FIM MotoGP World Championship Sachsenring, Germany July 6, 2012 Free Practice Two Results (wet conditions, all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:32.228 2. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), 1:32.304 3. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:32.327 4. Casey STONER, Australia (HONDA), 1:32.408 5. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:32.532 6. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (DUCATI), 1:32.657 7. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (YAMAHA), 1:32.744 8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:32.817 9. Ben SPIES, USA (YAMAHA), 1:33.107 10. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:33.147 11. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), 1:33.227 12. James ELLISON, UK (Aprilia-PBM/ART), 1:34.894 13. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (Aprilia-ART), 1:34.910 14. Mattia PASINI, Italy (Aprilia-Speed Master/ART), 1:34.946 15. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), 1:35.204 16. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Aprilia-ART), 1:35.311 17. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (Aprilia-IODA), 1:35.355 18. Michele PIRRO, Italy (Honda-FTR), 1:35.461 19. Franco BATTAINI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:36.019 20. Ivan SILVA, Spain (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), 1:36.800 21. Colin EDWARDS, USA (BMW-SUTER), 1:43.245 More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Dovizioso and Crutchlow battle the elements in Germany Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow conquered contrasting weather conditions at Germany’s Sachsenring track today to make a positive start to round eight of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship. This morning’s opening practice session took place in warm and sunny conditions and Dovizioso and Crutchlow were immediately able to set a competitive pace to finish in fourth and fifth respectively. Italian Dovizioso, who is in a rich vein of form with two podium finishes in the previous three races, was only 0.275s away from the top three after quickly finding a fast rhythm on the tight and twisty Sachsenring track. British rider Crutchlow also enjoyed a productive start to the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland weekend and he was only 0.159s behind Dovizioso’s pace in fifth position. Both were hoping to work on improving the set-up of their YZR-M1 machines this afternoon but heavy rainfall saturated the Sachsenring track just minutes before the second practice session got underway. With a strong wind gusting around the circuit too, conditions were far from ideal but Crutchlow and Dovizioso demonstrated their high potential on Bridgestone’s rain tyres. Crutchlow, who has been in outstanding form in 2012 with f ive top five finishes, set the seventh fastest time and his lap of 1.32.744 was only 0.516s behind Dani Pedrosa. Dovizioso was only one position further back and just 0.073s behind Crutchlow and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders are optimistic that they will have the pace to fight for the podium in wet or dry conditions in Sunday’s 30-lap encounter. Andrea Dovizioso 4th 1.22.922 44 laps: “I am really satisfied with today because I am not so far away in both dry and wet conditions and the lap times are very close in both sessions. Immediately this morning in the dry I had a very good feeling with the YZR-M1 and we concentrated mainly on the race set-up. In the past here I have been very fast in practice but then had a lot of problems in the race, s o we have worked a lot on conserving tyre life. This track is very short and you spend a lot of time carrying a lot of lean angle, so it is easy to wear the tyre too quickly. I have been working on carrying a little less lean angle to help save the tyres for the end of the race. I am happy with my pace in the wet also because at the start of the session when the track was at its wettest, I followed Pedrosa and I could comfortably stay with him and he was the fastest in all conditions today. It has been a good start but we need to see what will happen with the weather.” Cal Crutchlow 5th 1.23.081 42 laps: “It was a decent start to the weekend and I am not too far away from the best pace in both dry and wet conditions. But I need to make some improvements in the first sector because that is where I am losing a lot o f time. It is mainly in the first two corners where I’m struggling and we don’t fully understand why, so tonight I’ll sit down with my crew and analyse the data so we can work on being faster in that part of the track tomorrow. But I am still very happy today because last year this was one of my worst races. I was only 14th and a lot slower than the best pace, but I was close to the front in both sessions and that’s a positive way to kick off the weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha MotoGP Team: Lorenzo Quick to Find Form in Sachsenring Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo was quick to find his form today in the first day of practice for the Grand Prix of Germany at the Sachsenring circuit. Despite needing crutches to walk following last weekend’s crash in Assen, the Mallorcan was quickly onto the pace. Lorenzo wrapped up the dry morning session less than three tenths from first and the afternoon wet session less than one tenth from the front. Following a difficult weekend in Assen as a consequence of tyre issues Ben Spies spent the first free session here in Germany trying different set ups on his YZR-M1 but was unable to find answers. The team then reverted back to the tried and tested set up and made improvements in making him comfortable in the afternoon’s wet session. The Texan ended the second practice in ninth, 0.879 seconds from first. Jorge Lorenzo Position : 3rd Time: 1’22.647 Laps: 28 “I have more pain walking than on the bike which is good and adrenaline helps with it too. I’m not 100% and I get more tired in the upper body compensating but I think we still did a good job this morning and this afternoon. The injury, the loss of points and the loss of the engine makes it more difficult for the Championship but this just gives me more motivation to keep working and come back stronger to win.” Ben Spies Position : 10th Time: 1’23.353 Laps: 40 “This morning was a bit frustrating, we went out to try a couple of things that didn’t work, the bike wasn’t that bad we just made it a bit too slow. We ended up with a decent setting this afternoon when it was wet. I’m not too upset because when it’s rained here the last couple of years I’ve been horrible but this year although we were ninth we weren’t that far from the front. My feeling with the bike is good if it’s a wet race so we’ll wait and see if we get a dry session tomorrow.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “A good first practice day here at the Sachsenring after last weekend’s accident in Assen. We were two tenths off the fastest guy in the dry practice this morning and less than one tenth off the fastest guy in the wet this afternoon. The bike feels good and is steering well so we’ll see what we can improve for tomorrow.” Massimo Meregalli Team Director “A difficult start to the weekend for Ben, we tried some different set ups this morning to learn something more about the issue we had in Assen but unfortunately the changes didn’t give the right feeling on the bike. We went back to the old set up this afternoon but then it started raining. We had a few laps on the wet and his feeling was pretty ok so we’ll see tomorrow morning whether it’s dry or not but we’ll keep going and working to make improvements.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: POSITIVE DAY FOR THE PRAMAC RACING TEAM BOTH IN THE DRY AND IN THE WET Day one of the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland at the Sachsenring circuit started with sunny and blazing weather in the morning session, but with a fully wet track in the afternoonÂ’s free practice after a briefly torrential downpour. With the track surface wet, compared to the morning session, lap times were slower as a result. Ducati Pramac Racing rider Hèctor Barberà had two positive sessions both in the wet and in the dry, and he worked with his team to find the best race setup possible for the different surface conditions. The 25-year-old rider finished today’s sessions in tenth place at the twisty German circuit, setting a best time of 1Â’23.091 in the dry and stopping the clock with a time of 1Â’33.147 during the wet session. TomorrowÂ’s final practice and qualifying sessions are expected to be run in dry conditions, but a light rain has been forecast for Sunday’s 30 lap-race. Hèctor Barberà – Pramac Racing Team Rider –- “It was an encouraging start: I felt competitive and I had great confidence with my Ducati whether it was rain or not. I had a fast pace and during the afternoon session, with the wet track surface, I enjoyed a lot to ride on this circuit. We found a good setup for our bike and we were only 0.6 seconds from the fastest Ducati Factory rider, Valentino Rossi. Tomorrow we will start from the positive work of today to achieve the best grid position possible”. Francesco Guidotti – Pramac Racing Team Manager – “We were satisfied with the work done today. We found two great starting points for our machine’s setup, both with dry and wet weather conditions. We’re confident about our potential and now we’ll see where we can get tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Repsol Honda Team on top in Germany The Repsol Honda Team had a very positive start on the first day of free practice at the Grand Prix of Germany, Dani Pedrosa finishing on top in both sessions and team mate Casey Stoner very close behind in second in the combined times. The MotoGP paddock was again subjected to adverse