MotoGP: German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring *SPOILERS*

[Mothers Worry]

Vermeulen eyeing podium repeat 

From autosport.com:

Vermeulen eyeing podium repeat 

Tuesday, July 14th 2009, 09:06 GMT

Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen is optimistic he will be able to repeat last year's podium finish at this weekend's German Grand Prix.

Although the Australian endured a disappointing race at Laguna Seca, where he finished down in eighth position, he is confident that his bike is competitive enough to return to the top positions at Sachsenring.

Vermeulen finished in third position at the German track last year, and he sees no reason why he can't repeat the result this season.

"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," said Vermeulen. "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 tyres to match the bike - then I see no reason why we can't be competitive from the first day."

Team-mate Loris Capirossi is also aiming to bounce back after a series of disappointing results.

"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," he said. "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 tyres, 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 tyre 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!"

[Mothers Worry]

Stoner tops drying practice session

From autosport.com:

Stoner tops drying practice session

Friday, July 17th 2009, 13:01 GMT

Casey Stoner emerged fastest in a damp but drying free practice session for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring.

A downpour during the preceding 125cc session ceased before the MotoGP bikes took to the track, but it would still be half an hour before anyone was able to use slick tyres.

Inevitably with the conditions improving by the minute, the times tumbled and the top spot changed hands incessantly.

Stoner claimed first place with a 1m22.779s lap near the end, while Honda's Dani Pedrosa followed up his Laguna Seca victory by taking second place, 0.3 seconds down on the Ducati, with his final lap.

Championship leader Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) completed the top three, followed by LCR Honda's Randy de Puniet and Gresini Honda's Alex de Angelis.

Ducati's Nicky Hayden fell to eighth by the end, but had regularly held the top spot during the change from damp to dry conditions.

Marco Melandri had also been extremely quick on the slippery track with his Hayate Kawasaki, before ending the afternoon in 10th.

The only rider to come to grief on the treacherous track was Suzuki's Chris Vermeulen, who had a high-side when he hit one of the remaining damp patches in the closing stages. He landed heavily in the middle of the track, but was avoided by the other competitors and was able to limp away from the scene.

Pos  Rider             Bike             Time       Gap
1.  Casey Stoner      Ducati           1m22.779s
 2.  Dani Pedrosa      Honda            1m23.034s  + 0.255s
 3.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha           1m23.088s  + 0.309s
 4.  Randy de Puniet   LCR Honda        1m23.133s  + 0.354s
 5.  Alex de Angelis   Gresini Honda    1m23.282s  + 0.503s
 6.  Colin Edwards     Tech 3 Yamaha    1m23.295s  + 0.516s
 7.  Toni Elias        Gresini Honda    1m23.351s  + 0.572s
 8.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati           1m23.367s  + 0.588s
 9.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda            1m23.370s  + 0.591s
10.  Marco Melandri    Hayate Kawasaki  1m23.466s  + 0.687s
11.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha           1m23.496s  + 0.717s
12.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki           1m23.705s  + 0.926s
13.  Mika Kallio       Pramac Ducati    1m24.090s  + 1.311s
14.  James Toseland    Tech 3 Yamaha    1m24.317s  + 1.538s
15.  Niccolo Canepa    Pramac Ducati    1m24.908s  + 2.129s
16.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki           1m25.161s  + 2.382s
17.  Gabor Talmacsi    Scot Honda       1m25.416s  + 2.637s

[Everso Biggyballies]

Hmmmm maybe Hayden has done himself some good at Laguna, as he seems to have bridged the gap on Stoner somewhat.....having led for most of the session and only lost the time in the last minutes as the track dried out. 

Hopefully Stoner, now he knows his health problems, is on the mend.  Seems crazy that with all their nutritionalists and specialist advice he can come down with Anaemia, which as I understand it is a dietary led condition.(lack of iron?)

[Mothers Worry]

Rossi grabs pole from Lorenzo in wet 

From autosport.com:

Rossi grabs pole from Lorenzo in wet 

Saturday, July 18th 2009, 12:59 GMT

Valentino Rossi snatched pole position from Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo with an incredible final lap in the rain at the Sachsenring.

Just when proceedings looked settled in the young Spaniard's favour, and with the one hour session time already expired, the championship leader pulled together the perfect lap of 1m32.520s to beat Lorenzo's time by a massive 0.640 seconds.

