A little over a month and a half ago, defending MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner finished out of the points at Le Mans in 16th place, breaking a string of 22-consecutive point scoring finishes. Worse yet, his chances of defending the world championship title looked dismal at best. Since that point though, the Marlboro Ducati ace has done a complete 180, taking second at Mugello, third in Catalunya, and then winning at both Donington and Assen. Stoner has rocketed up the World Championship standings to third place and once again is a force to be reckoned with.
"We feel quite confident for Sachsenring, where we were already competitive last year and it was only an issue with tire life that prevented us from fighting for victory. I'm sure this problem won't happen again this year because Bridgestone has not stopped working and they continually bring us great new material. The bike has been perfect for the last two races and I expect it to go well at Sachsenring too," Stoner said.
Sachsenring hasn't been one of Stoner's stronger circuits. The young Australian has only one podium finish to his credit there, a second-place spot in 2003's 250cc race, while tire problems prevented him from being competitive last year after he looked strong during practice.
One of the men that Stoner is chasing in the standings happens to be one of the favorites to win this weekend. Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa stands atop the World Championship leaderboard with 171 points and was a runaway winner on the German circuit last season.
"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 tires. You use quite a static riding style here, riding more gently and making fewer movements than usual on the bike," Pedrosa said.
Dani P is still opting to run with the standard spring-valve RC212V engine, probably because he's had great results with it, earning a spot on the podium in all but one race this season. Meanwhile, his Repsol teammate, Nicky Hayden, has opted to run with the pneumatic valve engine and was in position to claim his first MotoGP podium of the season in Assen until his new powerplant failed him with an electrical problem in the last turn of the race.
Pedrosa is going to have to be on top of his game in Germany because five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi is only four points behind the Spanish rider. Rossi experienced an uncharacteristic Lap 1 crash at Assen and crashed out of the last year's German GP. But don't expect history to repeat itself. Rossi was also involved in one of the most thrilling MotoGP races ever at Sachsenring in 2006 when he stormed the field from his 11th-place starting position to win the race in a photo finish. It was the closest four-rider grouping ever as the top four crossed the line within 0.307 seconds of one another. Rossi has posted three victories at Sachsenring during his career and is poised to break Max Biaggi's record of 201 consecutive Grand Prix appearances this weekend.
Rossi's Fiat Yamaha teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, sits fourth in the Championship standings thanks to an incredible start to his rookie season, but has been looking to retain the championship-winning form he exhibited early on as of late. Lorenzo has been victim to spectacular crashes recently, the worst being at the Chinese GP, where he broke both ankles and lost some of the swagger that he had been riding with. He's been able to post consistent sixth-place finishes in the last two races and is finally healing from his injuries which should make him even more competitive.
"Even though it's been a hard time for me through the last two months I think that the crashes have made me stronger mentally; when you win it's easy but when things are going badly, this is when you learn more about yourself and this is very important to make you a better competitor," Lorenzo said.
The top satellite rider this season has been Yamaha Tech 3's Colin Edwards. Not bad for a guy who was on the outside looking in near the end of last season. Edwards has proven this season that he still has what it takes to 'get 'ir done' in the premier racing league. He was able to steal a podium position from Hayden in Assen when Nicky's bike zapped out, but he still had to be in a position to capitalize on the mishap when the opportunity presented itself.
The other privateer that's looked quite impressive this season is JiR Scot Honda's Andrea Dovizioso. He hasn't looked like a rookie rider, however, which speaks volume about his and his team's performance so far. Dovi can't quite keep pace with the leaders yet, but is constantly battling Edwards, Hayden, and Chris Vermeulen for the lead of the second tier of riders. Dovizioso has backed his fourth-place finish in Catalunya with two fifth-place efforts in Great Britain and the Netherlands and with a little good fortune could easily earn a spot on the German podium.
Vermeulen has been carrying the torch for his Rizla Suzuki team recently. Chris V had to go it alone for Suzuki in Assen as teammate Loris Capirossi was still on the mend from an arm injury suffered at Catalunya. American Superbike star Ben Spies subbed for Capirossi at Donington but was back in the States testing the GSV-R out on the new Indianapolis circuit last week. Capi-T says he will be back and ready to go this weekend. Vermeulen, meanwhile, sits ninth in the Championship Point standings, just ahead of San Carlo Gresini Honda's Shinya Nakano.
The Kawasaki Racing team, in a similar dilemma to Rizla last week, will field only one rider for the German GP. Rider John Hopkins suffered multiple fractures to his left leg after a high-speed crash during qualifying at Assen and will miss the next two races. Luckily, there is a month-long summer break for the MotoGP paddock after the USGP, which hopefully will allow the American rider enough time to heal properly in time for Brno on August 17. In the meantime, Kawasaki's Anthony West will go about it solo for the team. West finished a respectable eighth at Sachsenring last year and has had success on the course racing in the lower GP classes.
The Alice Ducati Team of Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli head to Germany hoping to build on Guintoli's top-10 Assen finish. The Alice Team has had a rough go of it in recent years on the technically-demanding course, but Guintoli has shown progress in the last two races and hopes to build on his recent positive results.
