FIM MotoGP World Championship Sachsenring, Germany July 16 Race Results: 1. Valentino ROSSI (Yam YZR-M1), Michelin, 30 laps, 41:59.248 2. Marco MELANDRI (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -0.145 second 3. Nicky HAYDEN (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -0.266 second 4. Dani PEDROSA (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -0.307 second 5. Loris CAPIROSSI (Duc GP06), Bridgestone, -8.764 seconds 6. Shinya NAKANO (Kaw ZX-RR), Bridgestone, -9.147 seconds 7. Chris VERMEULEN (Suz GSV-R), Bridgestone, -16.608 seconds 8. Sete GIBERNAU (Duc GP06), Bridgestone, -16.648 seconds 9. Carlos CHECA (Yam YZR-M1), Dunlop, -17.097 seconds 10. John HOPKINS (Suz GSV-R), Bridgestone, -17.786 seconds 11. Toni ELIAS (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -27.425 seconds 12. Colin EDWARDS (Yam YZR-M1), Michelin, -29.308 seconds 13. James ELLISON (Yam YZR-M1), Dunlop, -1:02.029 seconds 14. Jose Luis CARDOSO (Duc GP05), Dunlop, -1:19.997 seconds 15. Randy DE PUNIET (Kaw ZX-RR), Bridgestone, -18 laps, DNF, mechanical 16. Makoto TAMADA (Hon RC211V), Michelin, -20 laps, DNF, crash 17. Kenny Lee ROBERTS (Hon KR211V), Michelin, -20 laps, DNF, crash 18. Alex HOFMANN (Duc GP05), Dunlop, -28 laps, DNF, mechanical 19. Casey STONER (Hon RC211V), Michelin, DNS MotoGP World Championship Point Standings (after 10 of 17 races): 1. HAYDEN, 169 points 2. ROSSI, 143 points 3. PEDROSA, 140 points 4. MELANDRI, 134 points 5. CAPIROSSI, 118 points 6. STONER, 91 points 7. EDWARDS, 77 points 8. NAKANO, 67 points 9. ROBERTS, 66 points 10. HOPKINS, 64 points 11. TAMADA, 59 points 12. ELIAS, 58 points 13. GIBERNAU, 52 points 14. VERMEULEN, 46 points 15. CHECA, 44 points 16. HOFMANN, 19 points 17. ELLISON 17 points 18. DE PUNIET, 17 points 19. CARDOSO, 8 points More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: SIXTH AT SACHSENRING FOR KAWASAKI’S NAKANO Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano took a hard fought sixth place in today’s German Grand Prix at Sachsenring, to move up to eighth place in the World Championship standings. But while Nakano celebrated achieving his aim of a top six finish today, his Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, was left disappointed after a mechanical problem forced him to retire his Ninja ZX-RR from the 30-lap race just short of the halfway point. Nakano got a good start from fourth place on the grid, but the Kawasaki pilot was forced wide at the first corner and found himself pushed back to ninth place as a large group of riders managed to squeeze through on the inside of the turn. The 28-year-old Japanese rider quickly got the better of John Hopkins to move up to eighth place, from where he was able to see the seven-way battle for the lead being played out in front of him. Nakano was pushing hard to catch the leading group when he was elevated to sixth position on lap eleven, after Kenny Roberts crashed out of the battle for the lead at the last turn, taking the luckless Makoto Tamada into the gravel trap with him. During the closing stages of the race Nakano managed to close the gap to Loris Capirossi to just three tenths-of-a-second, but was unable to pass the Italian for fifth place on the final lap, and was forced to settle for sixth, and ten vital championship points, at the line. Starting from the fourth row of the grid, Randy de Puniet knew he was facing a tough challenge in today’s race, but the 25-year-old Frenchman made the job even harder with a less than perfect start that left him down in 15th position at the end of the opening lap. The Kawasaki rider fought his way through into 11th place with some aggressive overtaking manoeuvres, and was chasing down Sete Gibernau for tenth when a mechanical problem with his Ninja ZX-RR left him with no other option but to retire from the race. Shinya Nakano: 6th “I was on the outside going into the first turn, and I could see everyone pushing up the inside, so I decided to stay wide to avoid any chance of a first corner crash. I tried to follow the leading riders through the turn, but I couldn’t get back inside and I lost positions. At the start of the race I was having some problems carrying speed through the right-hand corners, which lost me time and meant I wasn’t able to match the pace of the leading group. By the middle of the race I could still see the battle for the lead, but they were too far in front for me to close the gap, despite me setting my fastest lap while chasing them. At the end I thought I would be able to catch Loris for fifth place, but by the time I was close enough to think about a pass the race was over. After the problems we had with set-up during free practice I’m pretty happy with today’s result, and it’s good to be back in the top ten of the championship standings.” Randy de Puniet: DNF “I lost some places at the start, but a bit of aggressive overtaking during the opening laps put me just behind Sete Gibernau and the battle for seventh place. I felt comfortable on the bike and I was starting to close the gap on the group in front of me, but then the bike just stopped and I had