After the last race in the Netherlands, the Ducati Team has now arrived in Germany for the ninth round of this year’s MotoGP World Championship, which will also bring an end to the first half of the 2015 season. The German GP will take place this weekend at the Sachsenring circuit, near the town of Chemnitz in the former East Germany.
Sachsenring is one of the shortest and slowest tracks on the calendar, but is also one of the most difficult. Its anti-clockwise layout includes a large number of tight corners, almost all left-handers, as well as various ups and downs.
Dovizioso, who notched up his 230th consecutive GP start in all categories at Assen, scored a MotoGP podium at the German circuit in 2012 with third place, while twelve months ago Iannone produced a good race to finish fifth on the Pramac Racing GP14 bike.
The weekend timetable gets underway on Friday morning with the first Free Practice session at 9.55 CET, while the 30-lap race is scheduled for Sunday at 14.00 CET.
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 3rd (107 points)
“The Assen race went quite well and I managed to score a good fourth place. Now we’re off to Sachsenring for the next round, which is a bit of a strange track, short but really nice. Last year with the GP14 it didn’t go badly, but this year I’m convinced I can do better because I’m in the factory team and the GP15 is very competitive. I hope it will be a good weekend and as always I’ll be giving 100% for me and my team.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 5th (87 points)
“In the last couple of races maybe we have lost a bit of speed compared to our rivals. Even though my teammate did a good job at Assen, he could only cross the finish-line some way behind the leaders. The impression is that our adversaries have improved their performance and increased the gap. However every circuit has its different characteristics, and we will try and get closer at the Sachsenring. I think the German circuit is a bit short and narrow for MotoGP bikes, but the GP15 is proving to be competitive at every circuit and we must continue to work to try and get the best possible result every weekend.”
The Sachsenring Circuit
Like Assen, the Sachsenring is another circuit with a great motorsport tradition: 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 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: Pedrosa (Honda – 2011) 1’21.846 (161.4 kph)
Fastest Lap: Marquez (Honda – 2014) 1’20.937 (163.2 kph)
Top Speed: Pedrosa (Honda – 2014), 295.6 kph
Track length: 3.7 km
Race Distance: 30 laps (110.1 km)
Corners: 13 (10 left, 3 right)
Race Start: 14.00 CET
2014 Results
Podium: 1st Marquez (Honda), 2nd Pedrosa (Honda), 3rd Lorenzo (Yamaha)
Pole Position: Marquez (Honda) 1’20.9 (163.2 kph)
Fastest Lap: Marquez (Honda), 1’22.0 (161.0 kph)
Andrea Dovizioso
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP15
Race Number: 04
Age: 29 (born on March 23rd 1986 in Forlimpopoli, Italy)
Residence: Forlì (Italy)
Races: 230 (132 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 GP15
Race Number: 29
Age: 25 (born on August 9th 1989 in Vasto, Italy)
Residence: Vasto (Italy)
Races: 168 (41 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)
