FIM MotoGP World Championship Sachsenring, Germany July 17 Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 30 laps, 41:12.482 2. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), -1.477 seconds 3. Casey STONER, Australia (HONDA), -1.568 4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (HONDA), -10.513 5. Ben SPIES, USA (YAMAHA), -10.719 6. Marco SIMONCELLI, Italy (HONDA), -10.923 7. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (SUZUKI), -27.451 8. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (DUCATI), -27.510 9. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (DUCATI), -27.576 10. Colin EDWARDS, USA (YAMAHA), -33.491 11. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), -38.944, ran off track 12. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (DUCATI), -39.148 13. Randy DE PUNIET, France (DUCATI), -39.415 14. Cal CRUTCHLOW, Great Britain (YAMAHA), -39.477 15. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (HONDA), -54.516 16. Toni ELIAS, Spain (HONDA), -72.335 17. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (DUCATI), -1 lap World Championship Point Standings (after 9 of 18 races): 1. Stoner, 168 points 2. Lorenzo, 153 3. Dovizioso, 132 4. Rossi, 98 5. Pedrosa, 94 6. TIE, Spies/Hayden, 85 8. Simoncelli, 60 9. Edwards, 59 10. Aoyama, 57 11. Barbera, 49 12. Abraham, 41 13. Bautista, 39 14. Elias, 35 15. Crutchlow, 34 16. Loris Capirossi, 22 17. De Puniet, 15 18. John Hopkins, 6 19. Kousuke Akiyoshi, 3 More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Álvaro Bautista gave Rizla Suzuki its best dry result of the season so far with a gutsy and battling performance in Germany today. Starting from 10th on the grid, Bautista knew a good start was required and by the end of the first lap he had moved up into ninth place. Over the next two laps he became involved in what turned out to be a race-long battle with the Ducati’s of firstly Nicky Hayden and then also Valentino Rossi. The trio swapped places many times over the remainder of the race, but Bautista saved his best till last. He produced his quickest lap of the race on the penultimate lap and then badgered and passed both Rossi and then Hayden on the final corner to take a well deserved, but hard-fought seventh. Bautista chose the softer option of the Bridgestone race tyres today as the track temperatures and overcast, but humid conditions gave him the confidence to use the softer rubber. The 101,309 spectators at trackside were not only treated to the three way battle involving Bautista, but the action at the front was equally as hot, with Dani Pedrosa eventually coming out on top from World Champion Jorge Lorenzo in second, with current championship leader Casey Stoner third. Rizla Suzuki now heads straight to the United States of America for the next round on the calendar, which is scheduled for Sunday 24th July at the Laguna Seca Raceway in California. Álvaro Bautista: “I am happy with today’s result because it was a fun race and I am quite pleased with where we finished. At the beginning I had to try and get a good start, because in the first corner you have to be very careful with other riders. I got a decent start and was in a good position just behind the top riders, but I was a bit too far away from them, and my rhythm wasn’t quite as quick, so I couldn’t quite stay with them. I got involved with the two Ducati guys and really enjoyed the race with them. At the end it was very difficult to overtake Valentino and Nicky because they brake very hard and very late, making it tough to get past. On the last lap I overtook Valentino at the end of the main straight. I then followed Nicky and waited for the last two corners because I knew I had an opportunity there to get him. I had to brake with everything I had to get past him on corner 12, but I ran a bit wide and lost some speed, Nicky overtook me on the last corner, but he entered too quickly and he went out, so I got past him on the exit of the corner. I am very happy that we are the first finisher after the top six because they are on a different level at the moment. For the next race I hope to continue with this way of working and get closer to the top.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “I think we showed this weekend at Sachsenring a track that has traditionally been very tough for Suzuki that both the GSV-R and the rider have made good steps in 2011 – despite the bad luck and huge injury at the start of the season. The high-speed crash that Álvaro suffered at the end of warm-up this morning was not ideal race preparation and it might have had a small effect on his ultimate pace, but nonetheless he dug deep and a rode a very entertaining and aggressive 30-laps. Maybe with a better qualifying position which we have to keep working on or with a luckier first couple of laps, he might have been able to tow along on the back of the fastest riders. We won’t know if that could have been the case until we get the opportunity again at Laguna Seca next week. It was an incredibly competitive race today, all the top riders finished and we were beaten by only the four Factory Hondas and the two Factory Yamahas – this weekend has definitely been a step in the right direction.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Pedrosa victorious with new lap record on harder slicks Round 9: German GP Race Sachsenring Circuit, Sunday 17 July 2011 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Hard, Extra Hard. Rear (asymmetric): Medium, Hard Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa took a close-fought victory in Germany today from second grid, setting a new lap record and a new total race time record to open an eventual winning margin of 1.477seconds. For much of the race though no rider led by more than one second, the top spot changing hands between Casey Stoner who crossed the line in third and Jorge Lorenzo who passed Stoner into the last corner on the final lap. The laptimes throughout were remarkably consistent as the top three set mid-to-low 1m 22s for the entire race. Despite the cloud cover and a slightly reduced track temperature, all the front-runners used Bridgestone’s extra hard compound front tyres and harder option rears. Despite being one step softer in Germany this year, race-distance durability of the rear slicks was very good. Pedrosa’s lap record came at two third race distance on lap 20, though he also set a provisional record on lap 9, and the total race time was over 9seconds faster than the previous benchmark. Further back the battles raged