to retire. It’s disappointing because I know a top ten finish was a possibility, but on a more positive note, I gained a lot of confidence in the bike today and this will stand me in good stead next week at Laguna Seca. Again, we need to put this behind us now and focus on the next race, which is just seven days away.” Harald Eckl: Team Principal “We came to Sachsenring expecting better than sixth place in the race, and with conditions better suited to our bike today, and Shinya starting from fourth place on the grid, there was no reason for us to lower our expectations ahead of the race. But then both riders got a bad start, and places lost at the start are difficult to make up at Sachsenring, because there are not so many places to pass at this track. I think this is the main reason why we didn’t meet our expectations today.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone Motorsport: FINE FIFTH AS FIVE FINISH IN TOP TEN All five of the Bridgestone-shod riders who completed this afternoon’s gruelling race at the Sachsenring were classified in the top ten with Ducati’s Loris Capirossi heading the quintet with a fine fifth-placed finish. Capirossi was lapping regularly in the 1m23s for two-thirds of the race and ultimately took best-of-the-rest honours leading Kawasaki’s sole race finisher Shinya Nakano over the finish line by three-tenths-of-a-second. Capirossi keeps fifth place in the rider classification with 118 points, while the ten points earned for sixth position take Nakano’s season total to 67 points and elevate him to eighth place in the overall standings. Nakano’s team-mate Randy de Puniet was forced out of the race in the early stages. Rookie Chris Vermeulen ended his debut race weekend at the Sachsenring on a high note with seventh place, taking the chequered flag a mere 0.040s from returning Ducati rider Sete Gibernau who claimed eighth position. Suzuki’s John Hopkins rounded out the top ten and stays in tenth spot in the riders’ classification heading into his home race at Laguna Seca next weekend. Although the podium was out of reach this afternoon, Bridgestone derives consolation from achieving its best ever combined results around this track with its five finishing riders in the top ten and separated by just nine seconds. Bridgestone’s improvements and efforts at the Sachsenring this weekend were masked by the performance of its rivals, whose better consistency over the full race distance enabled the eventual top four to pull away in the final third of the race. Bridgestone vows to keep up the pressure to close that elusive gap with its rivals in a bid to regain its early-season fortunes. Loris Capirossi – Ducati – 5th place: “I chose a very hard front tyre so I didn’t push too hard during the first few laps but I could stay with the leading group quite easily. Then from half-distance the rear tyre performance dropped off every lap, so I ended up defending my position from Nakano. It’s a pity because things seemed okay. Anyway, we have made a big step since last year when I finished ninth here, a long way behind the leaders. The tyres were also much better than they were at Donington, though still not enough to run with the winner. Looking at the championship, we still have a long way to go and, although I know that I’ve lost some points and that it’ll be difficult to come back, I still believe that we can do it and I won’t give up. Maybe Laguna will be another difficult weekend but after that we go to tracks where we can be as fast as anyone.” Hiroshi Yamada – Bridgestone Motorsport – Motorcycle Racing Manager: “Overall not a good day for Bridgestone at the Sachsenring today. Although we knew that this track and race would be one of endurance at thirty laps, we had expected to perform better and perhaps to challenge for a podium finish. The riders and teams worked exceptionally hard all weekend to hone their packages but we were found to be lacking comparative performance to our rivals in the closing stages of the race. Now, we will thoroughly analyse today’s results in a concerted effort to resolve this issue. The fluctuating track temperatures over the weekend added an unexpected complication, as we had forecast hotter temperatures, but the track crept up to 38°C today which was more in line with our predictions. On average, we were more competitive this year compared to 2005, but the learning curve is never-ending and consequently there is still work to do. For a great deal of the race, Loris was able to keep pace with the lead group and he even set the second fastest lap of the race at just 0.072s from the quickest time of the afternoon. It is good to see him back to good fitness and also to see Sete back in action. Now we must recapture the form that we showed earlier in the season.” Bridgestone Race Results Pos. Rider Motorcycle Race Time Gap Front Tyres Rear Tyres P5 Loris Capirossi Ducati 42m08.012s +8.764s Slick Hard Slick Medium P6 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki 42m08.395s +9.147s Slick Hard Slick Medium P7 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 42m15.856s +16.608s Slick