FIM MotoGP World Championship

Sachsenring, Germany

July 12, 2015

Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires):

1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 30 laps, 41:01.087

2. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), -2.226 seconds

3. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), -5.608 

4. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), -9.928 

5. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), -20.785 

6. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), -23.215 

7. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), -29.881 

8. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), -34.953

9. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), -35.875 

10. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (SUZUKI), -37.253

11. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (SUZUKI), -37.274 

12. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), -42.081 

13. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), -48.611 

14. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (APRILIA), -50.687

15. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), -53.769 

16. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (HONDA), -58.921 

17. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (HONDA), -62.738

18. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (ART-APRILIA), -63.122

19. Loris BAZ, France (FORWARD YAMAHA), -71.162

20. Michael LAVERTY, UK (APRILIA), -75.910

21. Claudio CORTI, Italy (FORWARD YAMAHA), -8 laps, DNF, retired

22. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), -16 laps, DNF, crash

23. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (HONDA), -26 laps, DNF, crash

24. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (DUCATI), -27 laps, DNF, crash

25. Scott REDDING, UK (HONDA), -30 laps, DNF, crash

World Championship Point Standings (After 9 of 18 races):

1. Rossi, 179 points

2. Lorenzo, 166

3. Iannone, 118

4. Marquez, 114

5. TIE, Dovizioso/Smith, 87

7. Pedrosa, 67

8. Crutchlow, 66

9. Pol Espargaro, 64

10. Vinales, 57

11. Petrucci, 51

12. Aleix Espargaro, 44

13. Hernandez, 32

14. Redding, 30

15. Barbera, 19

16. Baz, 14

17. Bautista, 13

18. Miller, 12

19. Stefan Bradl, 9

20. TIE, Michele Pirro/Hayden, 8

22. Laverty, 7

23. Aoyama, 5

24. Di Meglio, 2

25. De Angelis, 1

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Emphatic 1-2 for Repsol Honda in Germany as Marquez makes it six in-a-row with a perfect weekend

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez has sealed a perfect weekend in Germany after his sixth victory in a row in Sachsenring, recording a new race lap record en route to victory, following his pole position record yesterday. Teammate Dani Pedrosa also had a strong race, fending off Championship leader Valentino Rossi to take a well earned second place.

Marc and Dani both lost a position on the opening lap as Jorge Lorenzo made his way to the front. On lap four, Dani lost another position to Valentino and dropped down to 4th as Marc overtook Jorge into first. Once out front, Marc never looked back and began to open up a gap, recording a new lap record on lap ten with a time of 1’21.530 (beating Dani’s 2011 time of 1’21.846). On the following lap, Dani passed Jorge – after he’d lost a spot to Valentino – and took 3rd place and began to chase down the Italian. Dani passed Valentino on lap seventeen and tried to open a gap, but was unable to drop him. The two riders rode in tandem for several laps before Dani, with three laps remaining, set his fastest time (1’21.714) as he had one last push to secure second place.

This is the team’s first 1-2 since this race last year and the sixth successive year Marc has won from pole at the Sachsenring. Dani has had seven podium finishes from his nine starts in the MotoGP class at the Sachsenring, including four wins.

As the season reached the midway point and the teams have a chance to enjoy a Summer break, Marc has closed the gap slightly in the World Championship. Valentino remains on top with 179, Jorge second with 166, Andrea Iannone is in third with 118 and Marc is just four points off him on 114. Dani has moved up to seventh in the standings on 67.

The team will now pack up in Germany and head to Italy for a three-day test in Misano. The first two days will be on Bridgestone and the final day will be on the 2016 tyre manufacturer. They will then have two weeks holiday before flying west to the U.S.A for round ten in Indianapolis on the 9th August.

Marc Marquez

1ST CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 4TH – 114 POINTS

“I am very happy with this victory. I’ve been chasing it hard over the last few races. In Assen we began to see the light at the end of the tunnel; after Barcelona which was very hard, I felt good on the bike again thanks to the changes we made. We have confirmed that they worked here at this circuit, but I want to be cautious because I am aware that this circuit has always been very good for me and also for the Honda. We have to keep working, because on the laps that I did behind Lorenzo I saw that in some aspects the they were stronger than us. Let’s see if we can continue improving at the Misano test next week.”

Dani Pedrosa

2ND CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 7TH – 67 POINTS

“I’m so happy – above all with how we finished the race as I rode very strongly. I was under a lot of pressure from Valentino and, although it had been a while since I had last fought with him and he is very difficult to beat, I gave my all and was able to finish ahead of him. I rode much better at the end and it is the first race this season in which I kept up a good pace until the finish. It’s true that here the bike had less of a handicap than at other tracks, due to the type of circuit it is, but at test next week we have to work hard -because the both Jorge and Valentino were much closer today than in other years here. We’ll see if we can find something for the second half of the season to make us more competitive.”

More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing:

Aoyama did not finish the race at Sachsenring

The Czech team AB Motoracing did not achieve any points at Sachsenring again. Even Hiroshi Aoyama was not able to break the bad luck and retired from the race after crashing in the third lap.

