From a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda/Gresini Racing:

PREVIEW GP OF SACHSENRING

Round 8, The Sachsenring, a slow and torturous track

The Championship arrives at its exact half of the 2004 season here at Sachsenring for the GP of Germany.

Situated 100 km south of Dresda, in what was known as East Germany, the Sachsenring is a likeable for its changes of level, but being that it is short and torturous it isn’t very loved by the MotoGp riders. Here the 250 cc times are very similar to the MotoGp ones. There are not very many overtaking points and lapping is more frequent than usual.

Throttle control is everything at the Sachsenring being that the MotoGp is able to use the complete power of its engines only for 15% of the distance of a lap. Here the agility of the bike is more important than the power of it, especially during the first part of the track, the slowest and most torturous part, so much so that this track seems more like a go kart circuit than a MotoGp one.

In fact, the first corners are all about gear and direction changes, the throttle doesn’t really count much. The tyres are particularly strained in the series of six left corners at the half way point. The German track in fact is a slow one, technical and very demanding of the tyres.


#15 SETE GIBERNAU, THIRSTY FOR VICTORY

The German public, made up of real motorcycle fans and intenders, will definitely remember Sete Gibernau’s win during the 2004 race, when at the last lap he won after a long and spectacular duel with Valentino Rossi.
Theatre of one of the best races of the Spaniard’s career, the German track is particularly difficult for these heavy and powerful MotoGp machines. This track requires physical and mental strength to withstand all 30 laps of the race.

Called to repeat his German victory, Sete Gibernau arrives at the Sachsenring strong and determined. The Rio fall has not altered the leading positions in the riders championship because the GP of Rio was the spectacle of falls (fortunately without consequences) of Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau, the two riders at the head of the Championship.

“In Rio I made a small mistake and I paid very dearly for it. It is a shame as we worked well all weekend and I was riding on a 1:49, a pace that would have allowed me to fight for the victory. We lost an occasion but I am strong and positive as myself as a rider and the entire team have now gained a very high level of competitiveness. We’ll see you at the Sachsenring.”


SETE GIBERNAU AND THE SACHSENRING TRACK


What are your memories regarding this track?

Sachsenring is a slow and difficult track for MotoGp. I have nice memories of this circuit as I won last season, I disputed one of the best races of my life.

Which is the best sector of the tack?

It is a difficult and torturous track, I can’t say I have one area which I particularly prefer.

Which is the best place to overtake?

For sure the last two corners, (left –left), this is the best place to overtake : hard Braking and overtake.

Which is the fastest sector?

After the main straightaway, the piece of track that is in descent is for sure the most difficult and quickest of the entire track.

The secret to a good lap?

The setting has to be perfect, in this track it is important to open throttle – only in certain points – without being to aggressive.



#45 COLIN EDWARDS, A FORWARD PASS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Texas Tornado arrives at the exact half of the 2004 Championship, exactly half of the races in program for this season, fourth in the Riders Championship. In constant progress of bettering his results, Colin Edwards, with his Rio Gp has consolidated his position and has arrived closer to the leaders of the Championship. The team awaits from him another step forward at the Sachsenring.

COLIN EDWARDS AND THE SACHSENRING

“When I think of the Sachsenring I think of Fire”, Colin smiles but certainly last years experience, when his RS cube lit on fire because the tank lid came off, was a strong and scary experience for the Texan who fortunately came out of it without any serious injuries (only some superficial burns in fact).

“The Sachsenring is strange, very tight. In the first sector (turns 1,2,3,4) it is not possible to overtake. After turn 4, which is a right corner, an infinite series of left corners begin which bring you to do 360° on the same side. During this sector the tyres are under a lot of strain on the left hand side, therefore the choice of the tyre here is fundamental because they must not overheat.

After this long series of left hand corners, the track radically changes, you meet a right descending corner (here you must be particularly careful during the first laps because the right side of the tyre may still be cold). The last uphill corner is spectacular. Generally this isn’t a tack that requires a lot of physical strength because it puts the left side of your body to the test. This isn’t a circuit I particularly like.”

The best place of overtake?

The Sachsenkurve braking

The best Sector?

The Sachsenkurve.


THE TEAMS COMMENTS

Fausto Gresini, Team Manager

“The Team Telefonica MoviStar Honda MotoGp has arrived to its eighth appointment leading the team Championship, a great satisfaction which demonstrates the quality of work which the team and riders bring forward race after race. Sete Gibernau is heading the Riders Championship, tied for points with Valentino Rossi, while Colin Edwards is in fourth place. In Rio we lost a good occasion: it is really to bad for Sete had a good lap pace and was going really quick, I am sure he would have fought for the victory. Colin’s race was ok, but I would like to see him up front fighting for the podium. His contribution in fact is very important to make our team even stronger.”