Hard Slick Medium P8 Sete Gibernau Ducati 42m15.896s +16.648s Slick Hard Slick Medium P10 John Hopkins Suzuki 42m17.034s +17.786s Slick Hard Slick Hard DNF Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 16m56.506s + 18 laps Slick Hard Slick Medium Weather: Dry and Sunny Air 20°C, Track 38°C, Humidity 17% More, from a press release issued by Pramac D’Antin: MORE POINTS FOR CARDOSO, BAD LUCK FOR HOFMANN Today on the Sachsenring Circuit, JOSE LUIS CARDOSO finished the race in 14th position. With this result, he obtained two more points for the 2006 MotoGP World Championship general classification, two important points for the Team PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP, especially after the bad luck that had the German rider ALEX HOFMANN during his “home” GP. He was actually forced to retire himself after only two laps, for an electronical problem. A real pity as he had done a good start and was riding with other riders that had preceded him during the practice. From here, all the Teams and riders of the MotoGP class will directly fly to the United States, where will take place the eleventh round of the Championship on the Laguna Seca Circuit, near Monterey, California. JOSE LUIS CARDOSO #30 (14th): “We finished the race with a slightly better rhythm than in the practice. Unfortunately, from mid-race until the arrival, I had some difficulties with the grip on the rear, it was quite difficult to enter the corners. I went on giving the maximum, to be the most consistent as possible and I am happy about the two points we obtained. These are important points and I really want to thank my Team for the work they did during the whole weekend, especially on Friday when I crashed and the motorcycles was seriously damaged”. ALEX HOFMANN #66 (retired): “I’m really disappointed. I had done a good start, I was with Elias, Edwards and De Puniet and from what I saw from the pitbox I think I would have managed to keep their pace. It has been a real pity because, for the first time, I could have done a race with other riders that have different tyres and configurations. Unfortunately, there has been a problem with my bike and I was forced to retire myself. I think I am really unlucky here at Sachsenring, as in two years, I made no more than two laps during these two races. I’m quite sad because I really wanted to make a good race in front of my public”. ANDRE LAUGIER Track Engineer of Jose Luis Cardoso: “We slightly reduced our distance from the first riders, having a better rhythm. There has been a small evolution and we mustn’t stop ourselves, we must go on working harder to improve our rhythm and manage to reach the other riders’ level”. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Marlboro Team: DUCATI MARLBORO MEN BATTLE HARD AT THE RING Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau were in the thick of the two leading battles at the Sachsenring today, the Italian and the Spaniard eventually coming home fifth and eighth. Capirossi spent the first half of the race with the leading group but faded slightly in the later stages, crossing the finish line just eight seconds down on the race winner. Gibernau made a brave comeback following recent collarbone surgery, running with the group fighting for seventh, despite a weak left shoulder. The 2006 MotoGP World Championship now travels to Laguna Seca, California, for next Sunday’s United States Grand Prix, the fifth race in sixth weekends. LORIS CAPIROSSI, finished 5th, 5th overall “I chose a very hard front tyre so I didn’t push too hard during the first few laps but I could stay with the leading group quite easily. Then from half-distance the rear-tyre performance dropped off every lap, so I ended up defending my position from Nakano. It’s a pity because things seemed okay. Anyway, we have made a big step since last year when I finished ninth here, a long way behind the leaders. The tyres were also much better than they were at Donington, though still not enough to run with the winner. Looking at the championship, we still have a long way to go and although I know that I’ve lost some points and that it’ll be difficult to come back, I still believe we can do it and I won’t give up. Maybe Laguna will be another difficult weekend but after that we go to tracks where we can be as competitive as the fastest ones.” SETE GIBERNAU, finished 8th, 13th overall “Considering my condition, I’ve got to be happy with today’s race. I think we did a great job, we did 100 per cent of what we could do, so thanks to the team, Ducati and Bridgestone for helping me through a very difficult weekend. Now I will return home to see my surgeon in Barcelona to see what can be done for next weekend’s race. I’ve no pain from the shoulder but it is very weak, maybe because a nerve has got inflamed. I had no strength in that shoulder from the start of the race, so it wasn’t easy to get the bike stopped. I would say. I need to get fit because I feel like Bridgestone are doing a great job, working in a very good direction, and I think we can have a great end to the season.” LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project