Sete Gibernau remembers the 2003 German Grand Prix as one of the best races of his career. He took his fourth victory of that season against Valentino Rossi in a duel that Sete would like to recover. Marco Melandri has won three times at this circuit; after winning the 125cc race in 1999 he added two consecutive 250cc victories in 2001 and 2002. The Italian, who has failed to score points in the last two races due to consecutive crashes at Laguna Seca and Donington Park, is targeting a return to the podium as he aims to defend second place in the MotoGP World Championship standings, with American rider Colin Edwards lurking just one point behind. 

The Sachsenring is particularly tough for four-stroke motorcycles because it is so tight and twisty. It requires great physical effort from the rider in the series of left-handers, where his knee remains on the ground for several corners. It is also the slowest track on the calendar and the only one where the MotoGP and 250cc lap times are very similar. The four-strokes can only fully open the throttle for 15% of the 3.671km track. 

Honda dominated the MotoGP podium last season, with the victorious Max Biaggi joined by Alex Barros and Nicky Hayden. Dani took 250cc victory in practically the same time as Biaggi, with an average speed of 153.470km/h compared to the Italian’s 155.888km/h. Dani took the chequered flag in a time of 41’23”287 whilst Max stopped the clock at 42’37”239 having completed one more lap. 

Pedrosa looks to tighten his grip 

Motivated by his excellent result in the Donington downpour, Pedrosa is determined to take an even stronger hold of the championship before going on holiday. Dani dominated last year’s race, crossing the line with an advantage of four seconds over Sebastián Porto. This season he has more rivals but Pedrosa is still the man to beat with four victories already this season and a 34-point advantage in the 250cc World Championship standings.

Hiroshi Aoyama missed a good opportunity to score his first Grand Prix victory in England when he crashed out on the twelfth lap of a race he led by over three seconds. The Japanese rider missed out on the podium by just three tenths of a second at Sachsenring last season and he wants to use that experience to stay with the lead group at a circuit where it is always difficult to escape.

There is a change to the race timetable this weekend, with the 125cc class due to start at 11am followed by MotoGP at 12.30 and 250cc at 14h.

 RIDER QUOTES

 Sete Gibernau:
“We’re going through a difficult time for all of us but we can’t afford to drop our guard – we have to keep fighting to come out of it. Too much time has passed since my last victory but we haven’t forgotten how to win and we want to relive that feeling again more than anybody. Hopefully it can be in Germany before we go on holiday, to clear our heads and return strongly at Brno. It’s almost better for me to have another race so soon to try and forget about it. It will be another intense weekend because Sachsenring is a very small track that requires a lot of physical effort on a MotoGP machine.”

 Marco Melandri:
“I think it will be good for me to be racing again this weekend, without a break in between. I haven’t scored points for two races now but I know that I can be at the front again. I want to get my good feeling back and start riding as aggressively as I was before. Sachsenring is a track that I like and I have good memories of it – I have won there three times before and I hope to get a good result in MotoGP. It would be good if we could have nice weather this time.”

Dani Pedrosa:
“I had never been on the podium in Germany before but last season on the 250 I had a great race at Sachsenring. I hope to have another good result there and I hope the weather stays nice all weekend. We already had enough water in England and even though I can’t complain about how things went there I always prefer to race in the dry. After this weekend we have three weeks of holidays so we have to try and go away with a sweet taste in our mouths.”

 Hiroshi Aoyama:
“I lost a good chance to win at Donington so I want to make up for that with a good race in Germany. Last year I finished fourth but I was only a few tenths of a second off the podium so let’s see if I adapt as quickly as possible to the track this year and get a good position on the grid. In Germany it’s important to get a good start and stay at the front because the first turn is very tight and it’s always dangerous to be part of a big group there.”

THE VENUE

GERMAN GP
Circuit: Sachsenring
Grand Prix: Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland
Inauguration: 1996
Latest modification: 2003
Length: 3.671 m.
Width: 10 m.
Right corners: 4
Left corners: 10
Main straight: 780 m.

MOVISTAR RIDERS’ RESULTS AT SACHSENRING 

 THE CIRCUIT ACCORDING TO:

 SETE GIBERNAU:

 Pocket-sized
This is the smallest and twistiest circuit on the calendar. The 250cc guys do similar times to MotoGP here because we are handicapped by the weight of the bikes and the slow nature of the circuit. I’ve got mixed memories of this track: really good in 2003 and really bad in 2004. It’s one of the strangest tracks on the calendar because it’s so small.

 MARCO MELANDRI:

 Half throttle
It’s an ideal circuit for a 125 because it is so slow. In the first half you can’t open the throttle beyond 30%, although the second half is faster. The section I like most is the series of lefts from Audi Bruecki to Sachsen. The most important thing for your lap time here is throttle control. I’ve got happy memories because I won my first 250cc race here in 2001.

 DANI PEDROSA:

 Up and down
In Germany we’ve got a circuit with two differing sections – one slow and one fast. It’s also characterised by big level changes and the gearbox has to be very precise.

 HIROSHI AOYAMA:

Strange
It’s a bit of a strange circuit because there are a lot of left-handers one after the other and it’s easy to get lost; you have to remain very concentrated to know where you are the whole time. It’s small but at the same time it’s quite tricky. You have to control the throttle well for a good lap.

 2005 SEASON SO FAR FOR THE MOVISTAR RIDERS 

 LAP RECORDS:

 MOTOGP
Circuit record: 1’24”630 Max Biaggi (2003)
Pole 2004: 1’22“756 Max Biaggi (Honda)
Podium 2004:  1. Max Biaggi (Honda), 2. Alex Barros (Honda), 3. Nicky Hayden (Honda)

250 CC.
Circuit record: 1’26”469 Fonsi Nieto (2003)
Pole 2004: 1’25”078 Sebastián Porto (Aprilia)
Podium 2004: 1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 2. Sebastián Porto (Aprilia), 3. Alex De Angelis (Aprilia)

125 CC.
Circuit record: 1’28”490 Pablo Nieto (2003)
Pole 2004: 1’27“836 Andrea Dovizioso (Honda)
Podium 2004: 1. Roberto Locatelli (Aprilia), 2. Héctor Barberá (Aprilia), 3. Pablo Nieto (Aprilia)

SUNDAY TIMETABLE
11.00h 125cc race (27 laps, 99.117km)
12.30h MotoGP race (30 laps, 110.13km)
14.00h 250cc race (29 laps, 106.459km)