From a press release issued by Pirelli’s advertising and PR agency, Plummer Menapace Group:

PIRELLI RECAPS LAGUNA SECA: VERY PLEASED WITH PERFORMANCE

Competitive Lap Times, Great Racing, Even Without The Added Bonus of Wild Card Entries

(Rome, GA) When the smoke cleared and the final calculations and comparisons were finished on Pirelli’s first visit to the fabled Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as the World Superbike spec tire, coupled with the AMA race action, there were smiles on the faces of the Pirelli engineers. And the announced three-day Laguna crowd of 93,000 seemed to enjoy themselves as well.



In a word, the Pirelli folks were proud. Saturday’s World Superbike Qualifying times showed less than one second separating the first ten riders, less than two seconds between the first twenty, and that’s with the two fastest riders’ lap times in the 1:26s. This compares to a qualifying gap of over four seconds between the first and tenth AMA Superbike riders.

“This is the spirit of the spec-tire rule, closer action, closer times, every racer on the same tires, no special back-door tires for a couple teams,” said a Pirelli spokesman. “This is why Formula 1 and MotoGP are also talking about a spec tire.”

Comparing the fastest lap times on race tires showed race-one winner Chris Vermeulen at 1:26.793 for the 28 laps. (A mere .7-second gap separated his fastest and slowest lap times over the race distance). This was just .6 behind the fastest pre-red-flag AMA Superbike lap time, and just .8 behind the fastest time after the re-start (when the teams had an opportunity to switch to fresh tires). Further, in the second World Superbike race, less than one second separated the fastest lap times of the top ten racers. “This shows the excellent consistency of the Pirelli tires being used by all of the World Superbike riders, also a very important point of the new tire format. And our tires are production tires, the same tires an American racer can buy, the same tires for every World Superbike racer. We race what we sell and we sell what we race.”



Rookie World Superbike competitor Vermeulen captured the season’s first double win, taking both Laguna Seca races on his Ten Kate-sponsored Honda CBR1000RR, the first SBK Laguna double since Ben Bostrom’s in 2001 on a Ducati. Vermeulen’s was a remarkable performance considering that neither he, his team, nor his “non-factory” bike had ever before tested or competed at the challenging hilltop Laguna road course. (The bike still has the stock swingarm and no trick HRC racing parts, compared to the special factory bikes and equipment of AMA and British Superbike competition.) It was the second and third wins in a row for the immensely-talented, “searingly fast” young Australian, who just turned 22 years old on June 19. His first victory at Silverstone a couple weeks ago was also the first for the new CBR1000RR, a bike that, coincidentally, is available in the States with Pirelli’s super-sticky Diablo Corsa track/street radials as original equipment. Vermeulen also put Honda in the World Superbike record book as the series’ first-ever 1000cc, four cylinder-engined winner. But Vermeulen is no stranger to either Hondas or Pirelli tires: he rode a Pirelli DOT Supercorsa-shod Ten Kate CBR600RR to last year’s World Supersport championship by one of the widest margins in that series’ history.

Vermeulen won the first race by 4.1 seconds, despite a poor start that left him in eighth on the first lap. It was one of the largest victory margins of the season, although still comparatively modest. Big victory margins have been rare this year, with the spec-tire rule delivering on one its promises to provide much closer, hard-fought, “level playing field” racing. Not at all like some of 17- and 18-second margins seen last year. In fact, there have already been six different winners in the first 14 races of the season (there are two races in each round), compared to last season when Ducati Fila’s Neil Hodgson won all of the first 12 races before Laguna Seca. Once Vermeulen got past early leader James Toseland on the factory Ducati Fila 999RS, he was gone, leaving the battle to those behind him. And quite a battle it was. But fan-favorite Frankie Chili and his unique PSG-1 Ducati “998.5”, as he calls the 998 chassis housing a 999 engine, got the best of the close-packed followers for second. Chili set a record of his own, competing in his 230th World Superbike race. Superpole winner Steve Martin and his DFX Ducati 999RS, was third.

The second race was a close-fought battle between Vermeulen and the 23 year-old Toseland, with only .465 seconds separating them at the checkered flag. Toseland’s teammate, Regis Laconi, was third.

Giorgio Barbier, Pirelli Racing Development Manager, commenting on the weekend’s racing said, “The important thing about today is to note that last year race two was slower than race one, while today the second race was seven seconds faster. The best lap time was a little bit slower. It was also interesting to see that the best and worst laps of Chris Vermeulen were within 0.7 seconds of each other. This demonstrates a good consistency from the tires, so we can work on the pure performance of the tires now. The pity is that because the AMA Superbike race was stopped and restarted we did not get the chance to see a comparison over full race distance. There was no significance in the fact that the four-cylinder machine won both races today. In my opinion this bike is a very good base to go racing from. Everyone used the softest rear tire we had in race two, and the vast majority chose it in race one. At the end of the day, even in our short comparison to the AMA races, our tires were very good.”

