From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
German Grand Prix, Sachsenring
July 25/26/27 2003
DUCATI MARLBORO MEN KEEP THE GAS ON
This weekend the Ducati Marlboro Team commences the second half of its debut MotoGP season at the Sachsenring, the final event of a busy few weeks before the crew gets the briefest of rests in the run-up to next month’s Czech Grand Prix.
Two weeks ago the team contested the British GP before hightailing it to Brno for tests that should allow them to start the Czech round with good base settings. This week, however, they go into Germany’s World Championship round ‘blind’. Most of the Ducati Marlboro Team has never even seen the German circuit before, including rider Troy Bayliss. Only Loris Capirossi and one or two of the team have any knowledge of the slow-speed German venue.
This is nothing new. As a ‘rookie’ MotoGP outfit, the Ducati Marlboro Team is used to starting from zero on Friday mornings, but this hasn’t prevented it from getting good results. Last month Capirossi took pole position at Assen, even though the team’s Desmosedici MotoGP bikes hadn’t previously run at the Dutch track.
The Czech GP is the last-but-one European event before the MotoGP circus heads around the world for its global tour of Brazil, Japan, Malaysia and Australia. The season concludes at Valencia, Spain, on November 2.
On August 9 and 10, Capirossi, Bayliss and other members of the team visit the big Marlboro Masters event at Zandvoort, Holland, where they will ride demo runs on the awesome 220-plus horsepower Desmosedici.
DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM IN POSITIVE MOOD
A fortnight ago Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss finished the British GP with fourth- and fifth-place results to cement their fourth- and fifth-places in the 2003 MotoGP World Championship. The pair may have done better if an accident involving another rider hadn’t delayed them, and they’re both keen to return to the podium at the Sachsenring this weekend.
If the Donington result didn’t exactly fulfil their hopes, it did prove the team’s ongoing strength, as Ducati Motor Holding president Federico Minoli points out: “We are now clearly the strongest team in MotoGP after Honda, which I think is an incredible achievement considering that we have only been in MotoGP since April.”
Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo echoes Minoli’s feelings. “We come to Germany in positive mood,” he says. “The Sachsenring looks like an unusual circuit but it seems that we have a good base set-up for our machines, so we can adapt well from one track to the next.”
Although the ‘Ring is known for its tight, twisty layout, Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli insists that his engineers won’t be taming the Desmosedici’s power by reprogramming its engine-management system. “We always want to have more power!” he grins. “We look at it this way – at slower tracks the riders have the opportunity of opening the throttle less! But we will be working on front-end confidence because both our riders had trouble with that in Donington’s tighter turns and there are plenty of slow corners at the Sachsenring. At Brno we worked mostly on tailoring our settings specifically for that circuit, so we can go there next month in good shape.”
CAPIROSSI RETURNS TO THE ‘RING
Loris Capirossi missed last year’s German GP through injury, so the Ducati Marlboro Team man is looking forward to getting reacquainted with the Sachsenring. The Italian has had mixed fortunes at the German venue – so far he’s done no better than sixth in the premier class there, but he did finish a close second to current MotoGP rival Valentino Rossi in the 1999 250 German GP at the track.
“It’s not a bad circuit but the first section is so slow that it’s more like a go-kart track,” says Capirossi, winner of last month’s Marlboro Catalan GP. “That means the first few corners aren’t much fun on a MotoGP bike, but they’re the same for everyone, so we’ll just get on with it. The crowd is great though – a lot of people come to this race and they really enjoy themselves.”
Riding a 220-plus horsepower motorcycle is never going to be easy, but it’s a particularly complex art at the Sachsenring, where Capirossi & Co must be ultra-careful with throttle control. “You can’t use too much gas in most of the corners, in fact you hardly ever use full throttle at this track.”
Capirossi suggests that anyone who wants to get an idea of the skill and bravery required by MotoGP riders should take a short walk to turn 12 – a blind, fourth-gear downhill right-hander. “It’s one of the most unbelievable corners in MotoGP,” he adds. “It’s a lot of fun and we’ll be getting a lot of wheelspin down the hill.”
