After qualifying third fastest for the 2000 German MotoGP, held at the Sachsenring - the championship calendar’s shortest and slowest circuit - Max Biaggi (Yamaha) slid home to a creditable fourth behind race winner Alex Barros (Honda), Valentino Rossi (Honda) and Kenny Roberts (Suzuki).

At that stage it was the closest 500 finish of the year, with the top five covered by only 1.674 seconds at the finish line after 31 laps - Honda mounted Tadayuki Okada completing the quintet.

Norick Abe (Antena 3 Yamaha d’Antin) produced one of his lightning starts to be an early contender, jumping from 15th on the grid to fifth before turn one, only to lose touch after an off-track excursion on lap six. He eventually rejoined to finish 11th. The second best Yamaha on the day was the former Red Bull Yamaha rider, Regis Laconi - seventh.

The tight and twisty nature of the Sachsenring lends itself to close racing, partially because it’s rather short length - only just scraping in on the minimum allowed to host a MotoGP race - while the spaghetti layout itself has the reputation of making it difficult to pass on. This may change to some extent this year after the German venue underwent its second re-design in as many years.

Increasing in length by 275 metres the new circuit will remain unchanged between turn one and the following ten corners, but from this point three straight sections of tarmac will complete the Sachsenring via a triangular format. The likely outcome will see the 500’s top speed potential increase well above the 260kmh from last year.

As the ninth round of the championship, to be held on July 22, will be the first time the riders will see the new layout it is going to be a learning event for all involved. But the basic characteristics are likely to remain intact.

Like Donington the Sachsenring is made up of low and high speed sections, although it isn’t as segregated as the English circuit. It means that the bike will need to offer agility and a degree of stability too - a difficult combination. But the main focus will be on getting good drive, especially as much of this is done on the left side of the tyre at a track with little camber and limited grip.

This will be achieved by providing the riders with a rear suspension setup that sports a spring rate a little more on the softer side. It will offer the rider more feel while working the rear tyre less over the bumpy surface. A longer swingarm setting will also provide a similar end result.

The only challenge will be to ensure there is a consistent swingarm motion as these settings, combined with the undulating layout and lack of grip, can lead to a pumping action on the rear as the tyre fights for traction - leading to instability. To prevent this pumping action from becoming an issue the shock’s damping will be dialled in to compensate, while the front forks will be set to provide an all round balanced chassis. This is possible with the limited amount of hard braking that takes place at the Sachsenring - the only point of concern being turn one. For this reason stability under brakes isn’t such a priority.

Since most riders will only use second to fifth gears, and the throttle position is opened fully for less time than at Donington - expect around 10 percent per lap - it’s clear that top end power is not the main requirement from the V-four, although this may change with the slightly longer front straight. Rather it’s a predictable bottom end and midrange that riders will be looking for. It will help to ensure that slides stay predictable; the very reason why the 16.5inch rear tyre is the likely choice.

Considering it all it’s not surprising to learn that less than half a second separates the lap records of a 500 and a 250 on the Sachsenring’s former layout.