AMA RESULTS

Pirelli holds a completely different place in AMA racing, being the tire choice for most of the AMA’s top privateers. Three of them finished in the Laguna Superbike final’s top 10: Lion Racing’s Jacob Holden in eighth, Triangle Cycle’s Larry Pegram, 9th, and Prieto Racing’s Geoff May, 10th. Holden only recently began competing in the class at the Road America round, and this was his best finish of the year, a very consistent effort marked by his holding the position through both parts of the red-flagged final; he also had a ninth in Saturday’s Superstock race. May, on the other hand, provided one of the weekend’s gutsiest performances. Not known as a crasher, he nevertheless suffered two of them at Laguna, resulting in injuries that made it difficult for him to get into his leathers and boots. But he was still able to fight to ninth before the red flag. Hitting a false neutral on the first turn of the re-start dropped May all the way back to 20th, yet he fought his way to another top-10 finish. May has finished in the top 10 in every Superbike race thus far in 2004 – which is why he and his Suzuki GSX-R1000 with a “bone-stock” engine currently hold an amazing fifth place in the championship standings.

There are eight Pirelli privateers in the Formula Xtreme point standings even though it is admittedly a two-rider race for the championship. Three of them finished in Laguna’s top 20. Larry Pegram, fifth in points, finished eighth; Heath Small, eighth in the standings, finished 13th; and Nathan Hester still holds the number-seven spot despite his disappointing 20th at Laguna. Two Pirelli riders who don’t normally compete in the series finished ninth and tenth: Lion Racing’s Nicky Moore and Hal’s H-D’s Mike Ciccotto on a Buell XB9R, respectively.

Championsonline.com’s Michael Barnes and his Pirelli Supercorsa-mounted Yamaha R6 earned another hard-fought eighth place in the factory-bike dominated AMA Supersport class, a finish that kept him in eighth place in points.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

A raging brush fire near the town of Willow Springs, California is threatening area power supply lines, according to news radio reports. But that doesn’t mean that this coming weekend’s WSMC event at Willow Springs Raceway is threatened.

The town of Willow Springs is about 30 miles from Willow Springs Raceway, which is actually located in Rosamond, California.

At post time, eyewitnesses at the racetrack said they could see clouds of smoke rising over nearby mountains and could hear water tanker planes flying overhead toward the fire, but could not see any flames.

Strong winds are blowing in the area, hampering fire crews.

From a press release issued by USGPRU:

USGPRU National Championship Round 8 Buttonwillow GP Results

BUTTONWILLOW, CA. — The USGPRU converged at Buttonwillow Raceway in Central California this last weekend for the 8th round of the National Championship Series with the makings of the most heated battles to date.

Searching for championship points Brian Kcraget flew in from Virginia to challenge the USGPRU points leader and rising star Josh Herrin, along with 2002 Regional Champion Will Morton on his 2004 RS125. Jeff Beck set aside his surfboard in Maui to face the USGPRU, and Nobi Iso arrived from Japan to compete with the top GP riders in the United States. The weekend was shaping up to be the most heated battle of the series with riders from around the globe. It was also a show down of young guns with Ryan Ferris, JD Schendel, Tyler Reiswig, Andrew Brown, and Josh Herrin.

Mechanical failures and frightful crashes haunted riders during practice sessions leading up to Qualifying. Riders struggled with everything from seized motors, broken foot pegs, shattered clutch baskets, and rock ingested motors. Robin Clark was forced to McGyver his exhaust pipe together with a Coke can, Will Morton tossed his bike away in the Bus Stop, and JD Schendel was momentarily knocked out in a horrific high side. HRC stock was sure to skyrocket following these events, yet not one of these events stopped any rider from making repairs in time to join the main events on Sunday.

The 125GP Qualifying session placed Kcraget on pole position with the top 4 riders within two tenths of a second, setting the stage for a barn buster main event. The 250GP Qualifying session placed this country’s top 125 riders on the first row with a sole 250 filling the 4th spot on the first row. Jeff Beck was later disqualified for overlooking weigh-in requirements following Qualifying and was pushed to the back of the grid, giving way to Vincent Rolleri on row one.

The 125GP main event had the largest grid on the West Coast this season in spite of coinciding with the WSB/AMA event at Laguna Seca. 22 GP bikes launched like an angry pack of hornets with Kcraget, Herrin, Morton, and Jeff Hanford taking the first 4 positions. Kcraget and Herrin led the race for an intense 1-2 battle, followed closely by Morton and Hanford fighting it out for the 3-4 spot. Carlos Neves still recovering from his crash at Round 6 waged war on Nobi Iso for the 5-6 positions. The battle ensued with each pair having at least 5 exchanges throughout the race. Young Gun Andrew Brown charged from the back of the grid to slip in between Morton and Neves. Nonplussed by Kcraget rubbing elbows while passing lappers, Herrin displayed genuine professional nerves of steel. Running wide on the last turn during the 8th lap, Herrin rode off into the California desert raising a mountainous cloud of dust only to create an unrecoverable lead for Kcraget. Remarkably Herrin returned to the chase. Disaster struck for Kcraget on the final lap as mechanical gremlins derailed his chain on the final lap in Lost Hills forcing him to surrender. Herrin sailed by to capture the podium with Hanford and Morton in tow.