Casey Stoner completes the front row, despite his Ducati being over 1.2s slower than the leading Yamaha. The Australian will start just in front of team-mate Nicky Hayden, who seems to have come to grips with his machinery in these last couple of weeks.

The Kentucky man, however, was at the centre of a scary accident with eight minutes remaining. While overtaking Niccolo Canepa on a left-hander, he lost control of his bike and suffered a high-side that flung his body onto the Italian's back.

Both riders crashed in the gravel on the outside of Turn 7, with Pramac Ducati's Canepa needing the help of a stretcher to leave the scene.

That same turn saw many other riders crashing viciously during the session: first it was Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), then it was Canepa on his own, followed by Marco Melandri (Hayate Kawasaki), and Gresini Honda team-mates Toni Elias and Alex de Angelis within five minutes of each other.

After the Hayden-Canepa crash, Dani Pedrosa also went off at the same spot, but managed to stay on his Honda, while Loris Capirossi crashed his Suzuki when time ran out.

De Angelis and de Puniet will round up the second row of the grid alongside Hayden, followed by Colin Edwards's Tech 3 Yamaha and Pedrosa. Capirossi will start the race from the ninth spot, ahead of Mika Kallio (Pramac Ducati) in tenth.

Pos  Rider             Bike             Time       Gap
 1.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha           1m32.520s
 2.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha           1m33.160s  + 0.640s
3.  Casey Stoner      Ducati           1m33.759s  + 1.239s
 4.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati           1m34.404s  + 1.884s
 5.  Alex de Angelis   Gresini Honda    1m34.490s  + 1.970s
 6.  Randy de Puniet   LCR Honda        1m34.564s  + 2.044s
 7.  Colin Edwards     Tech 3 Yamaha    1m34.607s  + 2.087s
 8.  Dani Pedrosa      Honda            1m34.725s  + 2.205s
 9.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki           1m34.741s  + 2.221s
10.  Mika Kallio       Pramac Ducati    1m34.771s  + 2.251s
11.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda            1m34.892s  + 2.372s
12.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki           1m34.937s  + 2.417s
13.  Marco Melandri    Hayate Kawasaki  1m34.938s  + 2.418s
14.  James Toseland    Tech 3 Yamaha    1m35.005s  + 2.485s
15.  Niccolo Canepa    Pramac Ducati    1m36.012s  + 3.492s
16.  Gabor Talmacsi    Scot Honda       1m36.055s  + 3.535s
17.  Toni Elias        Gresini Honda    1m36.531s  + 4.011s

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stoner: Pole not worth the risk

From autosport.com:

Stoner: Pole not worth the risk

Saturday, July 18th 2009, 13:30 GMT

Casey Stoner said he preferred to settle for third on the Sachsenring grid rather than risking everything to get involved in the Yamaha duo's battle for pole on the sodden track.

The Australian, who has struggled with illness for several weeks, sat out the final minutes of the session and was still able to hold on to a front row spot.

"We didn't have enough time to change any more settings on the bike and it really started to get too dangerous out there," said Stoner.

"I lost the front a couple of times coming down the hill, not really where everybody else was going down. And I just thought, it's not really worth the risk for a qualifying lap.

"The race is tomorrow, we can make some changes and see if we can improve the setting. The bike felt reasonably good, we can definitely improve it and I could have gone quite a bit faster at one point in the session, maybe even at the end, but it would've been too much of a risk for me.

"It was better to start the race in one piece, not injured, and as you saw a lot of riders went down, it was very difficult conditions."

Stoner admitted that Ducati still had a lot of work to do to get on Yamaha's pace in Germany, especially in the wet.

"If it's like this tomorrow then for sure we need to improve the bike a little bit, because Valentino [Rossi] and Jorge [Lorenzo] look like they're a train on the tracks," he told Italia1.

"They're not moving, they're not making any mistakes and the bike looks perfect. So it's very, very difficult to beat them at the moment, but we'll see what we're capable of tomorrow."

[Mothers Worry]

Capirossi wants track drainage improved 

From autosport.com:

Capirossi wants track drainage improved 

Saturday, July 18th 2009, 15:02 GMT

Loris Capirossi, one of the leaders of MotoGP's Safety Commission, will meet Race Direction in an effort to solve drainage problems at the Sachsenring.

Today's qualifying, held in soaking conditions, saw seven different crashes at Turn 7, including one by Capirossi himself.

"The problem is the drainage is fairly good but not perfect," the Suzuki rider told Italia1 television. "There are water puddles in many spots, and the problem is that these bike go aquaplaning.

