the characteristics of both our Ninja ZX-RR and our Bridgestone tyres. Sachsenring is one of the shortest circuits on the MotoGP calendar, which means that we will race over 30 laps on Sunday, but I like this circuit and, if we can pull everything together during practice and qualifying, then I hope to put in a good race performance in the Kawasaki Racing Team's home Grand Prix this weekend."

Shinya Nakano: #56

"I like the Sachsenring circuit, it's one of my favourites, but I'm not sure whether this is because of the track layout or because I finished on the podium here in 2001, which was my debut season in the premier class. Either way, I always look forward to the German Grand Prix, especially as it is the home Grand Prix of the Kawasaki Racing Team, which is based just two hours down the road from Sachsenring, in Vohenstrauss, Bavaria. So, we are definitely looking for a good result this weekend, and based on past results here, I think top six is a realistic possibility. I need to focus on finding the fastest line through the first part of the circuit, as the first corner is one of the few overtaking places on this track, and because I think there is time to be made up around the slower turns at the start of the lap. Because passing places are limited it is very important to qualify well here, and we'll definitely be aiming for a front row start during qualifying on Saturday. I'm looking forward to getting things underway on Friday, and I just hope we can give the team a great result in their home race on Sunday."

[Dom]

Suzuki Quotes

Hopkins, who has started from the front row four times in the last seven races, “There is a real satisfaction in running up the front but basically the best thing about scoring pole was getting it out of the way at last… I had been on the front row many times but never on pole so it was good to take the first one. It was a huge weight off my shoulders! We know that we have what we need with the team, the bikes and myself,” said John, who has been ready to step up to full pace since before the season even started. “Qatar was just a bad and now forgotten incident, because I knew that I could get a good result. The overall machine performance is tremendously better than last year and has improved race after race.”

For MotoGP rookie Vermeulen the few reversals and many plus points in his rapid growth aboard the GSV-R only underlined how much the machine has been improved over the 2005 version. “It wasn’t like anything has changed hugely in the bike or in the team itself since the start of this season, and I really believe from the point of view of the team everything is in place to win championships,” said rookie Chris. “All the little things that have been added with each passing race do make a big difference.”

The last word goes to the man who is the conduit between the team itself, Suzuki’s engineering efforts and the riders, Team Manager Paul Denning. “As Chris says, in between the early season races and now, nothing very fundamental has changed. The biggest change between last year and this year is the design and potential of the bike, plus the Suzuki factory working in a far more focused way on the priorities. They’ve done a great job in terms of the improvement since 2005 and the reaction speed to the problems we suffered earlier this year. It’s a combination of a lot of small things and a lot of small details. Getting the simple things right is what’s made the difference to the team’s potential – the riders and team now have a bike they can believe in!”

[sreeja]

Nicky Hayden
“We’ve had a short break and I’m really looking forward to getting to Germany – it’s a track I quite like. In the first section it’s pretty well follow-the-leader and you’ve just got to be patient and get through there, but the last part of the track I really like.
Dani Pedrosa
Sachsenring has some really slow sections and really fast sections so I don’t know how it will be to ride this bike.