BAYLISS LEARNING HIS MotoGP LESSONS
Like most of his crew, Troy Bayliss will start this weekend’s German GP from zero. The former World Superbike champion has never seen the Sachsenring before, but he’s getting used to learning new tracks fast – before the start of the 2003 season he had only raced at four of the 16 MotoGP venues.
In the past the Australian used a PlayStation MotoGP game to learn the basics of each circuit, but he’s given up on that, firstly because an arcade game can’t come close to 333kmh/206mph real life, and secondly because his son Mitchell invariably used to beat him!
“This is a learning year for me in MotoGP, so that’s what I’m doing – learning,” says the Aussie who has scored one front-row start and one podium finish so far. “I’ve just got to keep banging into these new places and doing my best. The bike is good, and although it’s not changed much over the last few races we’ve been working on some detail set-up stuff, but we’re still missing a little something. We’re not exactly sure what we’re missing, hopefully we’ll find it sooner or later. But if we went back to places like Jerez or Welkom now, we’d do a lot better than when we raced there back in April and May. We’re going fast, but so is everyone else, and when you’re not either winning or fastest, you always want more. That’s what racing is all about.”
THE TRACK
The Sachsenring was one of GP racing’s most popular circuits back in the sixties, when a quarter of a million sports-starved East German fans would flock to the track to see Western teams take on the incredibly quick Eastern Bloc two-strokes.
The lethal high-speed street circuit hosted its last GP in 1972, an all-new short circuit returning the venue to the calendar in 1998. At that time the short circuit was the slowest in GP racing, with a lap speed of just 143kmh/89mph. Revisions for 2000 upped the pace to 150kmh/93mph and the addition of an extra loop in 2001 (which left out the only remaining part of the old street circuit) increased lap speeds to 153kmh/95mph. Further minor adjustments have been made for 2003. Initially deemed too slow, the Sachsenring is now a popular venue with most GP riders.
Nevertheless the character of the anti-clockwise circuit is still tight and twisty, putting the emphasis on delicate mid-range engine performance rather than brute top-end horsepower. Riders use full throttle for less than 20 per cent of a lap at Sachsenring, as they ease on the power through the twists and turns.
SACHSENRING
3.671km/2.281 miles
Lap record: to be established (new track length)
DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM DATA LOGS
TROY BAYLISS
Age: 34
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
First GP: Australia, 1997 (250)
GP starts: 9 (8xMotoGP, 1×250)
World Superbike victories: 22
World Championships: 1 (Superbike: 2001)
Sachsenring 2002 results: DNS
LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 30
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
GP victories: 23 (1xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
GP starts: 192 (22xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125)
Pole positions: 35 (2xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (125)
World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998)
Sachsenring 2002 results : DNS
More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:
TWO-STROKE REBELS RETURN FOR SACHSENRING TWISTER
Proton Team KR riders Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki will switch back for one more race on the trusty two-stroke at next weekend’s German GP. The move has been forced by circumstances – but they chose the right track to do it.
Shortest and tightest track of the year, the Sachsenring favours the light and nimble handling of the 500cc two-stroke. Where the Proton can brake late and flick left and right through the constant switchback of turns, climbs and drops, the extra weight and power of the 990cc MotoGP four-strokes means they are a big handful, with scant chances to make use of their extra acceleration and top speed.
Last year, the Proton pair achieved their best double result of the season, both in the top ten, with McWilliams seventh and Aoki right behind him.
Even so, the two-stroke was not the first choice. The England-based team is four races in to a highly public race development programme of their own 990cc four-stroke, the radical KR V5. Only a shortage of the necessary upgraded engine parts has forced the decision to skip this race, and to concentrate on readying the new-generation four-stroke for a full-on racing return at Brno after the summer break.
“We never really meant to race the bikes we’ve seen out on the track so far,” explained legendary team owner Kenny Roberts. “They were the first development prototypes, and even while we’ve been racing we’re also doing initial shake-down tests.”
The inevitable teething problems, usually dealt with behind closed doors, have included oil circulation and crankshaft weaknesses, the latter requiring a re-design. The new crankshafts are expected to be ready after the summer break, and the threat to reliability of continuing to use the flawed first version was another factor in the decision.
