From a press release issued by Honda:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

2002 MotoGP 500 World Championship, round 9
German Grand Prix, Sachsenring
July 19/20/21 2002

MotoGP LEADER ROSSI WARY OF TRICKY SACHSENRING

MotoGP dominators Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) and Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) may face their toughest challenge of the 2002 World Championship at Sachsenring this weekend. Series leader Rossi admits to disliking the ever-so tight circuit, while Ukawa is battling to be fit following his massive crash during practice for last week’s British Grand Prix.

So far this year the two RCV V5 riders have ruled in MotoGP, Rossi winning seven of the eight races, Ukawa the only man to have beaten his young team-mate. The pair have also scored lap records at all eight GPs, while Rossi has taken pole at seven of the eight events. But since Sunday’s German Grand Prix is followed by GP racing’s usual four-week midseason recess, it’s important that the Italian and Japanese stars have a good weekend before kicking back for their summer holidays.

Rossi is already looking forward to a few weeks off from his hectic schedule. As the most popular rider in GP history, he works much harder than most of his rivals off the track. “I’m keen to get to Germany, then get on with the summer holidays, we all need to recharge our batteries!” he smiles.

Rossi ruled at Donington last Sunday despite a crunching practice crash that left him with a cracked left thumb and concussion. His impressive race victory was his fifth GP success at the British venue and his 46th from a career total of 100 GP starts, giving him an amazing 46 per cent win rate, a modern-era record. But he’s only won once at the Sachsenring, taking 250 victory in 1999.

“Sachsenring has never been one of my favourite tracks,” he explains. “I don’t really like the balance of the layout, it’s too tight and slow for my style. For sure, there will be another big fight between the four-strokes and the two-strokes, with the four-strokes having the usual advantage on acceleration, while the lighter two-strokes should have a handling advantage.”

Ukawa’s main concern at the moment is his fitness. He tumbled at 200kmh/125mph as he attacked one of Donington’s more treacherous corners, leaving him badly battered and bruised, and nursing a broken toe on his right foot. “It was my Donington curse again,” says the man who’s never had much luck at the British track. “I’m feeling much better now, though I’m still pretty sore. I’ve now got a small cast on the foot and if I continue my recovery at the current rate, I should be okay for the GP. I’ll meet the medical team at Sachsenring and then we’ll make a decision.”

If both Rossi and Ukawa have their doubts about the German GP, the man who’ll be aiming to make the most of their uncertainties will be Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500). The Brazilian veteran pushed Rossi hard at last month’s Dutch TT, while only a poor start at Donington prevented him from running at the front again. And he reckons his NSR500 could be just the tool for the tight and twisting ‘Ring, where he won two years ago.

“I think Sachsenring could be good for us two-stroke riders,” says Barros, the fastest 500 rider in MotoGP. “The track isn’t so fast, what you really need is good turning and the 500s turn well, because they’re lighter than the four-strokes. The first section is very tight and I think we’ll have the advantage there, and also through the long, fast lefts that follow, because the 500s can hold a line better than the four-strokes, again because they’re lighter.

Barros will have young German Alex Hofmann (West Honda Pons NSR500) as his team-mate for the second race this weekend. Hofmann is subbing for Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) who broke a forearm at Assen, and is looking forward to performing in front of his home fans after a getting-to-know-you outing on Capirossi’s NSRs at Donington.

“I’m taking my time to get my confidence on the Honda,” said the former 250 rider who had stood in for injured Yamaha rider Garry McCoy at the Catalan and Dutch rounds. “The Honda is all-over stiffer and more aggressive than the Yamaha the engine, the chassis and the Michelin tyres, which I’ve never used before. Most of all though, I’m just happy to be here and glad to have had one race to get used to the package before the Sachsenring.”

Daijiro Kato (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR500) is steadily returning to form after a difficult few races. He scored his best result in five races at Donington, despite racing with a broken bone in his right hand. “I’m now feeling more comfortable on the bike and I think my hand should be much better in Germany,” says Kato who was beaten at the last turn of last year’s 250 German GP. “This year I aim to concentrate all the way to the flag!”

Things are also looking up for fellow NSR men Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) and Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500). Both men performed superbly in British GP qualifying, Harada taking his first front-row start of the year, van den Goorbergh just a fraction off row two.

“We showed what we’re capable of during Donington qualifying,” says Harada. “Now we need to sustain our speed over race distance. Germany should also be good for us, the track should work well for the two-strokes, though we won’t really know till we get there.”

Van den Goorbergh benefited from much-improved Bridgestone tyres in Britain. “I don’t know if we’ll have anything else new for Germany and that will have a large bearing on how I perform,” he says. “Overall we’re making good progress with the tyres and I hope we can continue that work this weekend.”

Honda’s top 250 performer Robby Rolfo (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) also believes he can have a good weekend in Germany. Currently third in the 250 World Championship, the Italian reckons his NSR should work well at this track which prioritises handling over horsepower. “I’ve not been to the circuit on a Honda but so long as we make a good job on settings, we’ll be fighting for a podium finish,” he says. “The bike’s base set-up gets better for me with every GP and that’s very important.”

Team-mate Emilio Alzamora (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) wants to get back into action as soon as possible after a disappointing run to 12th at Donington. The Spaniard’s front-row start proved he’s got the speed and he aims to underline his pace with a good result at the ‘Ring. “It’s a difficult track but a fun track,” says the Spaniard. “I was very unhappy after Donington, I want a good result to erase that memory.”

Honda’s 125 title-hope Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Jr Team Honda RS125R) goes for a fourth straight podium finish on Sunday to boost his 125 title challenge. Winner at Assen and second at Catalunya and Donington, Pedrosa is currently just 16 points behind series leader Manuel Poggiali (Gilera) and he thinks he has a good chance of another good ride this weekend.

“Sachsenring will be an important race for us,” says the 16-year old. “I beat Poggiali at Donington and I want to do that again, so we can go into the holidays with a good feeling. This racetrack is quite unusual, power is less important than at many other circuits, so we’ll focus more than ever on achieving the correct chassis set-up.”

Masao Azuma (Liégeois Competition Honda RS125R) had his best ride of the year at Donington, missing the podium by just one place. “It’s a bad habit, I also finished fourth in Germany last year,” he grins. “I was fighting in the front group last year and aim to do so again, though I don’t like the first part of this track, it’s too tight. Overall though, I love the place!”

The GP circus reconvenes for the Czech GP on August 25. After Brno there’s one more race in Europe, at Estoril, before the action moves out of Europe for the second time, for the Pacific, Malaysian and Australian GPs. The final GP of 2002 takes place at Valencia, in Spain, on November 3.