Hiroshi Aoyama

“I had quite good start today and I was in the group of OPEN class riders. The bike was nervous again today. I was loosing a lot in the second part of the track and was catching the others in the second part. Unfortunatelly I couldn´t reach back the race. I´m not happy about finish like that, but I hope I has helped to change a direction little bit. The team should work more with electronic setup to make the bike calmer.”

Marco Grana, chief mechanic AB Motoracing

“In the morning we improved the bike little bit more. The rider had quite good start, but than he crashed in corner six. It looks like the electronic doesn´t work enough.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Estrella Galicia:

Redding slides out of contention in Germany

Sachsenring, Germany – Sunday 12 July 2015: Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Scott Redding was left to reflect on what might have been after the British rider suffered an early exit in today’s 30-lap German MotoGP race.

Redding started round nine of the 2015 campaign at the Sachsenring optimistic that he could at least replicate an impressive eighth place finish in this morning’s Warm-up session.

But while making early progress towards the battle for the top 10, the 22-year-old lost the front-end of his Honda RC213V machine at the final corner on the opening lap.

Damage to the bike meant Redding was unfortunately unable to rejoin the action in front of a huge crowd of over 92,000 fans.

After a challenging opening half to the season for Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS, Redding and his crew are more determined than ever to bounce back strongly when the championship resumes at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway next month.

Scott Redding: DNF

“I am very disappointed. I had good pace for the race and I was recovering some places after an average start when I crashed at the final corner. As soon as I released the front brake the front unloaded. I tried my best to save it but there was nothing I could do. I am annoyed and frustrated because I am confident I could have fought for the top 10 or higher based on my times from earlier in the weekend. All I can do now is train hard in the summer break and look to bounce back in Indianapolis.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal

“It is disappointing when you know there is the potential to achieve a good result and the race is finished after just one lap. It is difficult to accept because I think we had the pace to finish in the top eight and that would have been a positive way to head into the summer break. But it was a bit like Texas earlier in the season when we clearly had the potential for a good result but didn’t manage it.”

More, from a press release issued by OCTO Pramac Racing:

Fantastic race for Petrux who ended up 9th. Difficoult day for Yonny: 12th

After a fantastic race, Danilo Petrucci wins a stunning ninth place managing to keep his promise: “I will fight for the Top 10”. Yonny Hernandez’s race was very difficoult. The rider from Medellin failed to defend the fifth position gained in the extraordinary qualifying on Saturday and had to give way to his challengers in the last 5 laps finishing 12th.

Petrux’s race was exciting from the start (15th place on the grid) when the rider from Terni managed to pass Redding in the first corner, then Vinales (2nd lap) and Bautista (3rd lap) before going hunting brothers Espargarò. Danilo passes Aleix on lap 11, three laps later it is the turn of Pol with whom Danilo hires a good fight. Petrux remains concentrated after the reply of number # 44 going in serch of Yonny in clear difficulty and overtaking his teammate on lap 25° finishing with an excellent ninth place under the checkered flag.

Yonny started well, fighting with Iannone for the fifth position. The first signs of difficulties occurred early with a crono of 1’23.4 on lap 7 that allowed Smith to pass him. One lap later the attack of Crutchlow and Dovizioso who exploited Yonny’s difficulties. The Colombian managed to maintain the 8th position until lap 25. Then there were any more the conditions to reply to the attack of the group of Pol Espargaro, Petrucci, Vinales and Aleix Espargaro who forced Yonny to settle for 12th place.

Pramac Racing confirms the sixth position in the ranking reserved for the Team (83 points).

Danilo Petrucci rises to 51 points (ninth place, -6 from the Top 10) while Yonny Hernandez is 13th with 32 points.

Fantastic race for Petrux who ended up 9th. Difficoult day for Yonny: 12th

9° – Danilo Petrucci – OCTO Pramac Racing #9

“A Top 10 taken with the teeth. I knew that the result of the qualification was unearned because we were never able to take advantage of the soft tire. But I also knew that in the race we’d all be in the same condition. The feeling has been good from the start and I felt very effective in braking point. That’s why I took many risks pushing hard. I want to dedicate this result to the team. They did a great job this morning in the warm up and the race strategy proved perfect. I am really good with the guys. There is a great feeling and this makes me very happy.

12° – Yonny Hernandez – OCTO Pramac Racing Team #69

It was a difficult race. I never managed to find the feeling with the bike. The rear wheel was sliding very much to the front tended to close too much. Unfortunately we could not replicate the laptimes made during the tests. I took many risks but in the last few laps I had to take a lower pace to get to the end and take some point for the standing.

More, from a press release issuedb by Aprilia:

BAUTISTA FINISHES THE GERMAN GP IN 14th PLACE

RACE DEBUT AND 20th PLACE FOR MICHAEL LAVERTY

Sachsenring (Germany), 12 July 2015 – Alvaro Bautista rode his Aprilia RS-GP to fourteenth place in the German GP which means two more championship points for Aprilia Racing Team Gresini.

Alvaro had a great start which took him to twelfth place at the end of the first lap and, more importantly, in contact with the central part of the group. Rear tyre wear and consequent loss of grip slowed him a bit in the second half of the race but didn’t keep him from winning a few battles, especially with Barbera and Miller, to finish in the points. Michael Laverty, riding his first race astride the V4 from Noale, finished the race, contributing to collecting data which is the primary goal of the Italian team this season.

ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)

“With Bautista we had good performance in the opening laps. We knew we would have trouble over race distance due to the loss of rear grip. But Alvaro did a really good job and kept fighting throughout the entire race. In the end we achieved a good placement that boosts our confidence and brings home more championship points. Now we have a work plan to take another step forward since we have a clear idea of which areas need improvement that this race confirmed for us. Michael did a good job as a test rider which is what we expected from him in this race, consistently improving throughout the weekend.”

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)

“We achieved our goal, finishing the race in the points and collecting more valuable information. I’m pleased with the Alvaro’s performance, getting off the line well and battling even when he began to lose grip with worn tyres. We are having a few problems with traction in the second part of the race and we’re working to improve this aspect. The data collected today will help us to progress. Laverty rode a good race, crossing the wire and adapting well to the RS-GP in race conditions, managing to maintain a good pace, especially toward the end.”

ALVARO BAUTISTA

“I made a great start, moving up a few positions and in the early laps I was able to stay with the second group easily. With new tyres we do well. Unfortunately when the tyre started to wear I struggled with the lack of rear grip. We made some changes to the electronics with the team (and my thanks goes to them for the great job they are doing) specifically to handle this situation and by changing the settings I was able to finish without taking too many risks. The placement is good but now we need to improve this aspect in the second half of the race, just like we were able to successfully solve the chattering problem that hindered me at Assen.”

MICHAEL LAVERTY

“I got off the line well and was battling with the Open Hondas and Baz. I felt comfortable but at a certain point I began to lose rear grip going into turns. I dropped back a few positions and then I wasn’t able to make up the lost ground. It’s a shame because in the last ten laps I began to figure out how to ride in those conditions, moving my position forward and putting more weight on the front tyre. I learned a lot in this race. It was a great experience and I am quite pleased with how it went.”

More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:

Marquez completes dominant weekend with a sixth successive win at Sachsenring

Round 9: German MotoGP™ – Race

Sachsenring, Sunday July 12 2015

Bridgestone slick options: Front: Soft, Asymmetric Front, Medium & Hard; Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)

Bridgestone wet tyre options: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)

Weather: Dry. Ambient 26-26°C; Track 43-44°C (Bridgestone measurement)

Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez signed off a dominant weekend at Sachsenring by winning today’s German Grand Prix ahead of teammate Dani Pedrosa, the two-time MotoGP™ World Champion extending his run of success at the German circuit to six successive victories.

Starting on pole position, Marquez lost out to Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo at the start of the race and held second place for the first few laps, before passing Lorenzo on lap five and streaking away for his second win of the year. Underlining his scintillating pace at Sachsenring, Marquez set a new Circuit Lap Record of 1’21.530 on lap 10 and crossed the finish line in a race time of 41’01.087 – the shortest ever overall race time at Sachsenring, beating the old mark by over eleven seconds. On the other Repsol Honda Team RC213V, Pedrosa took a solid second place finishing 2.226 seconds behind Marquez, while Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi took the final podium place a further three seconds behind. Marquez and Pedrosa both selected the combination of the hard compound front slick and the medium compound rear tyre for the German Grand Prix, while Rossi used the asymmetric front slick in combination with the medium compound rear on his way to third place.

A warm change today resulted in track temperatures reaching their highest level of the weekend. A peak track temperature of 44°C was recorded just before the start of the race and resulted in some riders altering their original race tyre choice. In a rare occurrence, three different front slick options featured in the race with the asymmetric, medium and hard front slicks all being utilised in the German Grand Prix. The asymmetric front slick was by far the most popular choice with nineteen of the twenty-five starters choosing this option, while four riders selected the medium front slick and just two riders – Marquez and Pedrosa – opting for the hard front slick. Rear tyre choice for the race saw a more even split across the field, with fourteen riders selecting the medium compound rear and the remaining eleven riders selecting the soft compound rear slick.

Third place for Rossi means his championship lead over teammate Lorenzo, who sits in second place grows to thirteen points at the halfway point of the season. Meanwhile, Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone’s fifth place finish in the German Grand Prix ensures he holds onto third place in the standings, 48 points behind Lorenzo.

Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department

“The rise in track temperatures today resulted in some late changes on the grid in terms of front tyre choice but overall, all of our slick options performed very well during the race. We saw very few incidents in the race and the pace was extremely quick with a new Circuit Record Lap and overall race time record adding to the Circuit Best lap record we saw yesterday so I am really pleased with how our tyre allocation performed at this demanding track. Congratulations to Marc for yet another victory at Sachsenring and also to Repsol Honda on a commanding 1-2 result. It may be four weeks until the next MotoGP race at Indianapolis but it will be a very busy period for Bridgestone Motorsport as we support teams in a MotoGP test at Misano next week, while also aiming for our tenth consecutive victory as a tyre supplier at the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race which takes place on July 26.”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team – Race Winner

“With the medium front tyre I felt slightly better this weekend, but I decided to use the hard front tyre for the race to help me in the final laps, but from the beginning of the race I felt good on the bike. This weekend we made a really good job so I’m happy to get this win and it’s a good result before we go on holiday. However, we still have to work hard so that we are even stronger in the second half of the season.”

