DUCATI MARLBORO MEN FIRED UP FOR GERMANY Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa are fired up for this weekend’s German Grand Prix, following their impressive rides in last Sunday’s rain-lashed British GP. Both men were amongst the fastest riders in the Donington race after a difficult two days of dry-weather practice. “We come to the Sachsenring in positive mood, after our good results at Donington,” says Ducati MotoGP manager Livio Suppo. “Maybe we were a little lucky with the weather, but in life you sometimes need a little luck! Bridgestone have proved they have fully competitive rain tyres that work wherever we go, like in China and in Britain. That’s a positive sign of the company’s capabilities, which is why we are confident we can obtain similarly consistent dry-weather performance. We are already strong in the dry at some tracks like Mugello, and Bridgestone will bring new spec tyres to the Sachsenring, which proves how hard they are working and makes us very confident for the future.” The Sachsenring is one of MotoGP’s tightest, slowest tracks, where easy handling counts for much more than sheer horsepower. “Straight-line speed isn’t that important at this track,” says Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “What matters is nimble handling and easy turning. Like all tracks, you need a compromise between manoeuvrability and stability, but for the Sachsenring you err on the side of manoeuvrability.” After a quick-fire trip to the USA and two back-to-back European GPs, the MotoGP circus takes a well-earned three-weekend break after Germany, reconvening in the Czech Republic at the end of August. CAPIROSSI: “IT’S LIKE A GO-KART TRACK’ Ducati Marlboro Team man Loris Capirossi was satisfied with his British GP ride but what the Italian really wants is to repeat his podium finish from June’s Mugello GP. “It’s a strange track, like a go-kart track,” he says. “For sure it’s very difficult on a MotoGP bike, anyway we go there with a strong feeling, determined to get a good result before the holidays, but we will see what new tyres Bridgestone bring. The first few corners are so, so slow, but after the horseshoe right-hander it becomes quite a nice track. There’s the fast run downhill and the very fast turn 12, a really exciting corner because you’re in fifth gear, maybe 220kmh, and it’s blind and also negative camber. After Germany I go home and I stay home, I’m going nowhere! I have a 45-foot motorboat, which we use most days. There are a lot of beautiful bays around Monaco, but the problem is there are also a lot of boats, so you have to go early, because it’s like supermarket parking!” CHECA: “SLOW DOESN’T MEAN EASY” Carlos Checa comes to Germany fresh from an impressive British GP, where he rode the third fastest lap on his way to finishing fifth, after running 17th at the end of the first lap. Checa was second at the Sachsenring in 2001. “It’s a special kind of track and I like it, apart from the first part, which is too slow,” says the Ducati Marlboro Team rider. “I always enjoy tracks that feature plenty of elevation changes and the Sachsenring is very up and down. It’s slow circuit but that doesn’t mean it’s easy because MotoGP bikes are big, very powerful and have wide tyres, so this place is a lot of work. It’s so tight that you hardly ever use full throttle, maybe only for seven per cent of the lap. Maximum horsepower means absolutely nothing, so you work in other areas of engine performance, like low- and mid-rpm. We don’t change the base set-up too much from track to track, we just hope that our Bridgestone tyres work well on this asphalt. My main aim during the break is to have some rest. I will spend some time at home in London, plus I’m going trekking and climbing in the Pyrenees for a few days. I’m really looking forward to that. It’s good that everyone in the team gets a break, we all need to recharge!” THE TRACK The Sachsenring first appeared on the World Championship calendar way back in 1961. The high-speed street circuit quickly became one of racing’s most popular venues, regularly attracting a quarter of a million sports-starved East German fans who flocked there to see Western teams take on the Eastern Bloc factories who were using groundbreaking two-stroke technology. The lethal street circuit hosted its last GP in 1972, an all-new short circuit returning the venue to the calendar in 1998. At that time the new circuit was the slowest in GP racing, with a lap speed of just 143kmh/89mph. Revisions for 2000 upped the pace to 150kmh/93mph and the addition of an extra loop in 2001 (which omitted the only remaining part of the old street circuit) increased lap speeds to the current 157kmh/97mph record. Initially deemed too slow, the Sachsenring is now a popular venue with most GP riders. Nevertheless the character of the anti-clockwise circuit is still tight and twisty, putting the emphasis on delicate mid-range engine performance rather than brute top-end horsepower. Lap record: Alex Barros (Honda), 1:24.056, 157.224kmh/97.694mph (2004) Pole position 2004: Max Biaggi (Honda), 1:22.756 DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS LORIS CAPIROSSI Age: 32 (born April 4, 1973) Lives: Monaco Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5 GP victories: 23 (1xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125) First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125) First GP: Japan, 1990 (125) GP starts: 225 (55xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125) Pole positions: 36 (3xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125) First pole: Australia, 1991 (125) World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998) Sachsenring 2004 results: Grid: 10th. Race: DNF CARLOS CHECA Age: 32 (born October 15, 1972) Lives: London, England Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5 GP victories: 2 (500) First GP victory: Catalunya, 1996 (500) First GP: Europe, 1993 (125) GP starts: 177 (57xMotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125) Pole positions: 3 (2xMotoGP, 1×500) First pole: Spain, 1998 (500) Sachsenring 2004 results: Grid: 7th. Race: DNF