Work continues flat out on the four-strokes, after two fruitful days of testing at the Brno GP circuit, after the British GP.
“It’s been hectic since we first ran the bike – one race meeting after another, with barely time to deal with the development programme in amongst all the travelling,” said team manager Chuck Aksland.
The team also lost valuable testing time because of the restricted practice schedule at race meetings – just one hour morning and afternoon for the preceding two days.
“Brno was only the second time we’d had the bike at a track where we weren’t actually racing,” said Aksland. In spite of some problems, both riders turned a substantial number of laps of the Czech Republic circuit.
“Without the pressure of racing and the time restrictions, we were able to find out a lot more about the machines, and get some of the data we need to move the bike ahead. We also have an engine on the dyno that should give us more power,” said Aksland.
“We need to get it to the stage where it can go round and round reliably, and then keep on developing from there,” he said.
At 2.281 miles (3.671km) the Sachsenring is the shortest track of the season, though not the slowest. Both Valencia and Estoril have slower lap record speeds than the German track’s 96.091 mph (154.644 km/h).
The ninth race of the season marks the end of the first term of the 16-round championship. After the race, a short two-weekend summer break precedes the resumption of hostilities at Brno.
JEREMY McWILLIAMS: READY TO RACE AGAIN
The Brno tests were really valuable, and we found out a lot. We’re starting to understand the new bike better now, and why it does the things it does. There’s a lot of work to be done on it, and we could make a start without the pressure of being at a race meeting. But the bike still gave a few minor problems, and rather than risk spending too much time in the pits at Sachsenring we decided to race the two-stroke there. Tyre development for the two-stroke came to a stop last year, so we might struggle a little, but generally it should go quite well. And at least we’ll be able to use every practice session to concentrate on getting ready for the race.
NOBUATSU AOKI: MIXED FEELINGS
I’m happy and sad to go back to last year’s two-stroke. It’s a pity, because the whole team is committed to the new four-stroke. That is the future. But after all the problems at the last races it will be enjoyable just to work on setting up the bike for racing, and thinking about trying to get a good result. This is quite an interesting track – very complicated and you are working all the time. The three-cylinder is a good bike for the circuit. The team and my mechanics have been working so hard with the new bike, and I hope to do well for them.
More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:
HONDA RACING INFORMATION
Preview German Grand Prix at Sachsenring
25/26/27 July 2003
Champion Rossi Leads MotoGP Series at Halfway Mark
The second half of the 2003 MotoGP season gets underway at the Sachsenring in eastern Germany with the ninth of 16 races this year. At the British Grand Prix at Donington Park two weeks ago Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) looked to have wrapped up his fourth win of the season. But that was before he had a ten second penalty slapped on him for overtaking under a yellow flag. That bounced the reigning Champion down to third place while his great rival Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) inherited the win having finished second on the track.
Tensions are therefore running higher than usual as the MotoGP circus pitches up in the rolling heartlands of German motorcycle sport in tiny Hohenstein-Ernstthal (the famous old MZ factory is five miles south at Zschopau) and The Sachsenring has regularly hosted crowds of more than 250,000 in its heyday.
The title protagonists will care little for history or venue as they take to the 3.429km track for Friday free practice, and the tight, twisting nature of the circuit will favour agility and acceleration over outright speed. Rossi still leads the overall points standings with 167, with Sete Gibernau (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) second on 133 points.
Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) is third with 130. Biaggi is now 46 points ahead of Loris Capirossi (Ducati) who looks slightly out of title contention at the moment. Capirossi has already won a Grand Prix for the Italian factory in its debut season and the former 125 and 250 World Champion is more than likely to figure strongly in races – and thus perhaps have an indirect bearing on the course of the World Championship.
Rossi’s consistency has put him at the top of the table and of the three main title contenders only Rossi and Biaggi have scored points at each of the eight rounds so far. Gibernau fell at his home Grand Prix at Jerez and none of the three main contenders can afford any slip-ups now that the title race is intensifying.
