From a press release issued by Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:

GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA RIDERS GEAR UP FOR LATEST CHALLENGE

With seven races now completed this season by the Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team both riders, championship leader Valentino Rossi and currently fifth-placed Carlos Checa, have experienced some memorable highs and the occasional reversal of fortune. Newcomer to Yamaha for the 2004 season, Rossi has scored a superb quartet of race wins while Checa has tasted champagne on the Le Mans podium thanks to a fine second place finish.

Five times World Champion Rossi is now tied in the championship standings with his main rival Sete Gibernau on 126 points. Rossi, who is credited with the championship lead thanks to his total of four wins to Gibernau’s two, fell at the recent Rio Grand Prix while showing the same desire to win that has marked his seven race Yamaha career from the very outset. The 25-year-old Italian’s championship challenge was unaffected by his tumble thanks to a similar misfortune befalling Gibernau. The bumpy Rio track claimed two high profile victims, each of whom escaped without injury.

Having made an uncharacteristic misjudgement at last year’s Sachsenring MotoGP race, inadvertently allowing Gibernau to pass him on the last lap, this year Rossi is out to make forceful amends on two fronts. Memories of his 2002 MotoGP Sachsenring win will be foremost in his mind come the first qualifying session on 16 July in Germany.

Checa’s recent form has not quite matched his earlier Le Mans excellence, as set-up concerns from qualifying have continued into races, but with several good races behind him at the Sachsenring venue, the gritty Spaniard is in the mood to get back to the top steps of the podium as soon as possible. Having taken second place at Sachsenring in 2001, Checa’s affection for the track is already proven, and his desire to retake the fourth place status in the championship he lost at the recent Rio race underpins his approach to the German round.

ROSSI PREVIEWS SACHSEN SCENE

London-based Valentino Rossi will fight all out this weekend to further secure his championship lead ahead of Sete Gibernau, which currently relies on the number of race wins rather than a points gap. The young Italian will need his wits about him to deal with the twisty eastern German circuit, especially since it’s not one of his favourites;

“I’ve never really liked the Sachsenring track that much,” comments Rossi, “but the Yamahas generally go very well there so I hope I can be competitive. It’s a circuit that relies on manoeuvrability as opposed to flat out horse power. This will be my first time at Sachsenring with the M1 and I hope we get off to a better start than we did in Rio, another circuit where we had not previously tested before the race. That was a tough weekend and we never really got to grips with the M1 on the Rio track.

“I have no doubts though that we can start afresh this weekend with the confidence we have enjoyed at many races already this year. We are only half way through the season and anything could happen. I think that we can be as competitive during the second half that we have been during the first.”

CHECA SEEKS PROMOTION

After a high point of second at Le Mans, Carlos Checa has shown his current prowess to good effect this year, despite less success in the last couple of races. Checa’s good showings in the past in Germany are another reason for him to feel confident about his Sachsenring chances.

“I’ve had some good results at Sachsenring in the past, including a second place in 2001,” remembers Checa. “It’s quite a technical circuit but, with the improvements we’ve made, I think that the Yamaha should run well there this year, hopefully for all of us.

“I like the track, although the short downhill parts and uphill climbs in the first section can be very difficult! The fans are always great there, really keen bikers and there are always lots of them at the race, so this makes for a good atmosphere.

“I am really looking forward to the Sachsenring. I obviously had a disappointing race in Rio and a difficult weekend in general, however I hope that I can forget this and move on quickly in Germany. I will be aiming for a really good finish in order to collect some points and move back up the Championship standings to the fourth place I held before Rio.”

DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM DIRECTOR

After a particularly tough weekend in Rio, when Rossi fell while trying to get back on terms with the leading trio and Checa finished just inside the top ten, Davide Brivio knows that Sachsenring could be just the venue to restart the upward spiral of results for Rossi and Checa.

“Last year Melandri was doing well in the race before he unfortunately fell, and there have been other good Yamaha results here in the past, including for Carlos,” said the Team Director. “This shows that our bike is okay at this circuit so we are looking forward to getting back into the top positions there.

“I think that if we can create a good package again for this race, then Valentino can get himself back to a position where he can fight for the win. He has moved on quickly after what happened in Rio and he will be putting in all his effort to forget this and get back to the top again.

“Carlos also had a disappointing weekend in Rio but he likes the Sachsenring circuit so he too is feeling more confident. I think he can recover quickly from his latest result and hopefully he can have a good race in Germany. As a team we are much more confident about this race. This is a much better circuit for us than Rio so hopefully we can have a successful weekend.”

With unpredictable meteorological conditions expected in Germany, there could be a lot of factors to take into consideration. “Unfortunately, there is already a question mark about the weather; we’ve heard that there is a chance of rain in Germany this week,” said Brivio on closing. “We will obviously have to evaluate this aspect and make sure we are prepared if it does rain.”

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

Located in the heartland of the former East Germany’s once glorious motorcycle racing industry the Sachsenring is built right next to the old road course, a characteristic the track shares with Brno in the nearby Czech Republic. The current circuit could not be more different, its ultra-modern nature showing in its relatively slow lap time, with a surfeit of slow corners juxtaposed with some dazzlingly fast corners.

The 3.671km circuit has already changed its layout since it was first used for MotoGP in 1998, with the addition of a super fast downhill right hander in 2003, an awesome challenge which has already proved to sort out the best from the rest. With a relatively short 780m pit straight, running sharply uphill from the long Queckenberg hairpin, and the throttle only fully open for 10% of the lap, outright power is not the key at Sachsenring. Some riders use only four of the possible six gear ratios on a flying lap. The ability to set-up the machine to deal with the disparity between fast and slow corners is one main goal and as the track is relatively new, bumps are not that much of a concern in relation to other circuits.

The main consideration in preparation for Sachsenring is the fact that the track features only four right handers, but has no less than ten lefts, meaning that the machine is heeled over to that side for half of the entire lap distance. Premature wear on one side of the rubber can be minimised by the use of dual compound tyres, but the section from Omega corner onwards has no less than seven left hand corners, one after the other, the next right being the dramatic downhill right hander of the new section.

One of the main overtaking possibilities follows immediately after the aforementioned fast right, the Sachsen corner being a favourite place to put in a pass. After the tropical heat and extreme bumpiness of the most recent Rio race, Sachsen is about as different a track as could be imagined. The first sessions should therefore be as busy as any of the year, as the latest Yamaha YZR-M1 will be put through an intense period of adjustment to find a good set-up for both qualifying and race.

VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION

Age: 25

Lives: London, UK

Bike: Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1

GP victories: 63 (24 X MotoGP, 13 X 500cc, 14 X 250cc, 12 X 125cc)

First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)

First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)

GP starts: 131 (39 x MotoGP, 32 x 500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)

Pole positions: 33

Sachsenring 2003 results (Honda): Grid: 4th, Race: 2nd



CARLOS CHECA: INFORMATION

Age: 31

Lives: London, UK

Bike: Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1

GP victories: 2 (500cc)

First GP victory: Catalunya, 1996 (500cc)

First GP: Europe, 1993 (125cc)

GP starts: 159 (39 x MotoGP, 92 x 500cc, 27 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)

Pole positions: 2 (1 x MotoGP, 1 x 500cc)

First pole: Spain, 1998 (500cc)

Sachsenring 2003 results (Yamaha): Grid: 7th, Race: 8th



Sachsenring MotoGP lap record – Max Biaggi (Honda): 1:24.630 (2003)

Circuit best lap – Max Biaggi (Honda): 1:23.734 (2003)