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Secures Ninth Consecutive Podium in Sachsenring Showdown

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi fought hard today to take a well-deserved third place at a slightly overcast Sachsenring. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo gave his all in an intense battle between the top riders to finish fourth.

Sachsenring (Germany), 12th July 2015

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Valentino Rossi did a perfect job to extend his championship lead, scoring a strong third place at today‘s Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo also gave the German race fans their money‘s worth with some thrilling racing action and ended the day in fourth.

Rossi started the German GP from sixth and quickly moved up to fifth. The Italian needed a little time to overtake Andrea Iannone, but succeeded as he completed the first lap and then set his sights on Dani Pedrosa. Rossi picked up his pace by temporarily signing a new lap record to his name, but received a stern warning when his rear wheel snaked.

The Italian did well to hold on to the bike but didn‘t let it slow him down. Instead he set another fastest time on lap four and slipped past Dani Pedrosa one lap later. Rossi slotted in behind teammate Lorenzo and briefly took second in turn 12, but he had to give back the position at the next corner. It took the championship leader another lap to overtake his teammate and make it stick, before he could focus on reeling in Marquez, but the Spaniard had already pulled away too much.

Meanwhile Pedrosa started closing in. Rossi kept him at bay for six laps before he was pushed back to third on lap 17. Rossi did all he could to stay in contention for second place, but with four laps to go the distance between himself and Pedrosa had become too big to bridge. Rossi realized his ninth podium finish of the season in third place, 5.608s from first place.

Teammate Lorenzo rocketed off the grid and surprised both fans and his competitors with his trademark ’Por Fuera‘ (on the outside) overtaking move to take over the lead. He pushed hard at the start of the race to extend his advantage, but was closely followed by Marquez. Four laps into the race the order shifted, Marquez moved ahead with 26 laps to go, forcing Lorenzo to endure pressure off teammate Rossi, who was on the back of his rear wheel.

He held off an attack from Rossi in turn 12 two laps later, taking him back in the very next corner, but by lap seven he had to return the position. Lorenzo kept his head down, in an effort to hold off Pedrosa, but he had to relinquish his podium hopes on lap 14 when he dropped back to fourth, which he held over the line after a lonely ride, 9.928s from the front.

Rossi‘s third place keeps him in first position in the world standings with 179 points, 13 points ahead of teammate Lorenzo, with 166 points, who stays in second place with a 48 points gap to his closest rival.

MotoGP will be taking a four week summer break before continuing the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the 9th of August.

VALENTINO ROSSI

First of all, the podium is always good, but you always want to arrive better than third. For this weekend I think third was the maximum we could reach, because Marquez was stronger than us. The important thing was to arrive in front of Jorge for the championship. I think we did a very good race, because we worked very well and from the warm up to the race my bike was good and I could push a lot. It may only be three points more that we scored, but it‘s still another podium and I extended the lead a little bit. The perfect way to describe the race is that “I tried to beat Dani”. I tried, but on the last laps he was too fast for me. However it was also good for me, because he allowed me to get away from Jorge, just his slipstream helped me a lot. I tried to stay with Pedrosa for ten laps, because I knew that it was key on gaining some time on Jorge. Today‘s third place is crucial because Jorge arrived here with four victories in a row, where he gained 28 points, so it was a very important win in Assen and also to arrive in front of him here, so we extend the lead to 13 points. Now I need two weeks off, because I have worked very hard for this championship. I haven’t had a holiday since the beginning of February. It‘s been all work; going to the gym, ride the motorbike, train. Now it‘s time to relax.

JORGE LORENZO

At a difficult track for rear grip I could still ride some good lap times and be in first position. In the end, the only good thing was my good start and that, after a bad race, we only lost three points. When I started losing the rear and I had a lot of problems picking up the bike with good drive and on braking the rear didn‘t support the front enough to stop the bike and I had to start braking earlier and earlier. This made it very difficult to keep up the pace. I regret not trying a shorter bike in the warm up, that would probably have given me more traction and grip on the rear. Now it’s too late, but as I said, we lost only three points and that‘s not so bad for the championship.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

We knew that Sachsenring was going to be a tough race, however the target was to take as many points as possible as always. Both riders made a good race today, and did everything they could to secure important points for the championship. Valentino fought his hardest to hold on to the podium spot, the position was well deserved. Jorge started the race really strongly, and did everything he could to keep the front runners as close as possible when he knew a podium wasn’t possible. After a long first half of the season with fantastic results and victories and so much hard work by the team and riders we are going to have a well-deserved break, and we will be back to continue our title fight in a few weeks time at Indianapolis.

More, from a press release issued by Aspar Team:

POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar riders fight hard without reward

Nicky Hayden and Eugene Laverty make up positions in the race but not enough to take points at Sachsenring

The MotoGP race at Sachsenring today went very much to form as Marc Márquez extended Honda’s domination of the German GP for another year. Jorge Lorenzo led briefly at the start but he was soon overpowered by his fellow Spaniard after just five laps, with Marquez quickly opening up a second advantage over the next two laps and consolidating his position at the front. Behind him his team-mate Pedrosa did battle with the Yamaha pairing of Lorenzo and then Rossi, beating both of them to complete a Honda one-two, with the Italian taking the final podium position and extending his advantage at the top of the championship.