The 250GP race was filled with no less drama. JD Schendel having crashed out during the 125GP race was left without a bike for the event. Neves graciously offered his Honda to Schendel Sr. for the event so Jr. could ride his father’s Yamaha. Scott McNew took the hole shot with a spectacular launch but quickly yielded to Morton and Hanford with a broken shifter. A ferocious battle reminiscent of the previous race had Kcraget and Herrin fighting their way up to the front of the pack for another intense race. Kcraget shook off his gremlins from the previous race to take the top position followed by Herrin. Schendel Sr. dropped into third spot on the loaner bike followed by Morton. Jeff Beck, coming from the last spot on the grid made a Herculean rush to finish in 5th.

The next round of the championship will be at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on August 13-15.

USGPRU sponsors include Infinity Investing, Acid Cigars, CCS/F-USA, Bridgestone, Dunlop, EBC Brakes, GPC Moto, Hjelm Motorsports, Motion Pro, Redline Cycle Imports, REV’IT! USA, Silkolene, Speed Fiber, 888-Fastlap, and VP Fuel.

About USGPRU
The USGPRU is the officially recognized Motorcycle Grand Prix Road Racing US National Championship series. The USGPRU emulates true World MotoGP racing experience and serves to attract young riders to gain experience in a professional environment and provide a path to world-class motorcycle racing. The USGPRU structures events with extended length grand prix racing exclusive to the GP machines, timed qualifying and strong contingency and sponsor support. For additional details, visit www.USGPRU.net

Results

125GP – 10 laps
1. Joshua Herrin HON RS125
2. Jeff Hanford HON RS125
3. William Morton HON RS125
4. Carlos Neves HON RS125
5. Andrew Brown HON RS125
6. Nobi Iso HON RS125
7. Jon Schendel Sr. YAM TZ125
8. Mike Orien HON RS125
9. Tyler Reiswig HON RS125
10. Mark Goodrich HON RS125
11. Jeff Lim HON RS125
12. Britt Bohannan HON RS125
13. Kirk Snell HON RS125
14. Darrell Baker HON RS125
15. Jonathan Giddens HON TSR125
16. Brian Kcraget HON RS125 – 9 laps
17. JD Schendel YAM TZ125 – 9 laps
18. Frank Pate HON RS125 – 9 laps
19. Brian Heess HON RS125 – 9 laps
20. Jay Pilster HON RS125 – DNF
21. Phil Krenn HON RS125 – DNF
22. Ryan Ferris YAM TZ125 – DNF

250GP – 7 laps
1. Brian Kcraget HON RS125
2. Josh Herrin HON RS125
3. Jon Schendel Sr. HON RS125
4. William Morton HON RS125
5. Jeff Beck YAM TZ250
6. Vincent Rolleri YAM TZ250
7. Jeff Hanford HON RS125
8. Scott McNew HON RS250
9. Andrew Brown HON RS125
10. Robin Clark YAM TZ250
11. JD Schendel (JR) YAM TZ125
12. Jay Pilster HON RS125
13. Clinton Whitehouse Yam TZ250
14. Darrell Baker HON RS125
15. John Lee HON RS250
16. Jonathan Giddens HON TSR125
17. Mike Lytle YAM TZ250
18. Frank Pate HON RS125 – 6 laps
19. Gordon Wood YAM TZ250 – 6 laps
20. Elaine Seasly HON RS125 – 6 laps
21. Britt Bohannan HON RS125 – 5 laps
22. Tyler Reiswig HON RS125 – DNF

From a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:

HOME RACE EXCITEMENT FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI TEAM

The Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team will be at home this weekend for the German Grand Prix, as the MotoGP World Championship completes the first half of a 16 race global campaign.

The European base for the Kawasaki Racing Team at Vohenstrauss is just two hours from Sachsenring and no doubt many of the sell-out crowd will be supporting Team Green riders, Alex Hofmann and Shinya Nakano.

Hofmann, 24, is the only German rider in the elite MotoGP series and is faced with the additional pressure of balancing this weekend’s media and corporate demands with his primary focus of maximum on-track performance.

Although Sunday’s German GP will be just his 17th MotoGP race, Hofmann is maturing quickly as a professional racer, on and off the track, and is more than capable of handling the high expectations.

Sachsenring is familiar territory for both Hofmann and Nakano and they come to this race boosted by the positive results of last week’s test session in Brazil immediately after the Rio GP.

In 2001, during his debut 500cc season, Nakano finished third at Sachsenring, just four seconds behind the winner. The Japanese rider backed that up with fifth place in 2002. And in that same year, Hofmann made a spectacular 500cc wild card appearance as a 22-year-old rookie, finishing tenth in his home race.

This 3.6 km track in North-East Germany evokes memories of the original public road course that hosted Grand Prix racing in the 1960s. The latest purpose-built complex, with a sequence of six consecutive left-hand corners, is a compact and twisting layout that places the emphasis on agile handling and precise braking.

These are the strong points of the latest evolution of the Ninja ZX-RR and, with the longest straight at just 780 metres outright horsepower is not a critical factor.

