Following Assen, the Ducati Team stays in the northern part of Europe for the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship in Germany, which marks the half-way point of the 2016 season. The race is scheduled for this weekend at the Sachsenring circuit, close to the town of Chemnitz in what was the former East Germany.
The Sachsenring is one of the shortest and slowest tracks on the calendar, but is actually one of the most difficult. Its anti-clockwise layout includes numerous unique corners, almost all left-handers, as well as various ups and downs.
Dovizioso, who notched up his 150th GP in the premier class at Assen, scored a third-place podium finish in MotoGP in 2012, but last year was unable to finish the race following a crash. In 2015 Iannone, who was fifth at the end of the opening lap, maintained that position until the chequered flag.
The weekend timetable gets underway on Friday morning with the first Free Practice session at 09.55 CET, while the 30-lap race is scheduled for Sunday at 14.00 CET.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 8° (52 points)
“The Sachsenring circuit hasn’t been particularly kind to us over the last few years, but hopefully we will improve this year because the bike is much better. In the past we also had a bit of difficulty on the Assen track, but this year we were competitive all through the weekend, so I’m sure we can do a good race in Germany.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 11° (43 points)
“I think the layout of the Sachsenring track is not ideal for the characteristics of our Desmosedici GP bike, because it has a lot of long left-hander corners where you have to keep the throttle partially open and our bike is not yet perfect in these conditions. In any case you never know until first practice because it might be better with the different tyre this year. It could be like Assen in the dry, where we were very competitive.”
The Sachsenring Circuit
The Sachsenring is a circuit with a great motorsport tradition, because racing on roads near the town of Chemnitz began in 1920 and continued there until 1990. In 1996 it was decided to build the new Sachsenring circuit about ten km away from the German town, and its first German GP took place there in 1998. Since then the circuit has undergone a series of improvements, including a radical change in the track layout in 2001. Its numerous tight curves make it one of the slowest circuits on the calendar, but these characteristics ensure that races at the Sachsenring are always exciting and hard-fought.
Circuit Record: Marquez (Honda), 1’20.336 (164.5 km/h) – 2015
Fastest Lap: Marquez (Honda), 1’21.530 (162.0 km/h) – 2015
Best Pole: Marquez (Honda), 1’20.336 (164.5 km/h) – 2015
Top Speed: Dovizioso (Ducati), 298.2 km/h – 2015
Circuit Length: 3.7 km
Race Distance: 30 laps (110.1 km)
Curves: 13 (10 left, 3 right)
Race Start: 14.00 CET
2015 Results
Podium: 1. Marquez (Honda), 2. Pedrosa (Honda), 3. Rossi (Yamaha)
Pole Position: Marquez (Honda), 1’20.336 (164.5 km/h)
Fastest Lap: Marquez (Honda), 1’21.530 (162.0 km/h)
Andrea Dovizioso
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP
Race Number: 04
Age: 30 (born on March 23rd 1986 in Forlimpopoli, Italy)
Residence: Forlì (Italy)
Races: 248 (150 x MotoGP, 49 x 250cc, 49 x 125cc)
First GP: 2001 Italian GP (125cc)
Wins: 10 (1 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
First Win: 2004 South African GP (125cc)
Pole Positions: 16 (3 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 9 x 125cc)
First Pole: 2003 French GP (125cc)
Titles: 1 (1 x 125cc)
Andrea Iannone
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP
Race Number: 29
Age: 26 (born on August 9th 1989 in Vasto, Italy)
Residence: Vasto (Italy)
Races: 186 (59 x MotoGP, 51 x Moto2, 76 x 125cc)
First GP: 2005 Spanish GP (125cc)
Wins: 12 (8 x Moto2, 4 x 125cc)
First Win: 2008 GP of China (125cc)
Pole Positions: 9 (1 x MotoGP, 5 x Moto2, 3 x 125cc)
First Pole: 2008 GP of Malaysia (125cc)