weather conditions in Germany, with one dry session and one wet session. Sachsenring welcomed the riders with sunshine in the morning´s FP1 and both Dani and Casey found pace very quickly, setting up their RC213V machines and working with the soft tyres for this unique circuit, with 10 of its 13 corners to the left. Dani, the winner here in the last two years, set the pace in the morning with a best lap time of 1’22.357 and Casey finished second, just 0.087 off the Spaniard. In the afternoon, the weather conditions changed completely: it began to get dark and by the time the MotoGP riders were getting ready to go out, the rain had arrived. In the wet conditions, Dani and Casey were again competitive: Dani set the fastest lap (1’32.228), 0.180 ahead of Casey. DANI PEDROSA 1st 1’22.357 “The weekend has started pretty good for us; I felt comfortable in both the dry and wet conditions, but we only managed half of our plan today. We wanted to test the hard rear tyres in the afternoon, because in theory the hardest compound should be working better in this track where you are leaning to the left a long time, and with the soft the bike slides a lot. Anyway, it’s been also good to try the bike in the wet for one practice session because it looks like the weather will again be very unstable. Today I’ve been using the new chassis we received in Assen and the feeling was ok, but weather permitting, I would like to compare both chassis again tomorrow before qualifying. We’ve had a good start, but we cannot relax; the times are ve ry close here, as usual, and we still have margin to improve”. CASEY STONER 2nd 1’22.444 “We were pretty happy in both conditions today. In the dry we felt comfortable and we had a consistently higher pace than the others and we’re confident we can go quite a bit faster so that was definitely a positive. We were struggling a little at the beginning in the wet, we needed to find more rear traction but the conditions weren’t perfect as they were changing throughout the session with some parts of the track drying out and then more rain arriving. It was difficult to get a consistent feeling for the track but we were close to the front and fairly happy. Unfortunately we have some bad chatter in the rear, especially on the right hand corners, both in the wet and dry so we need to improve this before the race”. More, from a press release issued by Power Electronics Aspar: POWER ELECTRONICS PAIR GET TO GRIPS WITH SACHSENRING IN CHANGING CONDITIONS Randy De Puniet the fastest CRT in Germany after a crash for Aleix Espargaró A heavy afternoon downpour caught the MotoGP field by surprise this afternoon and after their initial reluctance to take to the track there was little option but to work around the changeable weather at Sachsenring. Dani Pedrosa was the fastest on the wet track, just as he had been in the dry this morning, although there were late challenges to his dominance in the final ten minutes from Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Nicky Hayden. The Spaniard leads the overnight time sheets thanks to his effort in the opening session although it is with a narrow advantage of just 0.087 seconds over Stoner. POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider Randy De Puniet has carried on from where he left off at Assen six days ago, starting out with the same chassis and suspension set-up that allowed him to finish as the top CRT rider in the Dutch TT. The Frenchman was the fastest of the new machines in the dry today and satisfied with his performance in the wet. His team-mate Aleix Espargaró suffered a setback this morning when he crashed on only the third lap, returning to the track on his second bike but without finding a comfortable setting. His feeling in the wet conditions was much improved, however, leaving him satisfied with his day’s work and optimistic about tomorrow. 12th Randy De Puniet 1.24.210 (42 laps): “We were very consistent this morning and it was a positive session for us. Our first long run this afternoon was decent too and after making some adjustments to the suspension the bike performed really well. I finished up four tenths off the fastest CRT in the wet but I lost a lot of time on the final lap because of other riders getting in my way. I’m happy anyway because I am the fastest CRT on the combined time sheets and the feeling with the bike is perfect in the wet and in the dry. I feel very confident and I am looking forward to improving tomorrow. The goal is to have a great weekend and finish as the best CRT again on Sunday when it counts.” 