While Nakano faces his own home race at Motegi in Japan later in the season, the affable Japanese rider arrived early in Germany to visit the staff at the Kawasaki Eckl Team headquarters, before heading north to the Sachsenring.

Alex Hofmann: No.66
“I enjoy racing at home, even if it is always very busy with the media, television and sponsor demands at this race. Sometimes it’s a relief to put my helmet on and get on the bike, because on the track I’m doing what I enjoy most and that’s riding a GP bike; I can do my own thing. Kawasaki made a good step forward with the fuel injection mapping in Rio and the bike feels more comfortable and responsive to ride. There are no really long straights at Sachsenring, which will be help; for sure on the faster tracks we need some more horsepower. As usual I’ll have the support of my family, friends and fans at this race.”

Shinya Nakano: No.56
“This is one of my favourite circuits, because it is a really technical track and, since the circuit was lengthened, I like it even more, especially the fast right corner and downhill section towards the end of the lap. I was on the podium here in 2001, so I’m hoping for another good result this year. There is no really long straight, so power is not so important and this should suit the ZX-RR chassis. And our Bridgestone tyres have excellent side-grip, which is critical for all the constant corners at Sachsenring. It’s going to be an exciting weekend for our team, with a lot of fans cheering us on hopefully.”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“Expectations are always very high for our team at Sachsenring, because it’s close to our headquarters and, of course, our main sponsors, Fuchs, are also from Germany. Handling is the strong point of the Ninja ZX-RR chassis and top speed is not so critical here. For Alex there is always big pressure, but he’s more relaxed this year as a full time MotoGP rider, so I think he can handle it and get a good result. And Shinya is all class wherever he races, so this, combined with our latest electronic work on the motor, gives us some confidence for our home race.”

From a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

RACE-BY-RACE PROTONS HOPE FOR SHORT-TRACK BENEFIT

Proton Team KR riders Nobuatsu Aoki and Kurtis Roberts resume their race-by-race progress in Germany this weekend, marking the halfway point in the 16-round GP calendar.

The 2.281-mile, 3/649-km Sachsenring is also the shortest circuit on the calendar, with a layout where one turn follows another with dizzying abruptness. A short start straight and a fairground-ride plunge off the hillside behind the paddock are the only interruptions.

The England-based team are hoping this will work in their favour. Compared with established MotoGP-class opposition, the Mk2 version of their radically designed and engineered 990cc V5 prototype is in its early stages of development – and this shows most clearly in a lack of outright top speed. In Germany, the faster bikes will get no chance to exploit that advantage, while the accurate handling of the Proton’s state of the art lightweight chassis will give the riders a more equal chance than usual.

The unique England-made engine was altered to suit the compact chassis, and this has been the most difficult area of development so far. The team has tackled teething problems and continued with modifications, to achieve ever-improving reliability and performance. Both bikes finished the last round at Rio, but both were out of the top-15 points at a track with a long back straight.

In line with the engine development, Dunlop’s tyre programme has also been moving forward, although a promising new line tested before Rio turned out not to have the same performance at the Brazilian circuit’s quirky surface. Work continues, with the team expecting yet more development in the one-weekend break since the last round.

“No drastic changes, but we have some new bits and pieces that should bring improvements for this race, and we’re hoping Dunlop will have some new stuff,” said team manager Chuck Aksland.

“This track has been good to us in the past, and we may have some surprises this weekend,” he continued.

Last year, the team raced their three-cylinder two-stroke machines to 11th and 12th places. This year, the booming new-firing-order four-stroke makes its debut at the historic motorcycle racing venue (the modern short circuit overlooks the old road track).

“The big difference this year is that we are right on the weight limit,” said Aksland. “We believe this track might suit our bike quite well.”

The German GP is the penultimate in a hard run of six races in eight weekends. One week later, the British GP starts the second half of the season, and also opens the summer break, with three weekends off before the Czech GP on August 22.

NOBUATSU AOKI – HARD TRACK, BETTER CHANCES
Actually I don’t like this track at all – but I’m looking forward to it, because I think we have a better chance to get in the points. It’s the shortest circuit in GPs, and if you are a bit underpowered it doesn’t make so much difference here. So even if I don’t like it, with a small chance of doing well I must push hard.

KURTIS ROBERTS – ANOTHER ONE TO LEARN
It’s been a pretty tough season, and here’s another new track for me to learn. I need for everything to keep going, to get as much saddle time as I can. Le Mans was quite a tight track, and I got a point there, so I’m hoping to do at least that much again.

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

SUZUKI READY FOR TIGHT SACHSENRING

Team Suzuki MotoGP will have no secret weapons for this weekend’s German GP – the secret came out at the Rio GP two weekend’s before. Not only is Suzuki’s quest to return to racing success obviously moving forward fast, but Kenny Roberts Jr. is still as dedicated a rider as he was when he won the World Championship in 2000.