Nicky Hayden was caught up in the chaos of the first corner and dropped back to 23rd position. The POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider fought back to sixteenth but was cut adrift from the battle for points and couldn’t advance any further. His teammate Eugene Laverty, by contrast, struggled for grip in the early part of the race but gained momentum as the laps passed, eventually making his way up to seventeenth place after starting back in 23rd.

16th Nicky Hayden: “We set a decent pace in the warm-up this morning so we expected a better race. I made a pretty decent start but I wasn’t aggressive enough in the first turn and I got pushed wide. I cam back on track second last. I had a good feeling over the first couple of laps and made up a few positions. I got with Barberá and thought we could catch the group ahead of us but as the laps went by I lost grip on the rear, Barberá escaped and I spent the rest of the race on my own. I lost so much grip that I just had to concentrate on making the finish. It is a shame to finish the weekend like this because the team have done a good job here. I am not happy with the result and I was expecting much more from this Grand Prix.”

17th Eugene Laverty: “The start of the race was tough because I didn’t have any grip on the rear. As soon as I opened the throttle the bike started to slide and I had a few scares. Suddenly halfway through the race the tyres hooked up and I was able to lap faster than I had on new rubber. I guess we need to work more on the bike to make it more balanced. The fact we set our fastest lap at the end of the race shows that the potential is there but we need to exploit it better. The new swingarm gave us more grip but we have to adapt to it and find a balance. It has been a tough weekend but we’ll come back after the summer break ready to work hard and improve.”

More, from a press release issued by Athina Forward Racing:

Difficult race for Athinà Forward Racing at Sachsenring

It was a difficult weekend for the team Athinà Forward Racing at the Sachsenring Racetrack that this weekend hosted the German Grand Prix. After a three days of hard work, in fact, Loris Baz closed in 19th place overall and Claudio Corti was forced to retire.

Started from the 20th place on the grid, the Frenchman has recovered several positions, moving closer to its rivals in the Open category, when he started to lose the feeling with the front. In an effort to keep the bike on the track, it suffered a muscle injury which compromised his race. Despite the pain on the back, Baz preferred to continue and he finished the race in 19th place.

Difficult race also for his team mate Claudio Corti, who was forced to retire eight laps before the checkered flag. The Italian has suffered throughout the race the lack of confidence with the front. Shortly after mid-race, he returned to the pits to change the tires and he back on track before being forced to retire.

Loris Baz:

“It was not the Sunday that I wanted, because I struggled for all the race. The start was not bad, I recovered several positions, but after a few laps I started to lose the feeling with the front. I almost crashed and in an attempt to keep the bike on the track I think I had a muscle contracture. I started to feel pain in the back and it was impossible to keep pushing and I had to give positions. Now we have three weeks of stop: it’s time to recharge the batteries to return to Indianapolis competitive”.

Claudio Corti:

“It ‘was a really tough race. After eight months away from racing it was not easy. In the warm up we found a good solution and I was confident for the race because the pace was good. Unfortunately, from the beginning of the race I lost the feeling, especially with the front and I was forced to return to the pits to change the tires. Back on track the sensations were not good and I was forced to retire. Thanks to the whole team for the good work of these days and to Giovanni for this great opportunity”.

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Andrea Iannone finishes fifth in German GP at Sachsenring. Dovizioso crashes out on lap 15

Andrea Iannone finished Sunday’s German Grand Prix, round 9 of the MotoGP World Championship held at the Sachsenring circuit, in fifth place. Starting from row 2 in fourth place, the 25-year-old Italian from Vasto crossed the line on the opening lap in fifth, a position he held onto until the chequered flag. Iannone was able to hold off a late recovery by Smith to finish 2.5 seconds ahead of the British rider.

Teammate Andrea Dovizioso had a tougher race after starting from row 4 with the eleventh quickest time in qualifying. The 29-year-old Italian from Romagna worked his way up to eighth place by lap 10 and kept that position until lap 14, right behind Crutchlow. Unfortunately a crash on the next lap put an end to the Ducati Team rider’s race.

In the overall standings Iannone maintains his third place with 118 points, while Dovizioso has now been joined in fifth on 87 points by Smith.

Ducati are still third in the Constructors’ standings, while the Ducati Team is in second place in the special Teams’ ranking.

Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 5th

“For sure today the situation was difficult to manage: we were once again capable of finishing in the top 5 and, as I have been saying since the start of the championship, this is one of our aims this season. Obviously it gives you more satisfaction to fight with the top riders but at this moment it was difficult to do anything more. At the start I tried to stay close to the leaders, taking some risks, but then I realized that in sectors T2 and T3 I was losing a lot and so I tried to impose my own pace and in the end it didn’t go badly. I want to thank all the guys in the team and all of Ducati for the faith that they are putting in me.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – DNF

“I am very disappointed about the crash: I really didn’t need that. Starting from row 4 I wanted to make up some places, even though on this track it’s anything but easy. I was pushing hard and lapping quite quickly, but as I was always on the limit I couldn’t be smooth and so I made a mistake. I’m disappointed for the team and it’s a real pity for the championship, but apart from this it also confirms that at the moment we don’t have the same speed as we had at the start of the season. We knew it was going to be tough on this track, so now I’m looking forward confidently to Indianapolis, which might give us some more indications about our current level as it is a track that is a bit more suitable for the GP15.”

Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager)

“We can certainly not be happy about today’s results. We knew that it would be difficult for us at the Sachsenring and unfortunately it was. In any case Iannone demonstrated once again how much he’s matured as a rider, he did a steady race and remains third in the championship. Dovizioso was unlucky but I am sure that in the next few races he will once again be able to demonstrate his true worth.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

CLOSE BATTLE FOR TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR RIDERS IN GERMANY

The GP of Germany ended spectacularly today with both Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales fighting with each other in the final laps and finally finishing a close 10th and 11th place at the flag.

The race itself was a great show for the fans, with many riders fighting for positions in the middle of the pack; and with the Team SUZUKI ECSTAR riders well-up in the battle. The overall performance of the Factory GSX-RRs has constantly improved during the whole weekend, although it has been a pretty hard three-days for the team’s engineers and mechanics to find the most-effective set-up on both bikes.

At the start, both Espargaro and Viñales had some trouble keeping their starting positions (7th and 12th) and entered the first corner having lost some places, so both Spaniards needed to recover. Espargaro immediately hit the gas to regain some places, while Viñales took a little more time to find an effective race-pace. At mid-race their fight together was settled around 10th place and their battle together became closer, lap-after-lap, until in the closing stages of the race, with the younger rider being closer to more experienced Espargaro. During the final two laps they fought hard with some overtaking moves, until the last corner where Espargaro won over Viñales, taking 10th position and 11th place going to his younger team-mate.

The weekend gave important data to Suzuki engineers about the areas which are most important to focus-on before the next round. The first chance to test this will be this week with a two-day private test session at Misano in Italy on Wednesday and Thursday.

Satoru Terada – Project Leader:

“This has been a hard weekend for us. We struggled to find a proper set-up to make the riders comfortable and this meant that we couldn’t make a weekend as good as the last few ones. Espargaro did not have a good feeling on front, especially in slow corners and Viñales couldn’t find effective rear-grip and acceleration. We thought that this circuit would have been suitable for us and on the contrary this is probably one of the weekends where we struggled most. Of course we know that acceleration is one of our weaknesses and our development team is working to find a solution, the seamless gearbox is probably one of the most effective solutions and I hope we will be able to introduce it pretty soon. This will not only improve the pure performance on lap-time but also give more confidence to the riders. The test in Misano we are going to make this week will be important as well because we will try some new ideas in the chassis department but mainly look for some more effective set-ups, as the track is pretty similar to this one; so therefore we will try to capitalise on the experience we got here.”

Aleix Espargaro:

“I am sorry for the weekend because for the entire three days we couldn’t find a proper set-up. I felt very uncomfortable with the front in slow corners and we couldn’t find a proper way to improve. In the race, at the end, I’m happy I hit the top-10; it is important to think of the points, because I took many risks and I had to think about the championship and, most of all, the development process. We will go into Misano after this weekend and we will test as much as possible, with Tom – the Chief Technician. We already have some ideas about where to work on. Indy will not be easy for us and also the second half of the season we need to make a big step forward.”

Maverick Viñales:

“Well at the end I really enjoyed fighting with Aleix. I’m proud to be so close to him because he is my point of reference as he has the same machine and a lot more experience and even though I would have preferred to be ahead of him, at the end of the day the real thing is that we both would like to be fighting with other riders at the top rather than with each other. In the race I felt the very same problems I’ve encountered the whole weekend; a bad feeling with the rear and a lack in acceleration due to a lot of spin. This was a problem at such a tight circuit as Sachsenring as it has so many slow corners and we definitely need to improve on this. I’m positive for the test we will do in the week and I trust my engineers can find some solutions to develop the bike still further so we can be more competitive after the summer break.”

More, from a press release issued by CWM LCR Honda:

CRUTCHLOW TAKES SEVENTH PLACE AT THE SACHSENRING

Cal Crutchlow put in a solid display at the German Grand Prix on Sunday with the Briton coming home in seventh place in the MotoGP category at the Sachsenring.

The CWM LCR rider endured a heavy fall as he qualified in tenth on Saturday, but he defied pain sustained in that crash to improve in Sunday’s race. Crutchlow made up ground on the riders ahead of him before eventually ending in seventh spot, behind fellow Briton Bradley Smith.

Crutchlow acknowledged afterwards that a different selection of front tyre could have seen him finish even higher, but was satisfied with his result after a difficult weekend in Germany.

Cal Crutchlow #35 (7th – 41’30.968)

“Today’s race result is not the best, but I am happy to finish and get some points before the summer break. We had some problems in the race, I choose the wrong front tyre as we should have gone with the same one as Danny (Pedrosa) and Marc (Marquez). I think it would have gained us quite a few seconds over the race in certain places .

“I also had problems with the rear tyre which gave off vibrations throughout the race so obviously to finish was not a bad job, especially as I still has some pain in my elbow and arm from yesterday’s crash

“We need to go into the summer break and improve for Indianapolis and from then on. I think the first half of the season has been only average and I believe we can do much better.”