manager “Both riders did a great job, unfortunately we weren’t able to be as consistent as we had been with race tyres during practice. But both guys got the best out of what they had, especially considering that neither is 100 per cent fit. Loris was with the leading group for the first half of the race and Sete fought like a lion with the second group. As always, thanks to Shell Advance and Bridgestone and now we have to work very hard for the next few races.” Temperatures: Ambient: 20 degrees. Track: 38 degrees More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: ROSSI HANGS ON TO WIN GERMAN THRILLER Valentino Rossi took a spectacular victory in today’s betandwin.com Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, moving up to second in the overall classification in front of 93,748 motorbike racing aficionados. The Italian led a pack of four of which any rider was in with a chance for the win up to the final corner, the most prominent of whom was compatriot Marco Melandri. Fortuna Honda’s Italian rider, racing with a fractured collarbone, was just unable to hold out on the final lap having cheekily dived through just a lap before. As the young pretender made a daring manoeuvre to pass Rossi on the fastest corner on the circuit, the reigning World Champion bravely held firm and subsequently closed the door on the final two bends to close out a thrilling win. Rossi had started the race from down in tenth spot on the grid after disappointing in practice, and it was left to the Repsol Honda duo Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa to make the early pace. They fought amongst themselves and the front two for the entire race, taking turns in leading. With fourth-placed Pedrosa finishing just over three hundredths of a second behind Rossi, it was an indication of just how close the finish really was. Loris Capirossi headed a trailing twosome of himself and Shinya Nakano, whilst Chris Vermeulen and Sete Gibernau completed a pack of Bridgestone riders. Carlos Checa and John Hopkins rounded off the top ten. There was heartbreak for Makoto Tamada on lap thirteen, as the Konica Minolta rider was caught up in a crash with Kenny Roberts whilst on flying form, challenging for the top positions in a fearless display. Tamada became entangled in Roberts’ bike, but was able to escape without serious injury. Rossi celebrated in his own inimitable style, donning an Italian football shirt adorned with the name of controversial star Marco Materazzi. He now trails Hayden in the championship by just 26 points, heading into the American’s home race at Laguna Seca. Casey Stoner was forced to miss the race having suffered a crash during the morning warm-up. LCR Honda’s Australian rider was diagnosed with a concussion and bruising of the hands. 250cc Yuki Takahashi took his second 250cc victory of 2006 after a sensational final corner move. The Japanese rider hadn’t led the field at any point up until the ascending turn, and had caught up with de Angelis on a sensational last lap. The win represents Honda’s 200th victory in the quarter litre category. The result was cruel to de Angelis, who had led the race since lap nine, at one point looking to be out of the reaches of the trailing pack. The San Marino native tried to regain the lead on the line, but with his front wheel lifting was unable to take the top spot. Jorge Lorenzo took third in the race, which puts him back on top of the 250cc World Championship. The Spaniard had a bad start from pole, but by lap two had regained the lead before battling first with de Angelis, then with Takahashi, Andrea Dovizioso and team-mate Hector Barbera. Dovizioso came in fourth, ahead of Barbera, Roberto Locatelli, Anthony West, Aoyama brothers Hiroshi and Shuhei, and Sylvain Guintoli. 125cc Mattia Pasini took a tight victory over team-mate and championship leader Alvaro Bautista at the Sachsenring Circuit in the 125cc Grand Prix, passing the chequered flag just 0.010s ahead of his Spanish counterpart. After the opening laps, it became clear that the winner would come from one of three. The Two Master MVA Aspar riders had stiff competition from poleman Lukas Pesek, who took off with his rivals early and led intermittently on the closing laps. The Czech rider eventually came in third, ahead of Hector Faubel, Simone Corsi, Thomas Luthi and Nico Terol. Bautista’s nearest title rival Mika Kallio saw the gap between the two increase after he could only manage a disappointing eighth at the German track. Joan Olive and Sergio Gadea completed the top ten. Repsol Honda’s young British rider Bradley Smith earned his second consecutive points finish, coming in twelfth after a last lap burst. The 250cc and 125cc categories start their summer break now, with their next race taking place at Brno at the end of August. The premier MotoGP class heads immediately across the Atlantic Ocean for the Red Bull US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha Team: ITALY CELEBRATE IN GERMANY AGAIN AS ROSSI TAKES SENSATIONAL WIN Just seven days after Italy won the football World Cup with a