"We are very quick in the rain, we lean heavily in turns, but if you find some water you aquaplane and lose grip all of a sudden. So you find yourself on the ground and there's nothing you can do."

"Certainly we'll pop over to them to see what can be done for tomorrow," the Italian replied when asked if he'll pay a visit to race direction. "If there's a solution, even a temporary one, we'll try to implement it."

Capirossi, who ultimately qualified ninth, explained his own accident, which happened in the dying seconds and was missed by television footage.

"We had worked well overall on the set-up. In the end, when I did my best lap, I found Marco (Melandri) on my path and lost a lot in T4. So on the following lap I decided to push again, but in Turn 7, a quick downhill, right when I eased a bit off the gas, it threw me into an high-side up in the sky. It was a rather nice flight."

Asked about his set-up for the race, Capirossi replied: "It's fairly good. This morning in the dry I wasn't extremely quick but I was quite close to my rivals. In the wet I must say I was going quite well.

"Shame that I crashed otherwise I could have done even better, but it's OK anyway."

[Mothers Worry]

Rossi beats Lorenzo in German thriller 

From autosport.com:

Rossi beats Lorenzo in German thriller 

Sunday, July 19th 2009, 12:45 GMT

Valentino Rossi just managed to stay ahead of Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and win the German MotoGP in a thrilling late battle at the Sachsenring.

The pair were separated by less than one tenth at the finish, while rivals Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner, who also were in with a chance to win for most of the race ended up around three and ten seconds behind respectively.

Rossi made a fine start from pole to keep the lead at the first corner, followed by Pedrosa's Honda, which made another super start from eighth on the grid, and Randy de Puniet, who crashed his LCR Honda a few corners later.

The Gresini Honda of Alex de Angelis was right behind, ahead of Lorenzo and a quick-starting Andrea Dovizioso, who qualified his Honda 11th. But after a brief stint in fourth place, the latter's performance went down with tyre wear problems that led to his retirement on lap 25.

Stoner took the lead from Rossi on lap seven, two laps after having overtaken Pedrosa for second, but he was not able to open up a gap on the reigning champion and was passed back by the Italian ten laps later, with Lorenzo also overtaking Stoner on lap 18.

With five laps of the 30-lap race left, the first corner saw Lorenzo taking the lead from Rossi and Pedrosa passing Stoner for third, after which the Australian gave up and was not a factor for the win anymore, while Pedrosa managed to keep the gap around one second for a while longer.

Rossi managed to out-brake Lorenzo at the beginning of the penultimate lap, and despite a few attempts by the Spaniard to take the lead back, there was nothing he could with Rossi defending the line on the last lap.

De Angelis had a solitary run to fifth, followed by team-mate Toni Elias a long way back after a charge from the back of the grid. Marco Melandri had a fine seventh place with his Hayate Kawasaki, with Ducati's Nicky Hayden classified eighth after being forced wide at the first corner and Tech 3 Yamaha team-mates Colin Edwards and James Toseland rounding up the top ten.

Pos  Rider             Bike              Time/Gap
 1.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha          41m21.769s
 2.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha          +   0.099s
 3.  Dani Pedrosa      Honda           +   2.899s
4.  Casey Stoner      Ducati          +  10.226s
 5.  Alex de Angelis   Gresini Honda   +  21.522s
 6.  Toni Elias        Gresini Honda   +  30.852s
 7.  Marco Melandri    Hayate Kawasaki +  31.301s
 8.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati          +  31.726s
 9.  Colin Edwards     Tech 3 Yamaha   +  32.865s
10.  James Toseland    Tech 3 Yamaha   +  43.926s
11.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki          +  57.375s
12.  Niccolo Canepa    Pramac Ducati   +1m00.539s
13.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki          +1m03.645s
14.  Mika Kallio       Pramac Ducati   +1m04.155s
15.  Gabor Talmacsi    Scot Honda      +    1 lap

Retirements:

     Andrea Dovizioso  Honda           25 laps
     Randy de Puniet   LCR Honda       0 laps

[auto]

Quite an enjoyable race

[Everso Biggyballies]

Another good last lap.  Rossi and Lorenzo are in a league of their own at the moment.

[sbrfan49]

Another good last lap.  Rossi and Lorenzo are in a league of their own at the moment.

I think it's Yamaha that are in a league of their own at the moment more than anything else.