Valentino Rossi - Fiat Yamaha - 1st, 151 points
"Thank goodness we've had some time to rest after the last two races because I was really quite tired after Laguna! The next two races are back to back and again it will be very hard, and it's also a very important stage of the championship, the halfway point. Sachsenring isn't one of my favorite tracks but I've had some great races there and generally it suits Yamaha well, which is good. We need another good result to keep our lead because our rivals are so strong and we can't afford to make any mistakes. Last year there was a lot of rain in Germany but in fact we were able to take a great second place. I hope this year we can go one better."
Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha - 2nd, 142 points
"Germany is one of the circuits where I've never done particularly well, in fact I've only had one podium there, in 2006 when I was third in 250cc. Last year it rained a lot and unfortunately I fell on the third lap, so it wasn't a weekend to remember but I hope this one will be very different. Following my injuries in Laguna Seca, I am feeling a lot better after a week of rest but I won't be at 100% this weekend; I have some pain in my foot when walking and also in my shoulder joint, so the first thing I will do when I get to Sachsenring is go to the Clinica Mobile! My aim as ever this weekend is to be on the podium and to try to get as many points as possible compared to the rivals that are in front of me."
Round 9 of the 2009 MotoGP World Championship takes the riders to the Sachsenring in eastern Germany for the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. And the MotoGP championship remains tight at the top now that it has reached the halfway point of the season.
Fiat Yamaha continues to lead the way with Valentino Rossi nine points ahead of 22-year-old teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who in turn holds an advantage of seven points over Ducati Marlboro's Casey Stoner. With a determined win in the last round, fourth-placed Dani Pedrosa has also shown the Respol Honda RC212V can run at the front in this increasingly competitive MotoGP paddock.
Rossi has four wins to his name at Sachsenring, including the remarkable 2006 race in which the top-four finishers were separated by just 0.307 seconds. Rossi also claimed second behind Stoner last year during a race marked by torrential rain, which resulted in numerous crashes. ‘The Doctor’ will look to extend his lead and add to his three 2009 victories to give himself some breathing room headed into the summer break in two weeks.
Lorenzo had a tumultuous weekend in the United States, being carried out of the Saturday practice session in a stretcher after his second crash of the day, yet the Mallorcan-born rider wasn’t about to let a separated shoulder and a badly bruised foot put a limp in his championship crusade. ‘Gorgeous George’ showed his grit as he contested Rossi and Pedrosa up-front to still claim a third-place podium for the weekend. A week of recuperation at home in Barcelona has left the Spaniard in better shape than at Laguna Seca, though not at full fitness. As one of the riders who slid out early in a rain-drenched race last year at Sachsenring, Lorenzo is confident that he will play more of a part in this year’s proceedings.
Dani Pedrosa’s confidence will be buoyed after taking Honda’s first victory for the 2009 MotoGP season at Laguna Seca, which the Spaniard will need as he heads to the German circuit that derailed his 2008 Championship prospects. Pedrosa entered Sachsenring at the top of the Championship last year, and took the early lead on the wet circuit, but all went wrong when a crash at the end of the start-finish straight not only caused him to lose the points advantage but also resulted in a wrist injury that impaired the Respol Honda rider’s performance for the remainder of the season. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards and Hayate Racing’s Marco Melandri (then riding for Factory Ducati) joined Pedrosa as the other victims to be sidelined by Sachsenring’s slick twisting corners last year.
Nicky Hayden - Ducati Marlboro Team - 12th, 38 points
“We have made some real progress the last few weeks and I hope we can keep it going because bringing up the rear of the pack is not fun. We still have a big gap to the front guys so we have a lot of work to do to close that down and we must stay very focused. Germany is another small, twisty track with lap times almost exactly the same as Laguna – in fact they are the two shortest tracks on the tour - but it’s a track I like and where I have gone well at in the past. The first section is super tight and is the part I think will be the hardest for me on our bike, but I hope to be strong in the second half, which includes the ‘waterfall’ corner, which is about as good as it gets if you like fast, blind corners that take your breath away! Normally in Germany on race day it’s a completely full house with fans stacked everywhere so that makes for a great atmosphere!”
Nicky Hayden scored his best result of the season in his home Grand Prix on the No. 69 Ducati GP9. The fifth place finish could be proof that the Ducati Marlboro Team’s development efforts are on the right lines. Hayden has had good success in Sachsenring, taking four consecutive podiums between 2004 and 2007, and will therefore be expected to confirm that the improvement made at Laguna is only the start. Meanwhile, The Kentucky Kid's teammate has been struggling against a less than optimal physical condition the last couple rounds.
Stoner appeared physically drained throughout the Laguna Seca weekend and his condition wasn’t helped by a massive highside in the Saturday practice that left him even more jarred. Yet, with the prospect of a championship title on hand, the Australian made good on his competitive reputation by riding past his discomfort to land at the foot of the Laguna Seca podium. A series of examinations were conducted in the United States following the race that showed signs of gastritis and mild anemia. Doctors are confident that with the right treatment he will be back to full strength in a matter of weeks and will still be able to defend his 2008 Sachsenring race win.
Honda's satellite team riders Toni Elias and Randy de Puniet had encouraging results at Laguna Seca, where they took sixth and ninth respectively. The sixth was a season best for Elias, who is confident that the San Carlo Honda Gresini team is now on the right path with the setup of his machine. However, HRC's own Andrea Dovizioso has had a streak of bad luck, taking a pair of unlucky DNFs at Assen and Laguna Seca. The Italian, who had been running among the front-runners for the first six races of the season, is certainly capable of placing on the podium and looks for some strong results before the summer break.