More, from another press release issued by CWM LCR Honda:

MILLER SECURES A WELL-EARNED POINT AT THE SACHSENRING

Jack Miller finished in the points at the German Grand Prix on Sunday as he came home 15th in the MotoGP class after a fine ride at the Sachsenring.

After qualifying in 18th, the CWM LCR rookie made an excellent start and looked well set for a solid points finish as he lapped in 13th. However, he endured some issues with his bike towards the end of the race which meant he had to ease up to ensure he saw the chequered flag.

The Australian still emerged as the top open Honda rider, though, finishing nearly five seconds ahead of former world champion Nicky Hayden and admitted afterwards he was pretty satisfied with his weekend’s work.

Jack Miller #43 (15th – 41’54.856)

“It was a really good start to the race for about the first 20 laps, but then I started to have problems with spin, especially down the hill, and I had a really big moment when the bike went sideways. That allowed Hector (Barbera) and Alvaro (Bautista) back through and it was hard to sit behind them as I was quicker than them through the corners, but they were able to get on the gas on the straights and make a big break.

“I really pushed hard behind them, but then I had a couple of moments and just thought I should take no risks and accept the one point we had. Nicky (Hayden) was about six seconds behind me so we could relax and take the last three laps a little bit easier.

“It’s not quite ideal, but it’s an improvement from last week and we are definitely improving each week. We’ve had some good results and some bad results, today could have been a really good result but it wasn’t to be. Anyway, I’m quite happy with my first half-season in MotoGP, it’s been difficult but it’s also been a lot of fun.”

More, from a press release issued by Avintia Racing:

Great recovery from Barbera to be the best Open at the Sachsenring

12/07/15 Avintia Racing MotoGP Grand Prix of Germany – RACE

After two difficult races Hector Barbera was again the best Open Class rider in the Grand Prix of Germany. The Avintia Racing rider got a great start from the 13th place of the grid, but was pushed out by the Australian Jack Miller and crossed the line 20th after the first lap. But Barbera didn’t gave up and started to fight his way back up through the field to catch Miller and Bautista with ten laps remaining. Then he slow down a little bit to get strength for the final attack and study his rivals before increasing the pace again to see the checkered flag almost two seconds ahead of Aprilia rider and more than five seconds ahead of Miller’s Honda. With this result Hector increases his leading in the Open Class and heads the summer break more relaxed, but looking forward to come back stronger to Indianapolis in four weeks time.

The race was not so good for Mike Di Meglio. After a bad start, the Avintia Racing French rider tried to push harder and crashed out in the third lap after touching the white line in turn four. He got again on the bike, bad it was so damaged and was forced to retire.

HECTOR BARBERA #8 / 13th (P1 Open) @HectorBarbera

I’m really happy because we have been fast during all the weekend. Maybe today I’ve wait a little bit more because I knew my pace was very strong. We made some modification this morning and maybe it was not the best for the first part of the race, but it worked really well at the end. One more time Miller touched me, this time in the first corner, and I lost a lot of places… But we made a good recovery and I was fast. At the end of the day, to finish 13th and first in Open Class is positive. After two unfortunate races, today was the time to show our potential. Now we go to the summer break more relaxed because we needed to stop this bad run. The team has been fantastic and I have to say thank you to everybody, but particularly to Jarno and Bocha. Regardless of the work inside the garage, during the week they help me to be always at 200 per cent and when I arrive to the track I give the maximum.

MIKE DI MEGLIO #63 / DNF @Mikejpp63

I’ve made a bad start and then I tried to push harder to catch the group back, but in the third lap, in turn four, I slightly touched the white line and I couldn’t save the crash. I’m disapointed for the team, because they have been working hard during the weekend and we expected to finish the first half of the championship with a good result. Now we have to focus to get back stronger in Indy.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Six out of six

The Spanish rider takes his second victory of the season in a Repsol Honda 1-2. That makes it 6 victories in a row at the Sachsenring for Marquez, all of which were won from pole position.

When Marquez came here a year ago, he was chasing his 9th consecutive win of the season. At this point in 2015 Marquez’s title hopes are weak but the Spaniard’s desire to win is anything but. Now that Marquez appears to be back on form, he’s showing no signs of making things easy for the Movistar Yamaha duo in the second half of the season. Marquez said: “From the beginning I felt good and when I had the gap I just tried to manage it. I’m happy because this weekend we’ve been always first and it has been a long time since I had that. It’s a good result to go on holidays with, but I want to keep getting better.”

Dani Pedrosa has a very good record here in Germany too, having won here 6 times in total across MotoGP and 25cc classes. Before the race he said that if he could get a good start and stay at the front for the first few laps, it would make all the difference. This proved to be true as the Spaniard joins team mate Marc Marquez on the podium, securing a 1-2 for the Repsol Honda team. However Pedrosa said the real turning point came at half distance: “When the tank emptied at the middle of the race I was comfortable and I went straight past Jorge. Then I went about catching Rossi but he wasn’t easy to pass. On corner exit the Yamaha is strong. Then I made the move and had to push at the end. I had to push a little more than him as he was really trying!”

Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) finished in third place on the podium, which is enough to increase his championship lead, so Rossi has a lot to be happy about: “I think that Dani had something in his pocket – I was at the limit with a constant rhythm, but at one point he was able to pull out 2 very fast laps, I tried to battle but he was too quick. Anyway it’s another podium, I gained 3 points on Jorge [Lorenzo] which is important for the championship. We know that we always suffer here against the Hondas, so we’ll wait for a better track for the M1!”

With Rossi’s team mate Jorge Lorenzo coming in 4th place, the Movistar Yamaha duo did enough to maintain their positions at the top of the championship standings, with Rossi enjoying a 13 point lead over Lorenzo.

Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) claimed 5th position, followed by British riders Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Cal Crutchlow (CWM-LCR Honda) in 6th and 7th respectively.

Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) and Aleix Espargaró (Team Suzuki Ecstar) complete the top 10.

Simeón takes first ever Moto2™ win

The Belgian rider claims his first ever victory in his sixth Moto2 season.

Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) finished in second place, followed by Álex Rins (Páginas Amarillas HP 40) in third.

Zarco started from pole for the third consecutive race, but the Frenchman dropped down to 3rd after turn 1, as Xavier Simeón (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) started as he meant to go on, firing off the line to push up in to second. Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team) took the lead through turn 1, but Zarco quickly regained the lead.

The entire Moto2 grid opted to use the medium front tyre. However with Morbidelli choosing a softer rear tyre than Zarco, the Italtrans Racing Team rider was able to move in to second and keep the pressure on Zarco early in the race, but he dropped back in the second half as the tyre began to go off. As a result he was overtaken by Xavier Simeón at turn 12 with 9 laps to go, as Simeón started his push to catch Zarco which resulted in Simeón passing Zarco with 4 laps left to go.

Simeón held off Zarco to take the win. He was overjoyed to claim a long overdue first victory, also making him the first Belgian to win since 1983. He said: “I made a good race and a good pace, I was confident because my bike was very good all weekend. A lot of times in the past I’ve started from the first row but I didn’t take the opportunity to get on the podium, so this time I thought ok, I’ll take it.”

Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) didn’t have so much luck today. On the last lap he running in 3rd place, only to be taken out by Morbidelli on turn 13 – the last corner – after the Italian came in too hot in a final attempt to get on the podium. Neither rider finished the race.

After the race Zarco congratulated the amazing performance of the Belgian and came away feeling like the real winner today. Between his 2nd place finish and Rabat’s crash, his championship lead is more secure than ever: “I stayed close to him planning something for the last corner, but he was really constant and strong, he did well to catch me and win. It’s bad for Tito, but at the end I am also a winner today because my advantage in the championship is bigger – the target was reached and I’m happy.”

Simone Corsi (Athiná Forward Racing) finished in 4th place, ahead of Briton Sam Lowes (Speed Up Racing) and Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Racing Intewetten) in 5th and 6th respectively.

Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Lorenzo Baldassarri (Athiná Forward Racing), Julián Simón (QMMF Racing Team) and Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten) complete the top 10.

Kent storms to Moto3™ victory in Germany

The Leopard Racing rider reclaims the Sachsenring for Britain & for Honda.

It’s safe to say that this Moto3 round belongs to Danny Kent. The Briton topped the timesheets in every single session so far this weekend, starting from pole for the third time in 2015 to take his 5th victory of the season after dropping the rest of the pack early. No one was able to come close to the championship leader’s pace around the 2.28 mile German circuit.

Kent’s victory comes with extra honours: he is the first British rider to win a lightweight-class (125cc/Moto3) Grand Prix at the Sachsenring since Dave Simmonds won around the original road circuit in 1969. He’s also the first Honda rider to win a lightweight-class GP in Germany since Marco Melandri won the 125cc GP at the Sachsenring in 1999.

Kent said: “I didn’t have a great start, the first few laps I was sliding a bit, but the tyre got better after about 5 laps. We’ve been strong all weekend which gave me great confidence and I knew I had a chance to pull away. I’m really happy to get another win and extend our championship lead.”

Kent’s team mate Efrén Vázquez came in second place making it a Leopard Racing 1-2, with Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing Team Moto3) completing the podium in Germany.

The majority of riders opted for a medium front and rear, with Niccolò Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold) risking it with a soft front. He finished in 5th place, behind Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) who was just denied a podium finish in a last lap battle with Bastianini.

Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0) came in 6th, followed by Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in 7th. Alexis Masbou (SaxoPrint RTG), Andrea Locatelli (Gresini Racing Team Moto3) and Niklas Ajo (RBA Racing Team) complete the top 10.

Quartararo was bumped up to the front row for the race start despite qualifying in 4th, since Enea Bastianini’s penalty knocked him down the grid. Eleven Moto3 riders had their start positions moved due to penalties given for riding slow close to the racing line during qualifying. However Quartararo’s race ended early when he high sided coming out of the final corner (turn 13) with 21 laps still to go, thankfully escaping uninjured.

Hiroki Ono (Leopard Racing) crashed out on the first lap. Francesco Bagnaia (Mapfre Team Mahindra) also retired from the race after his bike cut out due to unidentified technical problems. The German wild card rider Maximilian Kappler (SaxoPrint RTG) crashed out of the race at turn 10, ending a difficult weekend in which he was also taken out by Danny Kent during qualifying practice.