Roberts has had three downbeat seasons on a bike that was not ready to give its full potential and many with short memories may have overlooked this. But he reminded them all in Brazil when he qualified on pole position, led the first lap of the race, and then stormed to sixth, his best-so-far in a very competitive season. It was a happy return to form at the same circuit where he confirmed his title in 2000.

Kenny’s first pole since 2000 was tangible proof that this year’s programme of development on the powerful 990cc V4 GSV-R is bearing fruit. He was helped by the latest Bridgestone tyres which went on to win the brand’s first GP at Rio. And the American will be taking all these new strengths to the tight and twisty Sachsenring, for the halfway race of the hectic 2004 MotoGP season.

Rio was Roberts’s third race on the latest revised-firing-order upgrade to the four-camshaft 220-plus horsepower engine. Team-mate John Hopkins will be using that motor for a second time at the German race after scoring points at Rio in his first outing with the easier-to-ride machine.

Hopkins is on a road to recovery after suffering injury and misfortune both before the season and again after it started. Now back to full strength, his Rio race was spoiled by an off-track excursion on the last lap after he and Alex Hofmann collided while disputing 11th. Hopkins actually slipped off after hitting the tyre wall on the escape road but remounted to finish the race 15th – a typical example of the 21-year-old Anglo-American rider’s determination.

Team manager Garry Taylor described how the short and maniacally twisty Sachsenring circuit could give the Suzuki teamsters an even better chance than Rio to demonstrate the progress.

“Everyone could see at Rio how well Kenny was riding and how well our bike handles in the corners. Obviously the package of tyres, engine and rider were working together and getting very competitive,” said Taylor. “That’s down to a lot of hard work, at the tracks and especially in Japan.

“Everyone could also see that our bike is short of top speed on Rio’s long straight. Our riders have to make up time in the corners.

“That means we’re all looking forward to the Sachsenring. It’s all corners with hardly a straight worth the name. It should play to our strengths,” said Taylor.

The Suzuki teamsters will have another boost to their confidence in Germany: 1993 World Champion Kevin Schwantz will again be in the pit and at the trackside to offer advice and encouragement – and his unique brand of humour – to his old team. Already at Catalunya, Schwantz commented on how much the Suzuki had improved. Now he will see that the GSV-R project has clearly gained even more momentum. Schwantz is in Germany for the latest of his Suzuki Riding School track days.

The next race, a week after the German GP, is the British round at Donington Park, bringing to an end a hectic schedule of six races over eight weekends.

KENNY ROBERTS – MAKING HEADWAY:

“I said after Rio that I had no idea what to expect in Germany. We have the bike working better though we still need acceleration; Bridgestone have made a big step forward and we’re making headway. At Rio, we showed everybody that if we get some engine underneath us, we’re going to be right there. For Germany, we’ll see what the race brings.”

JOHN HOPKINS – A TALENT FOR TURNING:

“I’ve been hanging out in Ireland with Jeremy McWilliams and Ian Gilpin, our crew mechanic having a good time and keeping fit. Germany isn’t one of my favourite tracks – I’ve had setbacks there the last two years. Last year’s Suzuki was hard to turn and it’s a really twisty track. This year’s bike is a lot different and a lot better in that regard and it should be okay. I’m expecting a good race.”

ABOUT THIS TRACK:

The modern Sachsenring circuit came into being by stealth in 1998 – local enthusiasts pressing ahead in spite of being denied official backing. The makeshift circuit centred on a driving training centre and an industrial estate and the original track used part of the old public-roads circuit, dropped from GP racing in the Seventies. That was finally dropped in 2002, when a third circuit revision substituted a spectacular downhill swoop. At the same time, a new pit lane and permanent circuit buildings were installed. Sachsenring is the shortest but not the slowest track of the year (that is Estoril). Each hectic lap begins with a difficult bottleneck downhill right, leading via a hairpin to a section with seven successive left-hand corners, posing technical problems as one side of the tyre overheats and the other cools down. With almost the whole lap taken at part throttle and at high lean angles on low overall gearing, good engine response and delicate throttle control are paramount; and overtaking is particularly difficult.

ABOUT THIS RACE:

The East German GP ran from 1961 until 1972 attracting vast crowds to the long public-roads Sachsenring track. The West German GP had an even longer history. After unification, however, the older race ran into difficulties, with spectators deserting the event at Hockenheim, and failing to return when it was moved to the Nurburgring. In 1998, enthusiastic new promoters took over the event at the makeshift new circuit on the site of the old East German race. Pits and paddock buildings were tents and marquees. But race-starved crowds responded in vast numbers with tickets sold out months in advance, and year by year, the track and facilities have been upgraded and the status of the event enhanced.

RACE DATA:


Sachsenring, Germany.

Circuit Length: 2.281 miles / 3.671 km.

Lap Record: 1:24.630 – 97.031 mph / 156.157 km/h. M Biaggi (Yamaha), 2003.