just as closely around the undulating 3.6km Sachsenring circuit. Andrea Dovizioso, Ben Spies and Marco Simoncelli hotly contested fourth position, all using the harder tyre options, whereas Álvaro Bautista used the softer option front and rear slicks to finish seventh, taking the chequered flag just ahead of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden. Hiroshi Yamada Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “Congratulations to Dani and the Repsol Honda Team for a fantastic win here today in just his second race back from injury. This is clearly a circuit he likes as last year he also set a lap record on his way to victory. That was a very exciting race with so many close battles throughout the field and these are exactly the sorts of races we like to see and that are good for the spectacle of the sport and for the 101,309 fans that attended today which is a fantastic number. Sachsenring is a short circuit so hopefully we’ll have another exciting race like this one at Laguna Seca!” Hirohide Hamashima Assistant to Director, Motorsport Tyre Development Division “I am pleased with tyre performance today as both specs showed good warm-up performance, outright grip and race-distance durability. I am also satisfied with our revised softer rear tyre compound selection for this race as we saw a good mix of both the harder and softer options, meaning that both were suitable. A new lap record by Dani is a good measure of tyre performance, especially on lap 20 of the race, whilst we can see from the consistency of the laptimes at the front and the new total race time record that durability was also good.” Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team Race Winner “This is an unbelievable feeling. To come back so soon and win so soon is unbelievable and I’m very happy. Even with the front row yesterday I was so happy, but I didn’t expect this. I wasn’t feeling perfect with the bike but as the race went on I was feeling better and had a better rhythm. I knew I would suffer less here than Mugello because it’s more lefts but still I was suffering a lot physically by the end. I’m really satisfied with the victory and I want to thank everyone who’s been with me during this hard time.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: SACHSENRISNG GRAND PRIX: THIRTEENTH PLACE FOR RANDY DE PUNIET. GUINTOLI THANKS THE PRAMAC RACING TEAM Randy De Puniet finished the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, site of the ninth stop in the MotoGP world championship, in 13th place. After a positive weekend for the Frenchman, who was one of the fastest and most solid Ducati riders, the race didn’t go as the Pramac Racing Team had hoped. A mistake on the first lap cost No. 14 precious seconds, and several positions as a result. His teammate Sylvain Guintoli, riding the Ducati Desmosedici in place of Loris Capirossi, finished at the rear, in eighteenth place. Marco Rigamonti – Randy De Puniet rack engineer “Randy had a race pace that was pretty similar to that of the second group, composed of Bautista, Hayden and Rossi. Unfortunately, the first lap affected the rest of his grand prix; he didn’t want to risk crashing and was a little cautious, mostly when cornering. Lap by lap, he wasn’t able to maintain the rhythm of the others, especially because of some problems with the front that showed up midway through the race. As he wasn’t able to push very hard, he decided to finish the race as well as he could. We could have done better if we hadn’t lost the group ahead in the opening laps.” Randy De Puniet – 13th in race – 17th in MotoGP standings “I’m not satisfied about my thirteenth place. I was able to start from the third row, having lost all those seconds in the first lap has affected the whole race. I have lost the group in front of me, the one composed by Hayden, Rossi, Edwards and Barbera and I was no longer able to shorten the distance. Halfway through the race, then, I had problems with the front: I could not close the gap, and I lost more positions. I tried to finish the race, I could not do better. We will try to improve in next weekend”. Sylvai Guintoli – 17th in race “It was a great experience for me. In these two days my goal was to understand the bike. I’ve done it: today, lap after lap, I improved my bests lap times, and the best one has arrived at the end of the race. I would like to thanks Pramac Racing Team for giving me this opportunity and, of course, my Superbike team which allowed me to be here. MotoGP is always a good test”. More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: ANOTHER TOUGH RACE FOR ELIAS AT TWISTY GERMAN CIRCUIT Sachsenring, 17 July: after yesterdays positive qualifying session, the LCR Honda MotoGP racer Toni Elias started from the 14th spot on the grid for the 30-lap race at the German circuit but the Spaniard was hoping for a different result aboard his RCV. The reigning Moto2 World Champion worked on getting more feeling and easier handling from the front end of his RCV at the twisty race track but after another good start Elias had to face his usual problems with the rear managing to finish the race in 16th position. Now LCR Team will move straight to Laguna Seca circuit for the USA GP on the 24th of July. Elias: “Yesterday we thought we made a good step forward and I was hoping for a better result. But at the beginning of the race with the full load of fuel when the bike was heavier I have struggled very much to control it. Suddenly our usual problems came back again and I have started to lose the front in the braking and no confidence in the rear. I managed to cross the line in 16th position but obviously I am very frustrated. By the way I do not want to lose my motivation and my concentration and we’ll see what is going to happen in Laguna”. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha MotoGP Team: The Grand Prix of Germany provided some of the most exciting racing yet this season as Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies kept it to the last corner to deliver second and fifth places respectively. Mugello race winner Lorenzo spent the entire 30 lap race distance embroiled in a battle at the front with Championship leader Casey Stoner and fellow Honda rider Dani Pedrosa. Having retained second off the grid, the Yamaha Factory rider passed Stoner with 17 laps to go. As the laps counted down Lorenzo conceded first to Pedrosa then second to Stoner before coming back with a stunning pass on the last corner of the last lap to steal second place back at the line. Spies dropped one place to sixth off the start line, the Texan battling with a lack of grip that prevented him from closing down the front group early on. A consistent pace for the majority of the race saw a lonely ride holding position until his patience paid off as Marco Simoncelli and Andrea Dovizioso were gradually reeled in. The fighting of the two in front made it difficult to make a pass on the twisty track. Spies held off until the last corner on the last lap to pass Simoncelli for fifth, echoing his team mate’s pass on Stoner just seconds earlier at the same spot. Denying Stoner second place means Lorenzo has now taken a step to close the Championship lead down, trailing by just 15 points with a total of 153 as they head to Laguna Seca. Team mate Spies holds onto sixth position, now just 13 points behind Valentino Rossi in fourth. Jorge Lorenzo Position : 2nd Time: +1.477 “I’m very happy! It has been a fantastic race today. From the middle of the race I got very tired in my left hand so I didn’t know where I could find the force to push and keep pushing to the end. Then Casey stopped the bike a lot two corners from the end so I took profit from it, opened full throttle and in the last corner I went for it. It was a miracle pass! This race is very important so we are very proud and happy with the result. I have to thank my Yamaha crew who worked very hard to give me a fast bike all weekend, they have been fantastic.” Ben Spies Position : 5th Time: +10.719 “Unfortunately I got to the front group a little too late but I tried as hard as I could. I just lacked some rear grip in the beginning, I tried to be consistent and hope they came back to me because I couldn’t run the pace they were running in the beginning. Lap time wise it was probably the most consistent I’ve ever done in a race. We caught up to them with three laps to go and then all hell broke loose. Simoncelli started trying to find a way past Dovizioso and every time I tried to look to go past one of them was on one side of the track and the other on the other side. It was fair play, they were racing each other but it kind of messed up my game plan! Simoncelli ran wide at the end so I got him again in the last corner. I wish we could have got Dovizioso because we had the pace, we just ran out of laps.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “A great result, of course we would have liked to win it but it was clear that Dani had a little bit extra, he’s very good at this track and was also strong last year. To make up four championship points in the last corner at the end of the race is of course great, especially mentally for Jorge. The rest of the season is coming up and we’re closing the gap with still a few races to go!” Massimo Meregalli Team Director “A good weekend for us, we are catching Stoner. I think Jorge did a really great job and a very impressive last lap. He saw a door almost open and he just went in and took the place cleanly, a perfect job. Ben had a big lack of grip but he was really consistent; he did almost all the race at the same pace. I don’t think he could have found an additional tenth of a second. Fifth place is not so bad looking at the pace and I think he could have finished fourth with a couple more laps. We are looking to Laguna Seca now, and I am confident we can make another step forward.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Repsol Honda victory and another double podium in Sachsenring The Repsol Honda Team dominated the German Grand Prix in a hard fought thirty lap race. The 101,309 spectators at Sachsenring witnessed an incredible battle for the win between Pedrosa, Stoner and Lorenzo, with Dani Pedrosa finally clinching victory. There was also an exciting fight for fourth position between Dovizioso, Simoncelli and Spies with Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso coming out on top and finishing behind team mate Casey Stoner. It was a great race for Dani Pedrosa who returns to the top step of the podium at only his second race after having missed three races due to an injury to the right shoulder. The Repsol Honda rider today sealed his second win of the 2011 season and his fifth Grand Prix victory at the Sachsenring circuit (three wins in MotoGP class, and two in 250cc). On lap twenty, Dani also broke his own Circuit Record Lap record here at Sachsenring with a 1’21.846. Championship leader Casey Stoner celebrated a seventh successive podium finish today, a personal record in MotoGP class. He led the race for nine laps but was unable to match the pace of Pedrosa and was robbed of second place at the very last corner by Jorge Lorenzo. Andrea Dovizioso had an exciting duel with Marco Simoncelli, finally finishing ahead of him in fourth and retaining his third position in the Championship standings. The Repsol Honda Team will have no time to rest, as they pack all the race equipment tonight and leave for the United States tomorrow. The U.S GP hosted at the fascinating circuit of Laguna Seca will take place next Sunday, July 24th. DANI PEDROSA 1st World Championship Position: 5th with 94 points “It’s an incredible feeling to be back and win a race so early; I didn’t expect it, but this circuit has been always very good for me and I made it happen. I was already surprised yesterday with second position in qualifying and to finish the weekend in this way is amazing, a huge relief for me after a very hard time with injuries. Here I suffered less than in Mugello because of the layout, but in the race today I had a strange feeling, something I’ve never had before. At the beginning of the race I wasn’t feeling great on the bike, I was fourth but I didn’t get nervous or worried because I’m still not mathematically out of the Championship battle, but I know it’s almost impossible. So, I just let the laps pass and in the middle of the race, with less fuel in the tank and when the tyres started sliding, I decided to step it up a little and it worked perfectly. I’m very happy with this v ictory, I’ve been suffering a lot even though this race track is not physically demanding, because I’m still weak. So a big thanks to my family and doctors that helped me to be back here because they all know how hard it has been. Also to my team and to all my fans that never gave up, they deserve it also”. CASEY STONER 3rd World Championship Position: 1st with 168 points “We knew today would be a hard race, we found a good set up yesterday in qualifying but we had an issue with the rear tyre and the temperatures getting too high, with it spinning