dramatic victory against France in Berlin, Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi produced an equally stunning performance to seal another success for his country on German soil thanks to a remarkable MotoGP win at the Sachsenring circuit near Dresden. Starting from tenth place on the grid after struggling to find the right set-up for his YZR-M1 machine in practice, the odds were stacked heavily against Rossi as he aimed to close the gap on series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) with another win. However, the reigning World Champion again confounded all the predictions with his superb skill and dogged determination. Already shifted up one place on the grid from his qualifying position of eleventh after Casey Stoner (Honda) was ruled out of the race through injury, Rossi continued to make his way forward as soon as the red lights were out, passing four riders by the end of the first lap to immediately get in contact with the lead group. After carefully picking off Kenny Roberts (Team KR) and Makoto Tamada (Honda), Rossi set about the lead group of Hayden, Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and Marco Melandri (Honda) and by lap 13 of 30 he was in front. The Italian held on to a slim lead for all but one of the remaining laps, when Melandri made one of his many attacks stick, before holding off a barrage of attacks from all three rivals in a dramatic final corner to seal his fourth win of the season. Whilst Rossi was able to rescue a dismal situation in practice, unfortunately the same could not be said for his team-mate Colin Edwards, who was unable to make any further progress with his bike setting in the morning warm-up and struggled to eleventh place. VALENTINO ROSSI (1st; 41’49.248) “That was an unbelievable race for me and my team. The first thing I have to say is ‘sorry’ to my M1 because last night was the first time in our relationship that I ever doubted her! But she was true to me once again and for this I owe a huge thank you to Jeremy and all my mechanics and engineers. Last night I didn’t think I could win this race but we made a change in the morning warm-up and then again before the race in the afternoon and today my M1 flew. In some parts of the track it was very, very fast. We also did a great job together with Michelin and at the start I realised that my rhythm was good enough to battle for the win. Once I got to the front I knew I was probably two or three tenths faster than the other guys but it wasn’t enough to escape and I had to battle with Dani, Nicky and Marco each one was a great fight. Marco was so strong at the end of the race and I have to give my big congratulations to him, but thankfully I got the right line in the last corner and I was able to win. Italy became World Champions in the football last weekend and I won today; Germany is a good country for us!” COLIN EDWARDS (11th; + 29.308) “What can I say? I guess I’m just slow around here. The guys worked their butts off all weekend trying to give me something but we simply couldn’t get the bike working and I never had the pace. It looked like Valentino was in the same situation but today he pulled out something like his 700th miracle and you can only take your hat off to a great champion. We changed some things for the warm-up this morning but I wasn’t comfortable so we went back to the setting from yesterday, which we knew wasn’t ideal either. The first few laps were okay but I struggled to pass Toni Elias and by the time I got past him we were way back. From there on it was just a battle to keep the bike on the track and there wasn’t much more I could do but bring it home.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “Valentino was unbelievable today, fantastic. This was a very important victory for the championship because we’ve collected a lot of points but more than that it is a big psychological boost to win a fight in this way. This victory is a fruit of the hard work from the engineers, the team and Valentino we have a great group of people here and they never give up. We always try to win races and today Valentino made it possible. Colin wasn’t able to recover a difficult situation but now he has seven days before getting a big chance to turn things around in his home Grand Prix.” More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: MARCO MELANDRI IMPRESSES IN GERMANY AS HE MAKES THE PODIUM AGAIN Team-mate Toni Elias, despite his injury problems, finishes in a creditable eleventh FORTUNA HONDA rider Marco Melandri finished second at the German GP on Sunday in one of the most exciting races of the season. The Italian, who was a model of consistency throughout qualifying all weekend, made a strong start and managed to maintain his excellent pace throughout the 30-lap race. His battles, first with Pedrosa and then with Rossi, turned the race into a spectacular feast of overtaking manoeuvres as the riders battled to make the podium at the Sachsenring. Team-mate Toni Elias, who bravely finished the race despite his own injury problems, came home in the points in 11th. MARCO MELANDRI: 2nd, 41’59.393 