2003 Race Winner: S Gibernau (Honda).

2003 Race Average: 42:41.180 – 96.187mph / 154.798 km/h.

2003 Fastest Race Lap: see record.

2003 Pole Position: Biaggi, 1:23.734.

2003 Kenny Roberts: 15th, qualified 14th (Suzuki).

2003 John Hopkins: DNF retired, qualified 22nd (Suzuki).

From a press release issued by d’Antin Ducati:

CHAMPIONSHIP REACHES HALFWAY POINT IN GERMANY

The MotoGP World Championship reaches the halfway point this weekend at the German Sachsenring circuit, 15 kilometres away from the city of Chemnitz. This was a particularly popular event during the sixties, when the country was divided, but barely anything remains of the street track used back then, and the current circuit has constantly been adapted to get in line with safety measures required by the championship ever since it returned to the calendar in 1998

It is now a short and twisty track, where outright power is less important than other areas of the machine, but it is still one of the most popular Grands Prix, with crowds flocking in their masses to the area to create a particularly special atmosphere, and which the d´Antin MotoGP riders will get their first chance to experience this weekend.

Rubén Xaus and Neil Hodgson have never competed at the Sachsenring and they will begin a tough learning process when they take to the track for first practice on Friday on their Ducati Desmosedici.

RUBÉN XAUS has been one of the riders to stand out in this first half of the series, and he comes to Germany currently leading the Rookie of the Year standings, “Things didn’t go so well in Rio, but despite all that, we finished the race and picked up some more points. I think that up until now we can say that the work we have done has been positive overall.

“I’m always excited about every single track we go to, even if we don’t know it well, and Sachsenring is one of those we don’t know at all, because I’ve never even been there. It is narrow and winding and I think that it will be important to get good grid position because there are very few places to overtake, although the most important thing always is to get yourself prepared well for the race, and to enjoy yourself to the full.”

For NEIL HODGSON, completing the Brazilian race was a tough challenge, but the tenacious British rider didn’t let the side down, bringing the bike home albeit just outside the points, “Rio was a weekend to forget for me, but I think that it’s always important to finish races because you can learn from all that, and from then on I’ve been thinking about this German Grand Prix. I had a little rest over the last few days and I was also invited to the British Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone.

I can’t say too much about Sachsenring because the last time I did GP in Germany in 1995, the race was at the Nürburgring, so this is a complete unknown for me. It doesn’t look too easy for the MotoGP bikes, but I’m confident that we can get the most out of what we have and can finish the weekend in a positive manner.”

From a press release issued by Jellison Funeral Home:

Antrim, New Hampshire – Bryan Paquette, 46, of 9 Davison Drive, died on Friday, July 9, as a result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle racing accident in Loudon. He was born on September 30, 1957 in Peterborough, New Hampshire, son of Joan Phelps Stebbins and Francis Paquette. He resided in Antrim for thirteen years.

He was a graduate of Marlborough High School class of 1975. In 2000 he opened a new business; Bryan’s Sportbike Painting and served many customers throughout the years. He was a member of the American Motorcyclist Association, an avid golfer, and with great enthusiasm enjoyed entertaining and cooking for his family and friends. He loved his wife, children and family with all his heart.

He is survived by his wife, Rebecca “Becky” Davison Paquette of Antrim; three children, Jacob, Jennifer and Sally, all of Antrim; his mother, Joan Stebbins of Marlborough; his father, Francis Paquette of Hancock; two brothers, Francis Jr. and Thomas Paquette, both of Hancock; two sisters, Tammy Paquette of Florida and Peitra Stebbins of Marlborough; his mother-in-law, Joyce Davison of Antrim; several nieces, nephews, aunts uncles, cousins and many loving friends.

There are no calling hours. A memorial service is scheduled for Thursday, July 15, at 2pm at his residence on 9 Davison Drive in Antrim.

Memorial contributions in his name may be made to the New England Organ Bank, 1 Gateway Center, suite 202, Newton, MA 02458

Jellison Funeral Home, 25 Concord Street, Peterborough, is assisting the family with arrangements.


And now some reader reaction:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I just read the news of Bryan Paquette’s death. My prayers go out to his family and friends.

Bryan was very awesome friend of mine. Bryan always had a way of watching over and helping me in ways only Bryan could. When I struggled with not racing, but being around it, Bryan was always there for support. I will always remember Bryan for his humor, support, hard work, and as a true friend. My heart goes out to everyone who knew Bryan, we will all miss him.

Godspeed Bryan, “ya ole man!”

Shane Clarke
Olathe, Kansas



FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I had known Bryan for 5 years and I can’t remember when he didn’t have the time to stop what he was doing and offer me some help or advice. His smiling face in the Dunlop garage was something that I looked forward to each race weekend. From tires to bodywork to simple tricks, Bryan was there in my corner to help out and I’m going to greatly miss him. Friday afternoon, my heart sank when I got the news–my sympathies go to his family.

Adam Vella
WebCrush Racing
Chelmsford, Massachusetts

From a press release issued by Dorna:

Classic duel to resume at Veltins Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

The battle for supremacy in the MotoGP World Championship continues this weekend with the eighth round of a stunning season at the Sachsenring circuit in Germany. Event organisers have already promised record crowds for the Veltins Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, with only a handful of tickets still remaining and a guaranteed weekend attendance higher than last year’s record breaking total of 204,000.

