Having enjoyed a well-earned break after three Grands Prix in as many weekends, the riders and teams of the MotoGP world tour head to Germany for the betandwin.com Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland at the famous Sachsenring Circuit. Nicky Hayden continues to hold a lead at the top of the classification, with 153 points taken from the first nine races of the season. A disappointing performance for the American at Donington Park, where he finished off the podium for only the second time in 2006, prevented Hayden from further extending his lead in the title chase. Whatever happens this weekend Hayden will travel to his home race in the US as championship leader, but will be looking over his shoulder as his rivals close in on him. Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa’s weekend in Britain was something of a contrast to that of his American counterpart. Taking his second premier class win of the season, the Spanish rookie sensation closed the gap on Hayden to 26 points after a stirling performance. To make matters worse for Hayden, in 2005 he won the 250cc race at the scene of this weekend’s Grand Prix. Sharing the podium with Pedrosa for the first time, World Champion Valentino Rossi gave a racing masterclass from 12th on the grid at Donington Park. Battling through the field despite still suffering from a hand injury, the Italian finally took second place with a last gasp move on Marco Melandri. The rostrum spot further elevates Rossi in the leaderboard, where he lies 34 points off Hayden in third. He was last year’s MotoGP winner at the Sachsenring circuit. Honda rider Melandri, with two wins to his name thus far this season, occupies fourth, four points behind Rossi. With time to fully recuperate from his Catalunya injuries, Melandri will be looking to improve on his seventh place from last year in Germany and edge his way back into the title picture, although recent scans on his shoulder have revealed a crack in his collarbone. Still suffering from abdominal injuries, Loris Capirossi heads to Sachsenring having dropped down the standings. Level with Hayden before his spectacular crash in Catalunya, Ducati’s Italian star has only been able to take 8 points from the last three Grands Prix, a serious setback to his championship aspirations. Casey Stoner is sixth after a remarkable first half of his debut season, with 91 points on the board. Colin Edwards, Kenny Roberts Jr, Makoto Tamada and John Hopkins complete the top ten. Two riders will return from their absence through injury this weekend, with Spaniards Toni Elias and Sete Gibernau set to get back on track. Elias’ shoulder problem and Gibernau’s broken collarbone took them both to be operated on in hospital in Barcelona, and the Honda and Ducati riders will be hoping to get back into the groove as soon as possible at the physically demanding Sachsenring. In 250cc, another victory for Jorge Lorenzo at Donington Park took the Spaniard to within one point of World Championship leader Andrea Dovizioso in the overall classification. He was second last year at the German circuit, finishing ahead of Alex de Angelis, currently third in the title picture. Alvaro Bautista continues to dominate the 125cc class, now leading the series by 52 points. Nearest rival Mika Kallio could only manage second last time around, faced with another commanding win by the Spanish title leader. Sergio Gadea, Mattia Pasini and Hector Faubel all add to the closely packed Master MVA Aspar team presence in the lower cylinder category. Car and bike races have been held on closed public roads in the area around the town of Chemnitz, Germany since the 1920’s and were still taking place until as recently as 1990. It was decided, however, that the five mile course through such a densely populated area was no longer suitable and a new circuit was built five miles west of Chemnitz in 1996. Although mainly used as a driver training centre and road transport safety station, Sachsenring first hosted MotoGP in 1998 and many improvements have taken place since then, including a drastic layout enhancement in 2001. Numerous tight corners make it one of the slower tracks on the calendar but there is never any shortage of close racing action. Permanent pit garages were completed in time for the 2001 season. The betandwin.com Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland will take place on Sunday July 16th, with qualifying and practice on the preceding Friday and Saturday. The MotoGP race will take place at the alternative time of 12:30pm local time (CET) whilst the 250cc race takes place at 11am (250cc) and 125cc at 2pm.