Championship: 4th with 134 points “It was an incredible battle. At Donington the fight was for first place, but here in Germany it was for first position all the way through. I had a great battle with Pedrosa at first and then later with Valentino. I believe the fans will have enjoyed it as much as I did, it was a lot of fun. I tried to overtake Rossi lots of times on that final lap but he closed the door every time. In the recent races we have been right up there at the front and I believe that is a good sign. We must keep up our good work as the team are doing a great job. I’d like to thank my team, Honda and Michelin.” TONI ELIAS: 11th, 42’26.673 Championship: 12th with 58 points “Our objective was to finish the race and I think I can be satisfied with my performance given my physical condition. From lap eight I really began to feel the pain and the only way to cope was to ride hard in bursts. To race in these conditions is really hard, especially at such a demanding circuit. It was the first race with my new technician and we understood each other very well, but there is still a lot of work to do. Laguna Seca is another very demanding circuit and I hope to be able to get some rest in before then.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: PODIUM FOR MELANDRI AND HAYDEN IN EPIC THRILLER This was one of the great MotoGP races. Fought at high intensity for 30-laps the action never let up and it was Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) who eventually prevailed over Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) in second and series points’ leader Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) who was third. In beating heat with track temperature at an elevated 38 degrees, this battle was as tough on riders as it was gripping for the sell-out 90,000 crowd. It was Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) who led the pack into turn one with Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) heading Hayden and Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) in fourth. But then Nicky hit the front at the big downhill left-hander taking both Dani and Kenny in one bite. Tamada was also showing the sort of form that was once his trademark, hoisting himself to third at the same spot. This was where nearly all the overtaking action would take place. Melandri then took Tamada for third at that same place before Makoto re-passed him at the final uphill left before the start/finish straight. Melandri was going hard at it setting a fastest lap on lap three, but Tamada was letting no one go. It was Dani’s turn to set a fastest lap on lap four when he circulated the 3.671km rollercoaster in 1m 23.355 seconds. The order was Hayden, Pedrosa, Melandri, Tamada, Rossi and Roberts. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) was hanging onto them, but he would soon be dropped. Tamada and Melandri both refused to yield third to each other swapping the position on each lap for three consecutive circuits, until Melandri moved past permanently on lap eight, then to second on lap nine to then take the lead from Nicky on lap 11 at turn one. Pedrosa now lay second as Rossi moved to third past Tamada at that fast downhill left. At the final turn on that same lap Roberts lost the front-end of his machine on the inside and took out a blameless Tamada when his downed bike slid to the outside. Both riders were uninjured. One former World Champion was extremely apologetic. Now it was a four-way fight. And Rossi wasted no time in stealing second from Dani. As the fast four circulated, they knew it was close enough for the final lap to be the only that mattered. Even the penultimate lap itself became a desperate shuffle for prime position as the last lap loomed. Dani and Nicky tangled at the tight Omega turn while Rossi again used the big downhill to take the lead from Marco and try to hold it on the final lap. Try as his three rivals did, none of them could make a pass stick at the end. Despite Melandri actually getting his front wheel ahead twice, he never had the track position to keep it there. The four crossed the line with just 0.3 seconds covering them. Dani in fourth at least had the consolation of setting a new lap record way back on that fourth lap. Marco said, “With one lap to go I said to myself, ‘try, you can do it’ and I stayed on the brakes so hard when I could, but then in the last two corners Valentino closed the door. It was fun but it’s still hard to have to say to yourself ‘second will do here’. As the fuel load lightened the bike got better and I know if I can fight like that every Sunday then I will win again.” “Once I got past Dani I knew I’d have a chance,” Nicky said, “I thought I could do it at the bottom of the hill and I got as close as I could but just couldn’t capitalize on it. I’m not that happy because I could have had a win, but I enjoyed the battle itself. We just couldn’t quite get our bike to come off the corners fast enough here.” Dani said, “It was a good race between all four riders at the front but unfortunately I finished at the back of the group, so of course I feel a little bit disappointed. I was quick for most of the lap except in the downhill corner near the end of the lap where I was losing too much time. I will have to improve in the overtaking places because I tried hard in this race to not be overtaken and also to overtake the others, but it was not quite enough.” Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) finished 11th in his first race since breaking his shoulder in Holland. He said, “Our objective was to finish the race so I’m satisfied with my performance considering my physical condition. I raced with pain-killing injections but after eight laps I began to suffer a lot. The solution was to push hard then relax, push hard then relax. Racing that way is very hard especially on a physical track like this one.” Roberts said, “When I crashed it was at the time I needed to make a move to stay with the leaders. But I got boxed in when I went under Tamada on the brakes. Nicky (Hayden) was on the outside and closing so I had to carry the brakes into the corner longer than I wanted to, I didn’t want them to get away and I lost the front end. It was an aggressive kind of race today. I’m really sorry I collected Tamada, we spoke about it and he’s OK with me about it.” An unlucky Tamada said, “I really enjoyed that race until the crash. But I’ve been to the hospital for and the X-ray nothing is broken and my knee feels OK so I should be fine to race at Laguna Seca. When I was lying in the dirt Kenny asked me if it was a big problem or a small problem in not very good Japanese. I couldn’t help laughing.” Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) did not ride after crashing heavily in the morning warm-up. The World Championship points table shows Hayden still in the lead with 169 points, Rossi second on 143, Dani third with 140 and Marco on 134 in fourth. In the Constructors’ Championship Honda has 221 to Yamaha’s 172 with Ducati third on 127 points. Honda notched up a total of 200 wins in the 250cc class when Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) achieved his second win of the season. He pipped Alex de Angelis (Aprilia) across the line in a thrilling race. Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) was third and Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) fourth. De Angelis made the running for most of this 29-lap race and Takahashi stalked him patiently until the last turn on the last lap when he slid his Honda up the inside on the brakes, got on the power early up the hill and broached the line a machine length in front of the San Marinese man. His win by just six hundredths of a second denies de Angelis a maiden Grand Prix win, but of more significance is the fact that Lorenzo now heads the World Championship point’s standings. He now has 174 to Dovizioso’s 172 with Takahashi now on 133 to de Angelis’ 131. Takahashi said, “It’s incredible! Another Takahashi rider won the first Grand Prix in 1961 on a 250cc Honda and I clinched the 200th success for the Japanese Manufacturer. This was a great satisfaction for me, it has been a very tough race. At the beginning I struggled a bit, I almost lost the front in the downhill and I wasn’t able ride as I would. Then I changed my riding style trying not to hang off too much from the bike. I did it and my rhythm improved. The team did a great job and my bike was perfect, so that I could push until the end.” Dovi said, “I’m happy about the rhythm I could get today during the race, but I’m disappointed with fourth place. At the beginning, I had the same pace as the first riders and I knew I could fight for victory. When Yuki and Lorenzo started to push in order to catch De Angelis, Barbera slowed me down in a couple of curves and I lost contact with them and couldn’t recover it. I’m at two points from Lorenzo in the championship, but we have to be more steady.” Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) finished ninth while his team-mate Martin Cardenas (Repsol Honda RS250RW) crashed out of the race. The World Championship points table looks like this: Lorenzo 174, Dovi 172, Takahashi 133, de Angelis 131. And in the Constructors’ Championship: Aprilia 221, Honda 189. Mattia Pasini won the 125cc Grand Prix from his team-mate Alvaro Bautista (both Aprilia) with Lukas Pesek (Derbi) third. It was a tough race with Pasini and Bautista clashing twice on the last lap, but still allowing Pesek no way through. It was always going to involve these three riders. No one else had the pace to stick with them. Not Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R) who led the pack into turn one on lap one. And not Mika Kallio (KTM) who followed the Hungarian on that opening lap. Fabrizio Lai (Seedorf Racing Honda RS125R) was another man who did his utmost to match the pace but dropped from fourth on the opening lap to finish 11th at the flag. Reigning World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) finished sixth and rookie Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) an encouraging 12th. Luthi said, “My start was good and I was OK racing with the lead group in the opening laps. Then I