Sachsenring Record Lap
D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2007, 1'23.082
Sachsenring Best Lap
D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2006, 1'21.815
Sachsenring 2007 Race Results:
1. D.Pedrosa (Honda) 41'53.19
2. L.Capirossi (Ducati) +13.166
3. N.Hayden (Honda) +16.708
"We feel quite confident for Sachsenring, where we were already competitive last year and it was only an issue with tire life that prevented us from fighting for victory. I'm sure this problem won't happen again this year because Bridgestone has not stopped working and they continually bring us great new material. The bike has been perfect for the last two races and I expect it to go well at Sachsenring too," Stoner said.
Sachsenring hasn't been one of Stoner's stronger circuits. The young Australian has only one podium finish to his credit there, a second-place spot in 2003's 250cc race, while tire problems prevented him from being competitive last year after he looked strong during practice.
One of the men that Stoner is chasing in the standings happens to be one of the favorites to win this weekend. Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa stands atop the World Championship leaderboard with 171 points and was a runaway winner on the German circuit last season.
"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 tires. You use quite a static riding style here, riding more gently and making fewer movements than usual on the bike," Pedrosa said.
Dani P is still opting to run with the standard spring-valve RC212V engine, probably because he's had great results with it, earning a spot on the podium in all but one race this season. Meanwhile, his Repsol teammate, Nicky Hayden, has opted to run with the pneumatic valve engine and was in position to claim his first MotoGP podium of the season in Assen until his new powerplant failed him with an electrical problem in the last turn of the race.
Pedrosa is going to have to be on top of his game in Germany because five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi is only four points behind the Spanish rider. Rossi experienced an uncharacteristic Lap 1 crash at Assen and crashed out of the last year's German GP. But don't expect history to repeat itself. Rossi was also involved in one of the most thrilling MotoGP races ever at Sachsenring in 2006 when he stormed the field from his 11th-place starting position to win the race in a photo finish. It was the closest four-rider grouping ever as the top four crossed the line within 0.307 seconds of one another. Rossi has posted three victories at Sachsenring during his career and is poised to break Max Biaggi's record of 201 consecutive Grand Prix appearances this weekend.
Rossi's Fiat Yamaha teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, sits fourth in the Championship standings thanks to an incredible start to his rookie season, but has been looking to retain the championship-winning form he exhibited early on as of late. Lorenzo has been victim to spectacular crashes recently, the worst being at the Chinese GP, where he broke both ankles and lost some of the swagger that he had been riding with. He's been able to post consistent sixth-place finishes in the last two races and is finally healing from his injuries which should make him even more competitive.
"Even though it's been a hard time for me through the last two months I think that the crashes have made me stronger mentally; when you win it's easy but when things are going badly, this is when you learn more about yourself and this is very important to make you a better competitor," Lorenzo said.
The top satellite rider this season has been Yamaha Tech 3's Colin Edwards. Not bad for a guy who was on the outside looking in near the end of last season. Edwards has proven this season that he still has what it takes to 'get 'ir done' in the premier racing league. He was able to steal a podium position from Hayden in Assen when Nicky's bike zapped out, but he still had to be in a position to capitalize on the mishap when the opportunity presented itself.
The other privateer that's looked quite impressive this season is JiR Scot Honda's Andrea Dovizioso. He hasn't looked like a rookie rider, however, which speaks volume about his and his team's performance so far. Dovi can't quite keep pace with the leaders yet, but is constantly battling Edwards, Hayden, and Chris Vermeulen for the lead of the second tier of riders. Dovizioso has backed his fourth-place finish in Catalunya with two fifth-place efforts in Great Britain and the Netherlands and with a little good fortune could easily earn a spot on the German podium.
Vermeulen has been carrying the torch for his Rizla Suzuki team recently. Chris V had to go it alone for Suzuki in Assen as teammate Loris Capirossi was still on the mend from an arm injury suffered at Catalunya. American Superbike star Ben Spies subbed for Capirossi at Donington but was back in the States testing the GSV-R out on the new Indianapolis circuit last week. Capi-T says he will be back and ready to go this weekend. Vermeulen, meanwhile, sits ninth in the Championship Point standings, just ahead of San Carlo Gresini Honda's Shinya Nakano.
The Kawasaki Racing team, in a similar dilemma to Rizla last week, will field only one rider for the German GP. Rider John Hopkins suffered multiple fractures to his left leg after a high-speed crash during qualifying at Assen and will miss the next two races. Luckily, there is a month-long summer break for the MotoGP paddock after the USGP, which hopefully will allow the American rider enough time to heal properly in time for Brno on August 17. In the meantime, Kawasaki's Anthony West will go about it solo for the team. West finished a respectable eighth at Sachsenring last year and has had success on the course racing in the lower GP classes.
The Alice Ducati Team of Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli head to Germany hoping to build on Guintoli's top-10 Assen finish. The Alice Team has had a rough go of it in recent years on the technically-demanding course, but Guintoli has shown progress in the last two races and hopes to build on his recent positive results.
Sachsenring Record Lap
D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2007, 1'23.082
Sachsenring Best Lap
D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2006, 1'21.815
Sachsenring 2007 Race Results:
1. D.Pedrosa (Honda) 41'53.19
2. L.Capirossi (Ducati) +13.166
3. N.Hayden (Honda) +16.708
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