too much. We took it easy in the early part of the race and thought we’d try to preserve the tyre and warm it up slower than we did in Mugello. After a few laps I decided to make a move to the front to see what we could do and we were able to pull a small advantage, but too small compared to the effort we were putting in so I backed off on my pace a little and tried to stay as smooth as possible and see what happens. They came past me and Dani was riding so strong and was able to get past Jorge before I got there, he built a small advantage and by the time I got past Jorge and I struggled to chase him down. I made a few small mistakes and that left just Jorge and I for the last few laps. I tried everything I co uld, riding the cleanest lap possible and trying to block my line, but Jorge came up on the dirty part of the track and I thought it would be too high a risk but he made it stick and I have to settle for third place. I’m still leading the Championship and I’m thankful for the points here today”. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 4th World Championship Position: 3rd with 132 points “It was a tough race because this circuit is small and difficult. Our target was the podium so I’m a little disappointed with fourth position, but if we look at today’s race in a bigger perspective, we took a big step forward in terms of race pace compared to my previous records at this circuit. We had a good start and tried to stay with the front riders. It was a good battle with Simoncelli and Spies for fourth position and I’m happy we won this battle! We were consistently fast during the whole weekend and even though today we were struggling, we finished fourth. We confirm that we are there and we have retained third position in the Championship, even if we aimed to gain more points on Lorenzo and Casey. My congratulations go to Dani, Casey and Jorge for a great race”. More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Edwards and Crutchlow collect valuable points in Germany Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow collected valuable points after both were engaged in exciting battles throughout today’s German MotoGP race at the Sachsenring. Edwards delivered a determined ride throughout the 30-lap encounter, the American shrugging off the lingering affects of a nasty sore throat to finish in a hard fought 10th place. Edwards was locked in a captivating four-rider battle for seventh that included Alvaro Bautista, Valentino Rossi and compatriot Nicky Hayden, who are all riding full factory machinery. But with four laps remaining he had to abandon his pursuit of the trio in front when he enco untered a rear grip problem in the left-hand corners. Edwards though was still satisfied having set a personal best race time at the Sachsenring, which has traditionally been a bogey track for the 37-year-old. He is now confident and looking forward to competing for a top six finish in his crucial home round at the Laguna Seca in California next weekend. Crutchlow meanwhile rode with typical aggression and he produced a fantastic ride under intense pressure to keep Randy de Puniet, Hector Barbera and fellow MotoGP rookie Karel Abraham at bay in 11th position. Battling a lack of front-end feel that Crutchlow had worked tirelessly to improve over the course of the weekend, the British rider was unable to keep his line entering Turn 3 on lap 26 and he dropped back to 14th place. The 25-year-old quickly got back into his rhythm, but despite launching a concerted effort to reclaim the lost places, he finished less th an 0.5s away from 11th. Colin Edwards 10th 59 points: “That was a difficult race because it was one of those where you can see a few places up for grabs in front of you but you can’t do anything to try move forward. I was with Valentino, Nicky and Alvaro for pretty much the whole race but it didn’t matter what I did or tried, I couldn’t get close enough to try and pass them. One tenth round this track feels like a million because it is so short but it felt like I was on a bungee rope the whole time. Each time we started going through the series of lefts from Turn 4 onwards, they just seem to have more traction than me. They’d pull a few bike lengths on me but then I’d gain it all back in the hard braking for Turn 12 at the bottom of the hill and hard braking for the last corner. My bike was really stable on the brakes but the bike lengths I’d c atch up I’d lose again on the next lap and the process would start all over again. With a few laps to go I was in Turn 2, off throttle and the rear came round. From that point on I had less grip and a bit of vibration and I couldn’t stay with them and I was making more mistakes trying to keep their pace. So I just took 10th place, which is not where I want to finish, but I’ve never gone great at this track and I’ve gone faster than I’ve ever run here. Usually it’s a disaster here, so I’m actually happy with my race and going to Laguna Seca now to race in front of my home fans, I feel really good and confident.” Cal Crutchlow 14th 34 points: “Obviously I can’t be happy to have finished 14th because I believe I should be fighting inside the top ten. But taking the positives out of a difficult race, I was able to fight for the whole race with riders that are a lot more experienced than me, and who have much more knowledge of this track. I really wanted to finish 11th but when I ran wide with a few laps remaining, it was always going to be an uphill battle to get back three places on a track like this that is tight and twisty. But I didn’t give up and I pushed as hard as I could right to the end and nearly recovered a couple of places. I just didn’t have enough grip from the front or the rear and it was difficult. I didn’t feel I could push any harder and it strange because we made a lot of big changes to the bike this weekend without ever really finding an improvement. We’ve learned a few things that will help in the future and now I’m looking forward to getting to Laguna Seca where I’ll be aiming to get back inside the top ten.