After a rainy weekend in the Netherlands two weeks ago, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP looks ahead to a new race weekend full of action in Germany for the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland at the Sachsenring circuit. The TT in Assen saw Valentino Rossi ride from the back of the field to an impressive fifth place while Jorge Lorenzo faced a tough challenge in uncertain conditions. Both riders are looking forward to a more orderly race this weekend during the German GP.
Though Rossi finds Sachsenring challenging he has won four MotoGP races at the circuit and has stood on the German rostrum ten times over his whole career. This year the Italian aims to finish on the podium for a second consecutive year, and create a gap between him and the man in third place, Dani Pedrosa. Both Rossi and Pedrosa are currently tied on 128 championship points.
Teammate Lorenzo missed the GP of Germany last year due to emergency surgery after a fall during FP2. This year the Spaniard hopes to change his fortunes as he shows the German public his Spartan spirit. Prior to 2013’s missed race Lorenzo has four consecutive second place finishes at Sachsenring but has yet to grace the top step of the podium.
Sachsenring has a long history of hosting motorsport events. The first race was held at this track in 1927, but due to safety issues it was decided that the circuit needed to be rebuilt in 1996. It wasn’t until 1998 that the Sachsenring track hosted its first MotoGP event, but even within these last 16 years the circuit has seen many improvements take place, including a drastic layout enhancement in 2001. The numerous tight corners and the 12m width of the tarmac make this circuit one of the slower tracks on the calendar where it’s hard to overtake, but there is still plenty of close racing action that keeps the fan coming back for more.
Valentino Rossi
“I am very happy to go to Sachsenring after the contract renewal with Yamaha for another 2 years. I’ve been saying that we are very close to signing for many races and finally we did it! For me it is really important, I am very happy! At Assen we did a good race but at the Sachsenring we’ll try to do better. I like the track; it’s very difficult, very tricky and very small. In the last few years it was not so bad, especially with the Yamaha. It’s strange and something different, but it’s always good to ride MotoGP there. In Germany we can also have issues with the weather. It is always difficult, so we hope for good weather so we can make a good result.”
Valentino Rossi
Jorge Lorenzo
“After a disappointing race at Assen where we expected much more I’m right now focused on the next race. Sachsenring is not one of my favorite circuits, especially after last year when I crashed again and I had a problem with the plate fixing my collarbone. After that crash I had to suffer another surgery and that issue changed it all. Despite this season where I don’t feel so lucky for so many different things, I’m looking forward to racing there and trying to revert the situation. The bike is working well and I can feel the support of all the team. I’m pretty optimistic as usual and I will never give up!”
Massimo Meregalli – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director
“After a very unpredictable weekend in Assen we are all looking forward to getting to Germany and the Sachsenring circuit. Whilst the weather made Assen a very complicated race weekend, we were still able to show that we have a very competitive package in both wet and dry conditions. We do hope that this coming weekend we can finally experience one or the other to give us an opportunity to maximise this and get the results we know we are capable of.”
Monster Yamaha Tech3 ready for midseason battle
Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith both anticipate a fierce battle to the finish line, yet remain confident of being able to obtain strong results aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1.
After the eventful weekend in Assen Pol Espargaro will aim to further his positive drive forward and continue to close the gap to the factory MotoGP bikes, plus adding another top five finish to his impressive performances in his rookie season. On the other hand, British rider Bradley Smith will be seeking to build upon his best points scoring finish of 5thin Texas this year and continue his positive momentum from the Catalunya test to clinch honours as the leading satellite rider at round 9 of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship.
Pol Espargaro
“Last race was my first experience in the wet aboard a MotoGP bike and despite the end result not being a true reflection of my potential on the bike, I still felt the best I have so far this year on the Yamaha which included topping the opening practice session. I feel really optimistic of a strong result this weekend, whatever the weather decides to do and last year I obtained a 3rd place podium finish on my way to the World Championship title in Moto2. With the track being very tight and with not much of a straight, there’s no rest therefore we are on it for the entire race, so for sure it will be a challenging one. I feel strong aboard the bike at the moment and I am convinced that I can at least challenge for, if not clinch, the position of the leading satellite bike in Germany.”
Bradley Smith
“After the conditions caused a bit of a strange race at Assen, I was still able to put together a really strong race pace when the track dried out which is really positive. At Sachsenring I hope to emulate this and scoop a top result. My joint best position of 6th was achieved here last year and with the nature of the circuit suiting the Yamaha I’m confident we can do even better this week. The tyres will be vital at this track as there are 10 left corners but only 3 right, plus it could rain, yet I remain certain of my ability aboard the Yamaha and I know we can do well this race for round 9 of the championship. I am primed and ready to gun for a top five this weekend, I look forward to putting on a great show plus riding the waterfall again!”
The NGM Forward Racing Team ready for the German GP
NGM Forward Racing Team’s Aleix Espargaro and Colin Edwards head to Germany with huge motivation. The Spaniard aims at repeating the strong performance he made in Holland, where he scored the pole position and fought hard with Dani Pedrosa for the podium. Teammate Colin Edwards looks forward to Germany, where he is determined to make some big changes and get some feeling with his Forward Yamaha.
Aleix Espargaro
“I am very happy for the Holland race. Now it’s important to keep the momentum and ride my best to keep fighting with the front guys. At Assen we fought hard for the podium and finally finished 4th. We will try this week to repeat another strong performance at Sachsenring. It’s one of the slowest circuit on the MotoGP calendar and the layout with its tight corners should suits our machine, so I’m very confident for the race.”
Aleix Espargaro
Colin Edwards
“After Assen, I look forward to racing at Sachsenring. We need to get on the bike and figure something out, make some big changes in one direction or the other and get some feeling. I have a few memories at Sachsenring, of course 2003, when my machine went on fire.”
2014 MotoGP Germany
Sachsenring 09/07/2014
Circuit Length:
3671
Lap Record:
1’21.846
(Daniel Pedrosa, 1-1-2011)
Fastest Lap Ever:
1’21.067
(Casey Stoner, 13-7-2008)
Last Years Winner:
Marc Marquez