Gibernau has won three races, so has Rossi. Biaggi has a Donington race win to his credit, but the Roman has yet to beat Rossi ‘on track’ this year. And this weekend would be perfect chance for the Camel Pramac Pons rider to hammer home his title challenge.
Rossi is under no illusions about the difficulties facing him in retaining his MotoGP title for the second year and holding it for a third successive year. “I said all along that this season would be a battle,” he said. “We arrive at the beginning of the year in good shape and now the competition is harder and the battle is even better. We have a great team working very hard so we can stay ahead in the Championship. The Sachsenring has never been my favourite track but it’s important to do well here and go into the season break in a good position.”
Biaggi accepted his lucky break at Donington, having experienced the same thing going against him when he was penalised at Barcelona in 1998. “It’s a verdict and it has to be accepted by everyone. Now I’m thinking of the Sachsenring and how to strengthen my title challenge as the season goes on. We are making progress and we have to keep the pressure on.”
Sete Gibernau is confident after testing in the Czech Republic. “The Brno test was good for us,” he said. “It gave us time to try many things on the general set up of the machine in dry conditions. We are getting closer to the optimum baseline settings we need to work from. At Brno I felt really comfortable on the bike, and got good feedback for the mechanics, that shows in the lap times. Sachsenring is a difficult track, hard work on a four-stroke, and it’s hard to make a pass there.”
Rookie Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) is ready to ride at another unknown track but his confidence is growing. “I’m really enjoying things right now,” said the American. “I’d like to be a bit higher in the Championship but I’m confident on the bike and know I have the potential of finishing with the top guys. We tested at Brno, which was good, and now things are going in the right direction. I’ve still got the Suzuka 8-hour race to come and then I’ll be riding at some of the tracks I’ve been to before for the last few races of the season which will be good.”
Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) is looking to have a better second half of the season and will be using this weekend as a springboard for better things. “It’s a bit of a Mickey Mouse track, but none of that matters,” said the Japanese. “I was a bit broken up for the race last year after my big Donington crash and I only got third place because Jacque and Barros crashed. But I’m ready for this and want to change the shape of my season.”
Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC211V) is looking forward to racing. “After Donington we spent two days testing at Brno,” he said. “I had help with the Bridgestone tyre testing from Shinichi Itoh and between us we sorted out some good combinations. A coupe of front tyres were particularly impressive and we will run these at Sachsenring in first practice. The team tell me the track is tight, a bit like Sugo. I hope so, I really like Sugo. I will play for the MotoGP football team at Sachsenring, against the German All Stars. Now that will be interesting!”
Ryuichi Kiyonari (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) said, “We tested at Brno for two days and I did a lot of laps learning the track, testing tyres but most of all the test gave us a chance to try out things we don’t have time or at a Grand Prix. In general I now have a better understanding, and good feeling with the RCV now. I had a crash at Brno but I’m OK – no problem to race.”
The 250-title challenge is tighter than it should be despite the form of the Aprilias at the faster tracks so far. The relatively tight and tricky Sachsenring levels the playing field. Manuel Poggiali heads the points standings with 121, while Fonsi Nieto lies on 106 with Toni Elias (all Aprilia) on 97. Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) is tied in third with Nieto on 97.
Super-consistent Rolfo is the only rider to have scored points at every round so far and it is this remarkable consistency and the precise handling of his Honda that has kept him in the title hunt. “We just keep working hard and riding hard,” said Rolfo. “I finished second here last year, so maybe this is the year I can win here and close the gap on the title leader.”
The tight, twisty track should reduce the speed advantage of the Aprilias and another rider hoping for better things is Sebastian Porto (Telefonica MoviStar Junior Team RS250RW). “I really like the Sachsenring,” said the Argentine. “The track is short and tight and I think we’ll measure up well with the Aprilias there. Or bike is good and our handling will be an advantage here. We’ll still need a little more acceleration although our engine is lot better.” Porto lies eighth in the Championship on 74 points.