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager: “The feeling is better than the result looks because Colin had a strong race. He had a good start and he rode most of the race together with the factory Ducati and factory Suzuki. The pace was good and I think there was not a lot more we could do. This is a tough track for Colin but his pace was pretty strong and consistent and I am happy. Cal finished 14th and he is not happy with that. I think he has learned a lot today and after a tough period it means something to finally see the chequered flag. I don’t want to say that we are happy to finish 14th, but I think together with Randy and the other Ducatis he has been learning a few things. Cal has done some really good performances in the beginning of the season, but we should never forget that it is a learning year and he has to understand that if he has to finish 14th like today, it is all about learning from that experience. The target we are working on this season is that he becomes a better MotoGP rider, even if sometimes he doesn’t get the result he expects. Now we can focus on L aguna Seca, which is a massive race for Colin and Monster, so everybody at Tech 3 Yamaha will be giving maximum effort as usual to deliver a top result in America.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: 2011 FIM MotoGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 9 GERMAN GRAND PRIX, SACHSENRING RACE DAY, JULY 17 Weather: Warm and overcast Temperature: 21C ambient / 29C track Weekend crowd attendance: 230,133 PEDROSA SCORES HEROIC WIN, STONER A CLOSE THIRD Just two weeks after returning from injury, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) was back on the top step of the podium at the Sachsenring today after a thrilling race-long battle with reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and current points leader Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC212V). The trio dominated the race, all of them taking their turn to lead, but in the end it was Pedrosa who had winning speed, the Spaniard crossing the finish line 1.477s ahead of Lorenzo. It was a heroic weekend’s work from the former 125 and 250 World Champion who had missed the Catalan, British and Dutch rounds with a fractured collarbone that required two operations. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) continued his strong run of results, running with the leaders in the first half of the race and taking fourth place after a frantic battle with Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) who was beaten into sixth by Ben Spies (Yamaha) at the final turn. Stoner started the race from pole position, but played it safe in the very early stages, slipping to fourth on the first lap. Anxious to prevent his tyres from overheating this anti-clockwise circuit places huge stresses on the left side of the tyres Stoner was planning to save his best for last. He started moving forward on lap four, passing Pedrosa, then the next lap bettering Dovizioso and Lorenzo to take the lead, but he couldn’t break away. Lap after lap, Lorenzo stayed close, with Pedrosa, Dovizioso and Simoncelli swapping positions right behind. Then on lap 14 Lorenzo dived inside Stoner at turn 12. The Yamaha man managed to pull a gap of six tenths in a couple of laps, Stoner apparently struggling as his RCV got lively in some of the circuit’s fast, undulating turns. Sure enough, on lap 16 Pedrosa went past his team-mate at turn one and set off in pursuit of Lorenzo. It took him just five laps to catch his fellow Spaniard, zooming ahead on the start-finish at the start of lap 22 after Lorenzo lost drive out of the final turn. Pedrosa was in sensational form, quickly making the break, leaving the other two to dispute second place. Not surprisingly, Pedrosa was exhausted in the final stages, but the remarkably resilient 25-year-old didn’t slacken. Only after the race did he reveal that he has been suffering from anaemia, probably the result of going under the knife twice in recent weeks. This was his second win of the year and his fifth at the Sachsenring three on MotoGP bikes and two on 250s. Stoner’s hopes of keeping his tyres from getting too hot came to nothing. In the final lap it was obvious that he was lacking grip in left-handers, which allowed Lorenzo to close right up on him halfway through the lap then dive inside at the final corner. That pass cost Stoner four points and shrank his World Championship lead to 15 points, with nine races done and nine to go. The Dovizioso v Simoncelli also duel went all the way to the flag, Spies joining the two Italians in the final two laps and splitting them at the finish. Dovizioso’s fourth place 10.5s down on the winner means he hasn’t finished outside the top four in the last seven races. His consistency is paying dividends in the title hunt he is currently a very strong third, 21 points behind Lorenzo and 36 behind Stoner. Simoncelli was disappointed to have lost out to Dovizioso and Spies, but nevertheless it was another strong finish for the former 250 World Champion who has managed to avoid making major mistakes at the last two races. Still suffering from his nasty crash at Mugello, Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) struggled all weekend here, crossing the line in 15th position to claim the final point. Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP RC212V) had another challenging race and finished 16th. Marc Marquez (Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol-Suter) made it three wins in a row in the Honda-powered Moto2 series, the 18-year-old coming out on top of a tense duel with local hero Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing-Kalex). Rookie Marquez’s fourth win of the year inched him closer to Bradl in the points chase, but the 21-year-old German still leads the way by 47 points. It certainly won’t be in Bradl’s game plan, but even if he finishes second to Marquez in the last eight races he will still win the world title. Pole-position man Marquez led the charge away from the grid, but Bradl squeezed past into the first turn, only for Marquez to retake the lead at the next corner. From there the pair disputed the lead throughout, Marquez in front most of the way, Bradl getting past on several occasions. At one point Marquez let Bradl by because he didn’t want to do all the hard work out front. De Angelis was also in the mix, with Luthi joining the leading trio at half-distance. Marquez and Bradl weren’t alone out front until the last five laps when they pulled a gap on Alex De Angelis (JIR Moto2-Motobi) and Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2-Suter), who had been right with them for much of the race. De Angelis got between Marquez and Bradl on several occasions, but never quite made it into the lead. On the penultimate lap Luthi fell victim to Randy Krummenacher (GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing-Kalex), who had a brilliant ride from 15th on the grid, often lapping faster than the leaders. All the riders were trying to conserve their tyres, but at the same time no one could ease off for a moment, with barely a couple of tenths separating each of the first quartet, lap after lap. With seven laps to go Marquez and Bradl swapped the lead three times in two laps, the reigning 125 champion retaking the lead for the last time as they swept down the hill into turn 12 for the 24th time. Try as he might, Bradl never quite got close enough to have another go. After struggling with front grip in qualifying his team had modified their set-up, which ended up costing him some rear grip in the final stages. He crossed the line 0.896s down on Marquez and 0.491s ahead of De Angelis, who scored his first podium result of the year. Krummenacher finished a further two seconds down and just ahead of Luthi. The battle for sixth was won by Yonny Hernandez (Blusens-STX-FTR), who had been at the tail end of the lead group until shortly before mid-distance. Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team-Suter) was next up, just ahead of Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project-FTR). Front-row starter Aleix Espargaro (Pons HP40-Pons Kalex) was just behind the lead group when he crashed at high speed coming down the hill from turn seven, taking Max Neukirchner (MZ Racing Team-MZ) with him. Both men were badly battered and bruised in the accident, but suffered no serious injuries. Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2-Suter) had a luckless return from injury, sliding off at the very first corner after qualifying an impressive fifth fastest. The Spaniard also escaped with bruising. The MotoGP class now heads west for next weekend’s United States Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, while the Moto2 pack starts its summer holiday. Both classes reconvene at Brno for the Czech Grand Prix on August 14. MotoGP rider quotes Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V): race winner “It’s an incredible feeling to be back and win a race so early; I didn’t expect it, but this circuit has been always very good for me and I made it happen. I was already surprised yesterday with second position in qualifying and to finish the weekend in this way is amazing, a huge relief for me after a very hard time with injuries. Here I suffered less than in Mugello because of the layout, but in the race today I had a strange feeling, something I’ve never had before. At the beginning of the race I wasn’t feeling great on the bike, I was fourth, but I didn’t get nervous or worried because I’m still not mathematically out of the championship battle, but I know it’s almost impossible. So, I just let the laps pass and in the middle of the race, with less fuel in the tank and when the tyres started sliding, I decided to step it up a little and it worked perfectly. I’m very happy with this victory; I’ve been suffering a lot even though this race track is not physically demanding, because I’m still weak. So a big thanks to my family and doctors that helped me to be back here because they all know how hard it has been. Also to my team and to all my fans that never gave up, they deserve it also.” Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: 3rd “We knew today would be a hard race, we found a good set up yesterday in qualifying but we had an issue with the rear tyre and the temperatures getting too high, with it spinning too much. We took it easy in the early part of the race and thought we’d try to preserve the tyre and warm it up slower than we did in Mugello. After a few laps I decided to make a move to the front to see what we could do and we were able to pull a small advantage, but too small compared to the effort we were putting in so I backed off on my pace a little and tried to stay as smooth as possible and see what happens. They came past me and Dani was riding so strong and was able to get past Jorge before I got there, he built a small advantage and by the time I got past Jorge and I struggled to chase him down. I made a few small mistakes and that left just Jorge and I for the last few laps. I tried everything I could, riding the cleanest lap possible and trying to block my line, but Jorge came up on the dirty part of the track and I thought it would be too high a risk, but he made it stick and I have to settle for third place. I’m still leading the Championship and I’m thankful for the points here today.” Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 4th “It was a tough race because this circuit is small and difficult. Our target was the podium so I’m a little disappointed with fourth position, but if we look at today’s race in a bigger perspective, we took a big step forward in terms of race pace compared to my previous records at this circuit. We had a good start and tried to stay with the front riders. It was a good battle with Simoncelli and Spies for fourth position and I’m happy we won this battle! We were consistently fast during the whole weekend and even though today we were struggling, we finished fourth. We confirm that we are there and we have retained third position in the Championship, even if we aimed to gain more points on Lorenzo and Casey. My congratulations go to Dani, Casey and Jorge for a great race.” Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 6th “It’s a shame because fourth place would have felt completely different. I was faster than Dovizioso for the first half of the race and maybe I took too long to pass him, losing contact with the leaders in the process. We passed each other a few times and then the tyre wear was so bad on the left side I was really struggling and it was hard to control the bike. I tried everything I could on the last lap but it wasn’t enough and Spies also came through. It is a shame but this was still a good race for us because we were close to the front and if we can just find another couple of tenths in race trim we’ll be fighting for wins.” Hiroshi Aoyama, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 15th “It wasn’t an easy race, especially the first half, but I tried to finish it in the best possible way. Unfortunately my physical condition has been a problem all weekend and I have not found it easy. I have tried to get more confident with the bike from session to session but it has been hard. I am sorry for the team and I hope to be in better shape for the next race at Laguna Seca.” Toni Elias, LCR Honda MotoGP: 16th “Yesterday we thought we made a good step forward and I was hoping for a better result. But at the beginning of the race