Ducati Marlboro Team take their good team performance from Laguna Seca to Germany this weekend as they prepare for an even tougher challenge than usual. Whilst the recent progress made with the GP9 allowed Casey Stoner to finish at the foot of the podium despite being physically drained and Nicky Hayden to score his best result of the season so far in his home Grand Prix, now the Australian is faced with another battle against his own physical condition, which were confirmed at Laguna Seca as being far from ideal, and the American must back up his improved form and show that development is on the right lines. Stoner stayed on in the United States following the last race to undergo a series of examinations designed at pinpointing the exact nature and cause of his current illness. The examinations have confirmed a slight gastritis and mild anaemia, which left him weak and for which he will continue to receive treatment in the coming weeks as he attempts to recover full strength. Doctors are sure that with the right treatment he will be back to full fitness in a matter of weeks. LIVIO SUPPO, MotoGP Project Director “This is a delicate time for Casey but we know he is made of stern stuff. He will continue to fight like a lion, as he has done in the past few races, even though the crash at Laguna left hits mark on him and that certainly won’t help. Nicky again rides at a circuit where he has always gone well at in the past and I’m sure he will be able to confirm that the improvement made at Laguna is only the start!” CASEY STONER, Ducati Marlboro Team (3rd in the championship on 135 points) “I have been in USA until Saturday to do all the tests. First of all I’d like to thanks all the Doctors involved in this, Dr. Ting and Dr. Tuan in the Fremont Surgery Center, Dr. Macchiagodena, Dr. Catani, Dr. Ceccarelli and of course my physiotherapist Freddy. Hopefully step by step I will feel better with their indications. I still don’t feel like I am 100% but the biggest problem now is the ribs that are very painful after the crash in the USA GP Qualifying. It will be probably another hard week end, but as always, we will do our best to stay as much as possible close to the lead of the Championship”. NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati Marlboro Team (12th in the championship on 38 points) “We have made some real progress the last few weeks and I hope we can keep it going because bringing up the rear of the pack is not fun. We still have a big gap to the front guys so we have a lot of work to do to close that down and we must stay very focused. Germany is another small, twisty track with lap times almost exactly the same as Laguna in fact they are the two shortest tracks on the tour – but it’s a track I like and where I have gone well at in the past. The first section is super tight and is the part I think will be the hardest for me on our bike, but I hope to be strong in the second half, which includes the ‘waterfall’ corner, which is about as good as it gets if you like fast, blind corners that take your breath away! Normally in Germany on race day it’s a completely full house with fans stacked everywhere so that makes for a great atmosphere!” THE TRACK The history of MotoGP World Championship racing at Sachsenring can be divided into two parts the first from 1961 to 1972, when the original road circuit of almost nine kilometres played host to the East German Grand Prix and the second, modern, era beginning just over a decade ago in 1998. Initially a high-speed road circuit, it was removed from the calendar because it was deemed to be too dangerous so it is ironic that it returned as the slowest track, with an average speed of just 143km/h. Modifications introduced in 2000 and 2001 brought that speed up to 159km/h but the track is the second shortest behind Laguna Seca, the only other current venue that measures less than four kilometres in length. However, that is not the only peculiarity about Sachsenring, where a tortuous sequence of twisting corners gives the riders fewer opportunities to fully open the throttle than anywhere else in the world. Indeed, the first section is a veritable tangle of turns before a faster series of left-handers that lead into an incredible blind right, followed by a dramatic descent and a braking zone that always provides the best opportunity to make an overtake stick. SACHSENRING LAP RECORDS Circuit Record: Dani Pedrosa (Honda – 2007), 1’23.082 – 159.066km/h Best Pole: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2008), 1’21.067 163.020 Km/h Circuit Length: 3.671km MotoGP Race 2009: 30 laps (110,130 km) MotoGP 2009 Schedule: 14:00 Central Europe Time Podium 2008: 1st Casey Stoner, 2nd Valentino Rossi, 3rd Chris Vermeulen Pole 2008: Casey Stoner (Ducati), 1’21.067 163.020 Km/h DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM’S BEST RESULTS AT SACHSENRING 2008: 1st (Stoner) 2007: 2nd (Capirossi) 2006: 5th (Capirossi) 2005: 6th (Capirossi) 2004: – 2003: 3rd (Bayliss) DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER INFO CASEY STONER Age: 23 (Born 16th October 1985 in Southport, Queensland, Australia ) Residency: Switzerland Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP9 GP Appearances: 121 (60xMotoGP, 31×250, 30×125) GP Victories: 25 (18xMotoGP, 5×250, 2×125) First GP victory: Valencia, 2003 (125) First GP: Great Britain, 2001 (125) Pole positions: 20 (16xMotoGP, 2×250, 2×125) First pole position: Italy, 2003 (125) World Titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2007) MotoGP track record at Sachsenring: 2008: Grid: 1st. Race: 1st 2007: Grid: 1st; Race: 5th 2006: Grid: 8th; Race: – NICKY HAYDEN Age: 27 (born 30th July 1981 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA) Residency: Owensboro, Kentucky, USA Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP9 GP Appearances: 107 (107xMotoGP) First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) Number of victories: 3 (3xMotoGP) First GP victory: USGP, 2005 (MotoGP) Pole positions: 5 (5xMotoGP) First Pole: USGP, 2005 (MotoGP) World Titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2006) MotoGP track record at Sachsenring: 2008 Grid: 8th Race: 13th 2007: Grid: 14th. Race: 3rd 2006: Grid: 3rd. Race: 3rd 2005: Grid: 1st. Race: 3rd 2004: Grid: 9th. Race: 3rd 2003: Grid: 15th. Race: 5th