The 125cc World Championship is just as tight as the 250cc category with one rider holding a small advantage over a ravenous chasing pack. Pack leader Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica MoviStar Junior Team RS125R) has 124 points while second-placed Steve Jenkner (Aprilia) has 98 as the German arrives at his home race (Jenkner was born in earshot of the track).
Pedrosa will have to make he keeps well clear of trouble at Sachsenring if he is to regain the momentum that carried him to the series lead. Brought down in a last lap clash with Stefano Perugini in the last round, in England, Pedrosa is determined to emerge from Sunday’s race with his series lead intact.
“The Sachsenring race will be hard work and several riders can run in the lead group.” Said the young Spaniard. “I just have to make sure I’m in a good position in the closing laps, keep maximum concentration. I cannot afford another incident like the Donington disaster.”
Finn Mika Kallio (Ajo Motorsports Honda RS125R) will be looking for another strong finish here. “Sachsenring is a difficult track, not so fast but with all kinds of corners, uphills and downhills. We’ve sorted out our Donington handling problems and I’m confident. I really like it and I want to do better than the ninth place of last year.”
The 16-year-old Swiss Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) is another rider going all-out for a result here. “I like the track and my bike is very good now. With one year’s experience I’m now looking forward to a really good race.”
More, from a press release issued by Alice Aprilia Racing Press Information:
GERMANY GP, preview
COLIN AND NORI: GREAT PROTAGONISTS IN AND OUT OF THE TRACK
NOALE – The Alice Aprilia Racing Team is back on track at Sachsenring circuit for the 9th round of the world championship. Both Aprilia MotoGP riders worked last Monday and Tuesday in the show business. Firstly the photos and the video of the Adria track that will be used for the presentation of the new RSV 1000 2004, and a couples of photos around Noale. Just one stop at the bar for one coffee and then Colin and Nori were the protagonists of a Alice spot that will be broadcasted on Italia 1 TV channel. This was a relax moment for the team as last week they were in Brno for two days of practices for the development of RS Cube. In this case the results are positive as well.
COLIN EDWARDS – “I enjoyed myself very much riding the new RSV but I did not forget that we are still working hard for the development of the RS Cube. I have never been at Sachsenring before but they told me that it’s very tortuous like a plate of spaghetti. No problem I like spaghetti very much!”
NORIYUKI HAGA – “They gave me the compliments because I was very self-assured in front of the camera and for my good Italian. I want to thank everybody for their positive remarks and I would like to get the same treatment Sunday after the race as well! I am in a good form and am expecting a good result now”
GIGI DALL’IGNA (Project Leader): “Sachsenring track is completely different from the Brno one where we tested last week. It’s the slowest track of the calendar so the bike must be very nimble. The power is not so important as the gas supply should be completely open for the 8% of the whole track. Moreover the high temperatures could be a problem as well. We will test the new chassis and we will alternate two different settings: one for rider. Finally we will test the new silencer as well: it’s not so noisy but it’s lighter than the other one”.
THE TRACK
Sachsenring: lenght 3.675 metres, equal to 2.284 miles
Lap record: Valentino Rossi (Honda): 1:26.226.
2002 Pole: Olivier Jacque (Yamaha 500): 1:25.758.
n.b. the circuit had been mofified so the lap times are approximate.
More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia Racing Press Information:
The Second Leg starts from Sachsenring
After the first 8 races, the world championships starts the second leg from the Sachsenring GP. The german track is very tortuous and this year has been modified in the in initial part: the slowest one. The track is 3671 metres long with 14 corners, 10 right and 4 left with a main straight of 780 metres. It was built in 1996 and changed during the years in order to make it faster. After a great first seasonal part Manuel Poggiali is leading the world championship with 121 points 15 more than Nieto who won the last race in Donington.
Manuel Poggiali: “This track is rather fast but not so exciting even if the changes made in 2001 made him faster than the past and now it’s more funny. For me it’s all new cause I have never rode a 250 bike here and all the regulations are completely different. Checking the circuit map I feel worried
about the first part, the slowest one, especially for the little slope because it changed compared with the last season. I hope that the weather will be sunny because I need the all 4 sessions to find the best way to ride here and a perfect setting in order to be more competitive”.