HOME GP FOR THE GERMAN ALEX HOFMANN The German ALEX HOFMANN is back on the DUCATI DESMOSEDICI GP06 “Sat.” of the Team PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP, after two races in the Official Team as a substitute rider of the injured Sete Gibernau. He will “race at home” his national GP in Germany, on the Sachsenring Circuit. A very important date for ALEX HOFMANN that is actually very enthusiast and wants to get a good result more than ever, in front of his public. His Team mate as well, the Spanish JOSE LUIS CARDOSO, wants to get more points for the general classification of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship, after the ones he obtained at Catalunya and Donington. The round in Germany is the tenth of the season and will be followed by the U.S. Grand Prix, reserved to the MotoGP class, on the 23th July at Laguna Seca. The first session of free practice will be on Friday 13th July, at 10.00 a.m.. LUIS D’ANTIN (Team Manager): “After two races with the DUCATI Official Team, ALEX HOFMANN is back with us for his Home GP. We are aiming at a good result here, it’s very important for the Team and I’m sure that HOFMANN will make a great race in front of his public. With JOSE LUIS CARDOSO we will make the maximum to go on making good things after the quite good race in England, to keep on improving more and more”. ALEX HOFMANN #66: “I’m very enthusiast, to race at Sachsenring is always a great emotion! The track is quite small and very slow, it’s not one of the most beautiful but it’s one of the most special, the atmosphere is simply fantastic. It’s great to race in front of so many supporters, thousands of them already arrive on Friday to show their passion for the motorcycling world. I can’t wait to ride on track, it will surely be a very special weekend for me and for the whole Team. About the experience I had the opportunity to live with the Official DUCATI, I would like to thank again all the people that trusted me for this occasion. In the meanwhile it seems like DUNLOP has done some improvements and I hope it will allow us to make a good result here in Germany, I really expect something good as it is my home race and I don’t want to deceive my fans”. JOSE LUIS CARDOSO #30: “I have many good memories of Sachsenring, I made great races on this circuit and I really like its track. I can’t wait to make the first practice, especially after the improvements we made in the last race. We will see what will happen, I am very enthusiast and I really want to make a good result. I will work very hard with my Team during the whole weekend”. CIRCUIT DETAILS The Sachsenring Circuit was built in 1996 to avoid the numerous car and bike races that were done in the public roads in the area around the town of Chemnitz from 1920 until 1990, that had become too dangerous through such a densely populated area without enough security conditions for all the riders. The track is situated five miles west of the German town and has been mainly used as a driver training centre and road transport safety. It hosted MotoGP for the first time in 1998 and, since then, many improvements have taken place, including a drastic layout enhancement in 2001. Numerous tight corners make this track one of the slowest on the calendar but there is never any shortage of close racing action. Longest straight: 780m Wide: 10m Pole Position: Left Direction: Unclockwise MotoGP – Circuit Record: 1’23.705 (Sete Gibernau – 2005) MotoGP – Fastest Lap: 1’22.756 (Max Biaggi – 2004) 2005 MotoGP Race: 1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2. Sete Gibernau (Honda) 3. Nicky Hayden (Honda)