made a small mistake and the others got away from me. After that I got into a good rhythm until the last part of the race when I had trouble passing Terol. When I did it was too late to catch Corsi and Faubel but I’m happy to take the points. Now we go on holiday to recharge the batteries before Brno next month.” “It was difficult,” said Smith. “The rear tyre was the main problem during the race, it was moving all the time. But I think it’s been the same for everyone. I’m happy enough. Maybe if I’d got a better start I could have gone with the top guys. But that’s the way it goes. I have to make sure that I practice some more starts when we come back after the summer break.” In the overall World Championship points table Bautista leads with 205 points, Kallio, who finished eighth here, has 141, Pasini lies third on 137 points. In the Constructors’ Championship Aprilia leads with 228 to KTM on 146, Honda with 108 and Derbi on 102 points. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Superb seventh for Vermeulen in the Sachsenring sun Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Racer Chris Vermeulen scored a stunning seventh place at today’s German GP after starting from 13th on the grid. The rookie Australian was making his first visit to the Sachsenring circuit and had struggled to come to terms with the difficult layout, but he showed no signs of that during the race as he got off to a great start. He passed several riders on the first lap and was soon in the top 10. As the race progressed he made up more places and brought his Rizla Suzuki home at the front of a hard fought battle for seventh position. John Hopkins also had a top 10 finish to consolidate his 10th position in the Championship. He too made a good start to the race and was pushing for a higher finish but as the race wore on the Anglo-American star had to fight for every place and battled hard to earn his 10th position. Today’s race was held in warm and sunny conditions and the 93,000 plus fans were treated to a fantastic race that saw reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi emerge victorious. American Nicky Hayden still leads the championship. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now travels across the Atlantic for the USGP at Laguna Seca in California next weekend, for round 11 of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship on Sunday 23rd July. Chris Vermeulen: “I’m very happy with seventh position as this was the first time I’d been to the Sachsenring. We struggled a bit on Friday and I personally found it a difficult circuit to learn – the track was also perhaps not that well suited to our Suzuki. I had a good start and tried to follow Valentino through the gaps he made round the first few corners we made up a few positions by doing that! After that I passed Sete Gibernau and then I was up behind John. He was going very fast but I managed to get past him at the end of the back straight and from then on I just stuck my head down and chased the front group. Our tyre dropped off a bit because we didn’t have as much experience as other teams due to the fact that I had never been here before. I would like to thank the whole team for how hard they worked this weekend as I know it has not been easy to get everything right and the result is as much down to them as it is me!” John Hopkins: “I’m not happy with 10th place but what can I say, this track has never been very kind to me before. I actually got a fairly average start but made good use of the first two turns, made up a few places and found myself close to the front group. I struggled to get the bike working well over the first couple of laps but once I got into a rhythm it felt quite comfortable. I was looking to hang on to Shinya and pull myself up to the top six. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that. No excuses, I would have liked to have done better, but now my mind is firmly focused on Laguna next weekend. Congratulations to Chris on another good ride, great job!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “We didn’t quite get things nailed down as well as we would have liked to this weekend, but for both the Rizla Suzukis to finish in the top 10 and score valuable points was as good as we could have expected. Chris, on his first visit to Sachsenring, rode a fantastic race and his pace – until he lost a bit of grip – was not so far off the very best riders. I hope the result here today will give him good confidence before he goes to Laguna next weekend a track he has done very well at on a Superbike before. “John is disappointed with 10th but we’re a lot better off than we were 12 months ago here, when we left with a rake of injuries and no points! So, at least he is going to his home GP in California next weekend fighting fit and on a machine that should be well suited to the Laguna Seca circuit. “Bridgestone again made a fantastic effort this weekend, bringing a massive range of new compound groups. It took us a step closer, it wasn’t quite enough, but we have to keep our heads down and focus on improving more over the next few races.”