with the full load of fuel when the bike was heavier I struggled very much to control it. Suddenly our usual problems came back again and I started to lose the front in braking and had no confidence in the rear. I managed to cross the line in 15th position but obviously I am very frustrated. By the way, I do not want to lose my motivation and my concentration and we’ll see what is going to happen in Laguna.” Moto2 rider quotes Marc Marquez, Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol-Suter: race winner “Before the race I knew we could make the difference at the end because we were very strong on used tyres. This track is a little special you need confidence in the bike to really push. And this victory is so important, because I beat Bradl at his home track. He was so strong, but in the end I could push 100 per cent. At one point I let him past because 29 laps in front here is a long time it’s important to control the other riders. Near the end I followed him for five laps and I could see that I could go faster. Three wins in a row is great because it’s so difficult to do this in Moto2, and it means that we can go into the holidays relaxed. I want to enjoy the moment and I don’t want to think about the title yet. Early in the season I made too many mistakes and lost many points, so I want to do this race by race. Everything is possible. The gap to Bradl is very big, so there’s no pressure on me. I can race for wins every race and we will see where we are at Valencia.” Stefan Bradl, Viessmann Kiefer Racing-Kalex: 2nd “I knew he might be faster than me, but I was a bit surprised by my rear tyre losing so much near the end. I had expected to lose something because yesterday morning I crashed and in qualifying we had a problem with the front, so I lost some confidence in the front. We made some improvements to the front for qualifying and we made some more adjustments to the front for the race, so I expected to lose some rear grip. During the last five laps I realised that I was at the limit that was enough. I’m very happy with my performance at the moment it’s great to be one of the top guys, fighting for wins and making good results. It’s a good feeling to go into the holidays in this situation. I’m not thinking about the championship too much because we are only halfway.” Alex De Angelis, JIR Moto2-Motobi: 3rd “This podium is very, very important, even though it’s come quite late! Me and my team have spent a lot of energy this season. At first our new chassis didn’t like me, but now I feel very confident with the bike, so I was able to make a lot of overtakes in the race. I didn’t have enough speed on the straights though, so I was getting passed by the other guys a lot. I am happy for the podium and now we must continue working like this. I know I cannot fight for the World Championship, but I know I can fight for race wins.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Dani Pedrosa emerged victorious from a three-man race-long battle for first place at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, with Jorge Lorenzo wrestling second from Casey Stoner on the final corner of a thrilling Round 9 race. Repsol Honda’s Pedrosa had his usual great start, taking the hole shot ahead of Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and Stoner (Repsol Honda) when the lights went out for a race which was to be a 30-lap fight to the finish at Sachsenring. The Spaniard’s win is his fifth Grand Prix victory at the Sachsenring circuit, and came in only his second race after returning from a three-race absence through injury. At the end of lap one, Lorenzo was in the lead ahead of the three Repsol Hondas of Pedrosa, Stoner and Dovizioso, who fought amongst each other for second until the Australian made his attack on lap five to take the lead, only to have Lorenzo regain the lead status a few laps later. The Mallorcan then tried desperately to defend his line, until lap 21 when Pedrosa got a huge drive out of the last corner to launch himself into the lead for the last time. Meanwhile a three-rider battle for fourth ensued behind the leaders between Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing), out of which Italian Dovizioso crossed the line first, two-tenths of a second in front of American rider Spies and four-tenths ahead of fellow countryman Simoncelli. Another intense fight starred Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and the two Ducati Team riders Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi. Bautista crossed the line seventh with Hayden less than a tenth of a second behind the Spaniard and Rossi just six-thousands behind the American, with Colin Edwards (Tech 3 Yamaha Monster) following the trio in tenth. Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) had an off-track excursion in the early stages of the race, but then staged a great comeback from the back of the pack to finish eleventh, in front of Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing). Stoner continues to top the Championship, and now has 168 points which leaves him 15 points ahead of defending World Champion Lorenzo. Moto2 Marc Márquez took his third consecutive win his fourth of the season in the Moto2 race, ahead of local favourite Stefan Bradl and Alex de Angelis, who completed the podium in third. Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) had the hole shot off the start, but pole man Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) quickly took the lead on the first lap of the Sachsenring race, scrapping for the lead with the German until the Spaniard regained first position on lap 22 of 29 to take the win. De Angelis (JiR Moto2), who started from the second row, pressured Bradl throughout the race, followed by Aleix Espargaró (Pons HP 40) and fourth row starter Yonny Hernández (Blusens-STX), until Espargaró and Max Neukirchner (MZ Racing) collided on lap five, ending the race for both of them. De Angelis was not able to make a move on Bradl, with the Italian finishing the race in third, half a second behind the German. Randy Krummenacher (GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing) made his move on fellow countryman Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) on the second to the last lap to grab fourth place after the two had sparred with De Angelis for third. Sixth place went to Hernández, with Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing), who started 23rd on the grid, in seventh. Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project) finished eighth, Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing) ninth and Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing Moto2) in tenth. A first corner incident took out Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar), for whom the German GP was his first race back since breaking his leg at Catalunya on June 5th. Simón was unhurt though was unable to rejoin the race. Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Racing) ran off track in the same incident with Simón, rejoined the race, and then later crashed out. Márquez remains second in the Championship, though has narrowed the gap to leader Bradl to 47 points at the halfway point of the season. The next Moto2 race will be the Brno round on August 14. 125cc GP A breathtaking last lap battle between Héctor Faubel (Bankia Aspar), Johann Zarco (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) and Maverick Viñales (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team) in the 125cc race saw Frenchman Zarco make a move on Faubel out of the last corner of the race, crossing the finish line at the exact same time as the Spaniard. A video finish determined a tie between the two, and Faubel was awarded his first win of the season by virtue of having set a faster lap during the race than Zarco. A great start by Sergio Gadea (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team) put him in the lead at the start of the 27-lap race, where he was joined by the likes of Luis Salom (RW Racing GP), Miguel Oliveira (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica), Efrén Vázquez (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo), Nicolas Terol (Bankia Aspar) in an eight-man tussle for the lead. Meanwhile Viñales was pushed down to tenth at the start, giving the youngster who started on pole a tough job to scrap his way back to the front on the tight and twisty Sachsenring circuit. Fierce racing ensued, with Terol, Vázquez and Gadea swapping the lead and no break in the front eight until Vázquez was forced off at turn one trying to out-brake everyone and ran off the track, taking him out of the lead pack with 11 laps to go. Vázquez later crashed out of the race while pushing hard to catch the leaders. With ten laps to go, there were still six riders fighting fiercely at the front, with aggressive passing and bumping for position between the leaders. Terol faded from the front on lap 22, and Gadea was dropped shortly after when it appeared he had an issue with the clutch lever of the bike. Meanwhile Viñales had made his way up to Faubel and Zarco, and the three began the struggle for the lead until the photo finish. Championship leader Terol finally finished in fourth, with Salom and Gadea in fifth and sixth. Jonas Folger (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport), who had tried to stay with the frontrunners but fell back halfway through, ended the race seventh, while Sandro Cortese (Intact Racing Team Germany), Danny Kent (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) and Niklas Ajo (TT Motion Events Racing) completed the top ten positions. More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: EIGHTH AND NINTH PLACES FOR HAYDEN AND ROSSI IN GERMANY Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi finished eight and ninth, respectively, in the German Grand Prix, after a nice charge by the Italian and a subsequent three-way battle with his teammate and Alvaro Bautista. Of course the result isn’t what the two Ducati Team riders had hoped for, but the work carried out over the weekend helped them to gather important information. After Saturday’s very difficult qualifying session, Valentino and his team found a setting for the GP11.1 that enabled him to improve his pace by approximately five tenths. Nicky won the duel with his teammate for eighth place, although he had hoped to be closer to the front after a good showing in practice. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 8th “I tried to go with that group in front of me off the start, but about the second or third lap I had a pretty big moment over the bumps in Turn 1 and they took off. From there I had a big battle with Bautista and Vale. It was fun, with a lot of overtaking, but battling for seventh place, 27 seconds back is hard for me to take at a track that I love and where I’ve been on the podium several times. I got to seventh toward the end and did my best lap, but they came with me. Bautista got me on my last lap, at the bottom of the hill. I re-passed him in the last corner, but he squared it up and nipped me to the line. It’s easy to say now, but I wish I raced the soft tyre. Thanks to the team and everybody that worked hard, but we had better hopes for today, going into Laguna.” Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 9th “Today went a little better. This morning in the warm-up we made a change to the setup that helped me to slightly improve the feeling compared to the very, very difficult practice sessions. After the opening laps, I realized that my pace was the same as that of Nicky and Bautista’s group, maybe even a little faster, but I had small glitches with the gearbox in the second half of the race. It was mainly hurting me in the last corner, when I changed to third, because the bike wheelied and it took me half the straightaway before I could put it back down. At the end of the race, I wanted to pass Nicky on the brakes into the first corner, where I was pretty strong, but instead even Bautista passed me on the straight. Anyway, that’s not where we want to be. We definitely improved today compared to Saturday, but we’re still too far back. We find the race setup late, and that makes everything more difficult, but in order to improve we have to try many things, which makes it easy to lose our direction. It’s understandable, because we don’t know this bike well and I think we have to take chances and try everything. Now we’ll analyze the data from this weekend and decide what to do for Laguna Seca.” Vittoriano Guareschi (Team Manager) “It was a very difficult weekend, as we had to work really hard until the last minute in order to put Valentino in a position to have a decent race. Of course our goals are different from our today’s results, but it’s positive that we were able to find a setup, even if it was at the last minute, that let Vale lap half a second faster than in qualifying. Nicky had a close call in the opening laps and lost a little confidence, but he regained it in the second half of the race, maintaining a good rhythm until the finish.”