There was so much rumor and conjecture in the WSB paddock this weekend over rider signings for 2011 the fact that Jonathan Rea and Noriyuki each took a win nearly went unnoticed. It was finally confirmed that current Sterilgarda Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow will follow in the footsteps of American Ben Spies and switch to the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad in 2011. The news was quickly followed by the confirmation that current Gresini Honda MotoGP rider, Marco Melandri, will replace Crutchlow in the factory Yamaha squad. The 28-year-old Italian had offers on the table from both Sterilgarda Yamaha and BMW Motorrad, and after being widely tipped to join BMW, made the shock move and signed for Yamaha.

The five time MotoGP winner says that he is fed-up making up the numbers in MotoGP and wants to be back winning races.

“I’m very happy with this new challenge, it’s a big change and I want to fight for world superbike wins,” Melandri said. “It’s nice to be back with Yamaha; I know many people there; I was very young when I rode with them before, and now I’m much more mature. As the reigning 2009 champions, Yamaha has proved to have a very competitive package and are one of the top teams in World Superbike. I realize Superbike is not easy and I know I have to work hard. I’m looking forward to feeling the adrenalin again and fighting for the championship.”

His move to Yamaha will almost certainly mean that double WSB champion James Toseland will lose his ride at the end of the year. Toseland had a torrid weekend after a crash and an eighth-place finish, and at time of writing he is without a job for 2011.
 
World Supersport rider Eugene Laverty, who claimed his seventh win of the 2010 season, remains one of the favorites for the number two ride at Yamaha, but faces stiff competition from Italian Michel Fabrizio.

The news last week that the long standing factory Ducati squad will quit at the end of the year remained big news in the paddock. But instead of feeling sorry for themselves, Noriyuki Haga rode an inspired Race 2 to take his first win since Valencia in April. His victory was clearly a relief for team boss, Ernesto Marinelli, but it will do nothing to change Ducati’s mind to stay in the series.

“I’ve always gone well at the Nurburgring and this year was the same, apart from my crash in Race 1,” Haga said. “We still don’t know why I went down because on the data my speed, line and lean angle are the same. I had no warning – the front just tucked.”

The man in form in the series is Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea, who claimed another race win and another second-place. In the last six races, Rea has finished no lower than second-place - meaning he has a mathematical chance of securing second in the championship.
 
If there was an award for the most heroic race of the day, however, that would go to title contender Leon Haslam. The Alstare Suzuki rider dislocated his thumb and suffered suspected snapped ligaments in his knee when he high-sided at the start of Race 1. In the restarted race he made the grid to finish sixth before digging deep in Race 2 to claim a third-place podium. His hard-earned results mean that he outscored series leader Max Biaggi by two points.

After setting pole and the fastest ever lap of the German circuit, Biaggi was expected to be a front runner in both races. But like a number of his peers he was unable to get the softer rear Pirelli working and struggled with chatter and a lack of feel and confidence in both races. In his usual fashion he still ground out two strong results and leads Haslam by 58 points with two rounds and 100 points still available.

Carlos Checa impressed yet again, but saw his chance of a double podium wrecked by a crash in Race 2.

“The pace this weekend has been very fast on a single lap and in the race,” Crutchlow said. “The tires have been very constant, not like Brno or Silverstone. I honestly expected this weekend to be more difficult. There were many areas of acceleration and this is the area where we were weak. The areas where we could be smooth and I control the gas without being 100% throttle were good for us. It’s a good surprise.”

With a two week break before the Imola round of the championship, contract negotiations are in full swing with BMW and Yamaha expected to announce their full line up then.