16th Aleix Espargaró 1.24.855 (40 laps): “We had a setback this morning when I crashed on the third lap. I ran wide and then lost control on the grass. The bike was badly damaged and that cost us a lot of time. I went out on the second bike but I didn’t feel comfortable and wasn’t able to ride as I wanted. In the afternoon it rained so we didn’t get chance to try the repaired bike but overall we have to be optimistic and look on the positive side, which is that I felt as comfortable in the wet as I have in a long time. Hopefully tomorrow we get dry weather, which is always more fun and more safe too, although it looks like it could be mixed again. Whatever the weather we will work hard to continue our good form over the last few races.” More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing: Battaini is getting used to ride the bike The Friday free parctices were influenced by the exploring of the bike from the Battaini´s side. The best time of the day was reached in the morning free practice session and it was set on 1´24.646 with the loss of 3.289 on the fastest Pedrosa. The afternoon practice was influenced by heavy rain. The team is in optimstic mood. Marco Grana, Cardion AB Motoracing “ž We are quite satisfied with today. The rider is still getting used to ride the bike, he haven´t been racing for six years and it must occur somewhere. We had the opportunity to test the bike settings on dry track in the morning and also on wet in the afternoon practice. It is very good, because we really need to get much needed data. From this point of view we don´t care what is the weather like tomorrow. On the wet we had firstly tried Abaja´s setting but afterwards we had to completely change it. The lap times weren´t that much important for us today. Our closest goal is to set up the bike in the best way for tomorrow and I believe we will be faster.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: GREAT PERFORMANCE FOR BRADL ON DAY ONE AT RAIN LASHED SACHSENRING Sachsenring, 6th July: LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl has high expectations heaped on him by an excited home crowd and in today’s first day of practices at Sachsenring circuit the premier class rookie gave to his local fans something to celebrate for as he set the second fastest lap time of the day behind Pedrosa. In this morning hot and humid first session the local hero approached his home track aboard a MotoGP machine for the first time managing to finish in ninth position. But in the afternoon session a torrential downpour hit the German surface so the majority of riders headed out onto the track to deal with their wet weather race set-up including Bradl who made full use of the wet conditions finishing second (1’32.304). Stefan: “It was a first crazy day because the weather was so unpredictable. This morning the sun was shining and we had very good track temperature but later in the afternoon it was pretty unstable with on and off rain showers. In those conditions it’s difficult to find the proper set up but at the end we made some little adjustments that helped me to get more feeling in the wet. Unfortunately we could not fine tune the bike in the dry because of the weather but in both conditions we are prepared. Second position looks fantastic and it’s a good feeling for me and the Team but we keep our feet on the ground”. More, from a press release issued by Ducati: Sun and rain at Sachsenring for German GP free practice As has often been the case during the early part of the season, the first day of practice at the German Grand Prix was marked by extremely variable weather conditions, with a dry free practice followed by a wet afternoon session. Weather permitting, tomorrow will see the Ducati Team continuing its work on the dry setup with which Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi finished seventh and eleventh, respectively, in this morning’s session. As is typically the case on damp surfaces, both riders were very fast in the second free practice, regularly running near the top of the time chart. In the end, the Italian was fifth quickest, one position ahead of his American teammate. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 7th (1:23.092) “Overall, it was a decent day. My outright lap time wasn’t great, but my consistency was pretty good and we were able to make little gains on most of our exits. This morning we did all the sessions with a hard rear tyre, so I was looking forward to trying the soft in the afternoon. Because of the rain, we didn’t get to do that, but hopefully we’ll get a chance tomorrow to see if it helps close the gap a bit. In the rain, it was kind of hard to get the feeling at first. The track felt very slippery and it was a bit windy, but as the laps went by I was able to improve my rhythm. I didn’t have great feedback from the rear on corner entry, but we have a couple of ideas that might help if it rains again.” Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 11th (1:23.481) “We still have some things to resolve for our dry setup, but we’re fast in the wet: fifth, but three tenths from the top. We know that we’re competitive in those conditions. This morning I tried doing some consecutive laps with the hard tyre to try to understand which tyre to use on Sunday. It will be a difficult choice because the soft is a bit faster in the beginning, but then it becomes difficult to manage, while the hard is a bit slower but is more consistent. As far as the setup is concerned, we must improve mainly in the second and third sectors, so we hope the weather will be more stable tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna: On the first day of free practice at the Sachsenring at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, which featured both a sunny and a wet session for the MotoGP™ and Moto2™ classes, with only the Moto3™ contingent staying dry, it was Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa who led the way from Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo in the premier-class. Pedrosa’s time of 1.22’357 in the morning practice was just enough to oust teammate Stoner into second, after the Australian had been top of the timesheet for the majority of the session. Pedrosa then repeated his feat of first place in the rain-hit afternoon, as he cemented his dominance at the track where he has won five times. Both Repsol Hondas looked comfortable at the front, yet will face a stiff challenge from Yamaha Factory Racing’s Lorenzo, who was just under three tenths off the top, despite nursing a very sore right ankle. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso continued his good run of form as he finished fourth, in front of his teammate Cal Crutchlow, who is also still suffering from a fractured left ankle. Pramac Racing Team’s Héctor Barberá finished as top Ducati just over one hundredth off Crutchlow, followed very closely by Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista set the eighth quickest time of the day, with LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl only managing ninth in front of his home crowd. The German rookie did however give the local fans something to cheer about in the rain, as he posted the second fastest time in the wet session. Tenth place went to Lorenzo’s teammate Ben Spies, with Ducati’s Valentino Rossi in 11th. Rossi, as in previous races, had a large gap in form between the dry and wet session, where he finished fifth, and will no doubt be hoping for the skies to open come race day. Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet set the CRT pace down in 12th. Speed Master’s Mattia Pasini suffered an unusual crash in pit lane in the morning practice, as he fell awkwardly on his head avoiding a mechanic in pit-lane. He was declared fit at the track, but headed to the local hospital in Chemnitz for further checks. He returned for the afternoon session, though was still sighting some pain in his shoulder. The only other crash in the morning was De Puniet’s teammate Aleix Espargaró in turn 10, while Bautista’s teammate Michele Pirro, and Cardion AB Racing’s replacement rider Franco Battaini, both narrowly avoided falls as they took fast excursions into the gravel trap. Moto2 On a day that saw almost all weather conditions thrown at the Moto2™ grid it was Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró who set the pace in both the wet and dry ahead of Marc Márquez and Bradley Smith. The morning session was the only one held completely in the dry and it was Espargaró who left it late to post the fastest time of 1.25’179 to lead the timesheets. He then repeated his earlier form in the rain-hit afternoon session, which had too great a mix of wet and dry track to give any real indication of actual form. The times of the morning practice however saw Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Márquez finish in second, despite crashing out at high speed in his final hot laps. Third place went to a charging Bradley Smith on board his Tech 3 Racing machine just three-tenths off the front, with Marc VDS Racing Team’s Mika Kallio in tow. NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis was looking ever quicker on his FTR chassis as he posted the fifth fastest time of the day, ahead of Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone. Iannone did not start the day well, as he was one of the first crashers in the opening stages. He was however able to re-join for the final part of the morning session. Behind him in seventh was another crasher in the shape of Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi, who came off with one minute remaining. Technomag-CIP’s Dominique Aegerter continued his good form from Assen as he went eighth quickest, ahead of De Angelis’ teammate Yuki Takahashi and Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi. Corsi did well to avoid a crash half way through practice, as he ran into the gravel at high speed. The only rider outside the top ten to crash in the dry was Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2’s Ratthapark Wilairot, who lost the front of his Suter 18 minutes into the session. In the afternoon’s wet practice, S/Master Speed Up’s Alessandro Andreozzi fell, as he couldn’t keep his bike upright during an excursion