The last round at Laguna Seca proved a tough one for the Rizla Suzuki duo of Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen. A crash on Lap 4 left Capirossi’s Suzuki GSV-R too wrecked to finish, while Vermeulen had a poor start that relegated him to the back of the pack. The teammates remain optimistic headed to eastern Germany, with Vermeulen having taken a podium at Sachsenring circuit in 2008 and Capirossi bagging one the prior year.
The MotoGP grid will only have 17 riders now that Grupo Francisco Hernando’s withdrawal leaves Sete Gibernau without a support. It is unknown whether the Spaniard will pursue another ride or go back into retirement.
Pre-Race Rider Quotes
Casey Stoner - Ducati Marlboro - 3rd, 135 points
“I have been in USA until Saturday to do all the tests. First of all I’d like to thanks all the Doctors involved in this, Dr. Ting and Dr. Tuan in the Fremont Surgery Center, Dr. Macchiagodena, Dr. Catani, Dr. Ceccarelli and of course my physiotherapist Freddy. Hopefully step by step I will feel better with their indications. I still don’t feel like I am 100% but the biggest problem now is the ribs that are very painful after the crash in the USA GP Qualifying. It will be probably another hard week end, but as always, we will do our best to stay as much as possible close to the lead of the Championship”.
Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda - 4th, 92 points
“I’ve had some good results at this track and I take a lot of confidence into the race weekend at Sachsenring because we’re probably in the best shape we’ve been in for a while. The win in Laguna Seca was really important for me and the team because it proves we’ve been making progress and we now have the pace to win races. However, we can’t take anything for granted and I’m sure our rivals will be strong again and determined to fight back. I really like the Sachsenring circuit too and, despite what happened last year, I think we can be competitive again here. I’ve had a good week since Laguna, and it was great to be able to go and see the start of the Tour de France stage in Barcelona on Friday. I’ve been able to get back in training on the bicycle, and seeing the Tour gave me even more motivation. So I’m feeling confident for this weekend and I’m looking forward to Germany.”
Andrea Dovizioso - Repsol Honda - 6th, 69 points
“I’m very motivated to show my potential and the potential of the machine in Germany because at the last two races we have improved a lot, without getting the results to match. The race results in Assen and Laguna were disappointing, but the recent signs have been encouraging, especially in Laguna where we were very close to the leaders and I had a good race pace and a package that meant I was capable of fighting for the front positions. Unfortunately I made a mistake, but it’s just something you learn from and move on. I wouldn’t say the Sachsenring racetrack is one of my favorites of the year but I’m looking forward to the challenge. It is quite short, with a very slow first section followed by a very fast second half. The team is getting stronger all the time and I’m confident we can have a good weekend.”
Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP - 8th, 61 points
"The last race was very disappointing as we had such high hopes for Laguna, but we must learn from that and move forward in Germany. I got a third at Sachsenring last year and although that was in the wet I am sure we can try and repeat that this year in whatever weather we have to contend with. The bike is still working well and seems to improve every time we go out on it. The crew have got a good base package and if that works from the start at Sachsenring - and we can get the tires to match the bike - then I see no reason why we can't be competitive from the first day."
Randy de Puniet - LCR Honda - 9th, 58 points
“The Sachsenring is a very strange circuit: the first part is very slow then the second part is quite a lot faster. But I like the track and I have been very fast in the T1 and sections T2 and also in the final section. Last year we had a very good rhythm in the dry but then the rain spoiled that for the race. I hope to continue my positive season with a top-eight finish this weekend.”
Loris Capirossi - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP - 10th, 56
"The last couple of races have been a bit tough on us, which has been pretty difficult as we have worked so hard to get everything right. The crew have certainly been giving all they can and we just didn't get the solutions we were looking for. We have still managed to learn a lot of things about how the Suzuki GSV-R behaves in different situations and on different types of Bridgestone tires, so all that will be very useful to us in Germany. Sachsenring is not a track that needs a lot of power and speed, but it does require careful balance because you are on the side of the tire so much. I got podium at Sachsenring in 2007 and I've also had a couple of other good results there. It is a track that I certainly enjoy racing at and believe that we can do well at - we will just have to see what happens this weekend!"
Toni Elias - San Carlo Honda Gresini - 13th, 37 points
“It is important that we have started to find the right way forward at this stage of the season because there is still a long way to go and perhaps if we had taken any longer it would be too late. We have had eight tough races but we’re starting to find the limits of this bike and we still have nine races left in which to push it to the maximum. To be honest I don’t like Sachsenring much but looking back I have raced there injured on three occasions so maybe that’s why I don’t have good memories or good results to reflect on! Last year could have been much better but it rained so hopefully this is the year my fortunes change in Germany. I stayed on in America for an extra day to go sightseeing in San Francisco, which was great fun, but after that I was straight home to train and get ready for another important race.”
Alex De Angelis - San Carlo Honda Gresini - 14th, 36 points
“I have had so many good results at the Sachsenring in the past, just the kind of results we could do with right now! Unfortunately we made the wrong choice with the setting for the race at Laguna but there were a lot of positives about the weekend as a whole and we are looking to bring those to the fore in Germany. The German Grand Prix is definitely one of my favorites. I have a lot of affection for the Sachsenring circuit because I took my first pole there and I was on the podium every year from 2002 to 2007. The track is very technical, varied and without any long straights so it is important to have a good chassis set-up, more than a powerful engine. We’re going through a difficult phase right now but we won’t give up.”