The focus of the attraction centres around a classic struggle for premier-class dominance between Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau and their respective factories, Yamaha and Honda. Last year both were riding Honda machinery in one of the tightest finishes of the year, when Gibernau took victory by 0.060 seconds after overtaking Rossi on the final bend. This weekend they arrive in Germany on the back of arguably their closest finish yet, with both riders picking up zero points after crashing out of the last round in Brazil and remaining tied at the top of the championship on 126, with Rossi just on top by virtue of a better win ratio.

Whilst Gibernau can turn to last year’s victory for confidence, Sachsenring is not one of Rossi’s favourite circuits despite two previous wins there in the 250cc and MotoGP classes. Along with Estoril and Motegi it is one of only three circuits at which Rossi has not had a pole position in the premier-class, a run he will surely be looking to put to an end to ensure grid superiority at a tight and twisty track where overtaking can be notoriously difficult.

Max Biaggi continues his quest to make the title chase a party of three after moving within thirteen points of the leading pair thanks to second place at Rio, a result which also made him only the tenth rider in the history of the sport to reach the 50th podium milestone. Three of those rostrum finishes came at Sachsenring, including a win in 2001, and another victory this weekend would be the ideal way to mark the halfway point of the season after a consistent first seven races which have all seen Biaggi score points – Colin Edwards and Loris Capirossi being the only other two riders to match that achievement.

Whilst the experienced trio of Rossi, Gibernau and Biaggi continue to dominate at the top of the championship, Makoto Tamada proved beyond questionable doubt that there are other winners amongst the ultra-competitive MotoGP field with his stunning victory in Brazil just over a week ago. As well as making history as the first man ever to set a fastest lap and take victory on Bridgestone tyres, beating Michelin for the first time since Simon Crafar’s famous win with Dunlop at Donington Park in 1998, Tamada also ended a record run of 37 races since Tohru Ukawa became the last debut winner in the class at Welkom in 2002.

On current form Nicky Hayden heads the queue of riders looking to make sure the latter sequence does not gather pace again after pushing Honda colleagues Tamada and Biaggi all the way for victory in Brazil before claiming his first podium of the season in third place. Unlike Tamada, who had a miserable time at Sachsenring last year with his worst qualifying performance of the season and thirteenth in the race, the American youngster has positive memories of Germany having scored his first ever top five finish in MotoGP on his first visit there last year.

Back at Yamaha Valentino Rossi is not the only rider looking to make up for a bad weekend in Rio, with Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri in particular hoping for better fortune after hitting each other during a disappointing race which saw them finish behind factory colleague Norick Abe in tenth and thirteenth respectively. However, they will be buoyed by their past form at Sachsenring and that of their factory, with Checa one of an all-Yamaha podium alongside Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano in 2001 and Melandri having won three times in the minor categories, including his first ever win on a 250 in 2001.

Kenny Roberts arrives in Germany looking to build on Suzuki’s best finish of the season and a morale boosting pole position in Brazil. The former World Champion took seventh place in Rio and has a strong base to build on as the factory look to make further progress at Sachsenring, where he rode from pole position to victory in 1999 before scoring pole again in 2000, when he also took a podium finish.

Ducati have confirmed that they will be making two versions of their Twin Pulse engine available to both riders this weekend as they also look to build on a good record at Sachsenring and consolidate the progress they have made in recent weeks. Troy Bayliss finished behind Gibernau and Rossi on the podium in third place last year whilst Loris Capirossi took fourth, the only time both riders have finished together in the top four.

Elsewhere, Michel Fabrizio is expected to return for the WCM team after missing out in Brazil with a fractured ankle, although if he is declared unfit then Spanish rider David De Gea is again likely to deputise.

Manuel Poggiali gave Aprilia their 99th victory in the 250cc class at Rio last week and the chances of the Italian factory making that a century in Germany look strong, Aprilia riders having won four out of the past six races at Sachsenring whilst main Honda hope Dani Pedrosa failed to score a podium there in three attempts in the 125cc class. However, quarter-litre rookie Pedrosa is flying high on confidence after wrestling the championship lead back from Randy De Puniet and will be backed up by factory colleagues eager to taste the winner’s champagne for the first time this season, with Roberto Rolfo having scored the Japanese factory’s only victory there last year and Toni Elias, who contributed six wins to Aprilia’s potential century, ready to return to the top step after four podiums from the last five races.

Hector Barberá has established himself as one of the most consistent points-scorers in 125cc history after his seventeenth consecutive top fifteen finish at Rio, where the added bonus of victory took him to within sixteen points of Andrea Dovizioso at the top of the championship. Whilst Barberá looks to be Dovizioso’s most serious current threat, he is actually just one of three riders who could snatch the series lead this weekend, with Roberto Locatelli and Casey Stoner, who have both scored podiums in Germany in recent seasons, also within striking distance of the Italian teenager.