into the gravel. None of the crashes resulted in serious injury. Moto3 The Moto3™ class was the only category to be spared from the rain at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland at the Sachsenring, and it was Blusens Avintia’s Maverick Viñales who set the fastest time of the day in front of Jakub Kornfeil and Danny Kent. The majority of riders set their fastest time in the afternoon session that was threatened with rain throughout, and it was towards the end that Viñales, who recovered from a high-speed crash in the morning, set a time of 128’661 just before the skies opened and the much-awaited rain started to fall. With no one else able to improve in the final minuets it was Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Kornfeil who cemented his great form from the morning, finishing just over a tenth off the Spaniard. He finished ahead of Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Danny Kent, who showed a marked improvement over his subdued outing early in the day. Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Héctor Faubel could not replicate his second place from the morning practice, yet still finished a respectable fourth, in front of RW Racing GP’s Luis Salom in fifth. Salom was the only rider in the top ten not to improve on the time he set in the morning. Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins ended the day in sixth, whilst Racing Team Germany’s Louis Rossi, who had looked like one of the front-runners early on in the session, was pushed back to seventh. Kent’s teammate Sandro Cortese left it very late to post a competitive time, yet will not be happy with eighth in front of his home crowd, while Mahindra Racing’s Danny Webb continued his surprising run of form for the day by posting the ninth quickest time. Tenth place went to Faubel’s teammate Alberto Moncayo, who was within eight tenths of the top time set by Viñales. None of the riders were caught out by the spots of rain that appeared at the end of the afternoon session, with all of them slowing down in time and returning to the pits. However, early in the afternoon practice, TT Motion Events Racing’s Niklas Ajo highsided his bike, yet walked away unscathed. More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Pedrosa leads first day at Sachsenring Round 8: German Grand Prix Free Practice One and Two Sachsenring, Friday 6 July 2012 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium, Extra-Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative) Weather: Dry/Wet. Ambient 24-26°C; Track 26-36°C (Bridgestone measurement) Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa topped both practice sessions to finish fastest on the first day of action at Sachsenring as once again unpredictable weather had its say during a MotoGP™ race weekend. All riders set their personal best times today during the dry FP1 session, with Pedrosa showing his potential around the German circuit with a best time of 1:22.357 to claim first day honours ahead of teammate Casey Stoner. Third fastest today was Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo who despite nursing an injured ankle clocked an impressive time of 1:22.647. Warm and dry weather provided good track conditions for this morning’s FP1 session with track temperatures in the mid 30°C range, while rain began to fall right at the start of FP2 meaning team mechanics had to frantically reconfigure the bikes for wet conditions, and riders having to ride out the whole session on wet tyres. In the dry conditions this morning, most riders opted for the medium compound rear slick, while both the medium and extra-hard front slick tyres were utilised as riders took to the tight confines of Sachsenring for the first time on their 1000cc machines. More variation in tyre choice is expected tomorrow as teams try to refine their dry setup and evaluate both rear slick tyre options during race simulations. MotoGP™ action returns to Sachsenring at 1010 tomorrow morning local time (GMT +2) for Free Practice 3, with the one hour qualifying session starting at 1355. Shinji Aoki General Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “It seems we cannot get a race weekend without some rain falling and today at the German Grand Prix was no exception! However, as wet conditions are a possibility for Sunday, at least today’s rain allowed teams to try out a wet setup ahead of the race, so the data gathered by teams in FP2 was of value. “This morning’s FP1 session was dry and most riders used the medium compound rear slick in combination with the medium and hard front slicks to get a feel for grip levels and establish a base dry setup. Sachsenring requires good edge grip for the long left hand corners and for when riders go from full lean to full lean during quick changes of direction, so I expect riders will do longer runs tomorrow to evaluate which tyre combination provides the best balance between edge grip and durability.”