MotoGP 2013 – Round Eight – Sachsenring
— Marquez on pole as Pedrosa joins injury list
Marc Marquez has collected his third MotoGP™ pole position for this weekend’s eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. As injured title rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa both couldn’t take part after crashes, the Repsol Honda Team rider beat Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi.
Since practice action commenced on Friday, a number of incidents have been witnessed at the Sachsenring, not least for title-holder Lorenzo and current championship leader Pedrosa who both have injured left collarbones after highside crashes. Lorenzo will miss at least this race, whereas in Pedrosa’s case it remains to be seen as to whether he will be able to re-join the action on Sunday.
Marquez’s lap of 1’21.311 was within three tenths of a second of Casey Stoner’s best ever lap of the Sachsenring – which had been achieved in the era of qualifying tyres in 2008 – as he stormed to his third pole, after Texas and Le Mans. Crutchlow will start inside the top two for the third race in succession, despite two heavy falls on Friday which have left the Englishman in pain, while the front row start for Rossi is his first in 988 days; his last had been at the Portuguese Grand Prix of 2010.
Row 2 is headed up by LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl at his home event, whereas a top five result came thanks to a stunning effort from Aleix Espargaro on the Power Electronics Aspar CRT machine. Ducati Team will line up sixth and ninth, far better than Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso had expected, whereas Tech 3’s Bradley Smith and GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista will fill slots seven and eight. Pedrosa was classified 12th, but was unable to take part in qualifying.
Highly impressive performances from Danilo Petrucci and Claudio Corti saw the pair of Italians topping Q1 and thus headed into the Q2 shootout for the first time; Corti will start tenth on the grid for NGM Mobile Forward Racing, whereas Petrucci experienced a technical issue in Q2 and will set off from 11th for Came IodaRacing Project.
At the back of the grid and in 23rd place will be Energy T.I. Racing’s Andrea Iannone, who dislocated his right shoulder in a crash during the final practice session. Hector Barbera (Avintia Blusens, 14th) was also in discomfort after twisting his right ankle in morning practice, whereas GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Bryan Staring was left 22nd fastest after suffering a large highside on the exit of Turn 3.
MotoGP™ Qualifying Practice Classification
1 Marc Marquez 1’21.311 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Cal Crutchlow 1’21.434 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
3 Valentino Rossi 1’21.493 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
4 Stefan Bradl 1’21.862 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
5 Aleix Espargaro 1’21.887 SPA ART Power Electronics Aspar
6 Nicky Hayden 1’22.157 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
7 Bradley Smith 1’22.297 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
8 Alvaro Bautista 1’22.484 SPA HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
9 Andrea Dovizioso 1’22.561 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
10 Claudio Corti 1’23.059 ITA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
11 Danilo Petrucci 1’23.361 ITA IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
12 Dani Pedrosa 1’22.221 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
13 Randy De Puniet 1’23.152 FRA SUZUKI Suzuki Test Team
14 Hector Barbera 1’23.333 SPA FTR Avintia Blusens
15 Michele Pirro 1’23.349 ITA DUCATI Ignite Pramac Racing Team
16 Michael Laverty 1’23.549 GBR PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
17 Yonny Hernandez 1’23.565 COL PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
18 Colin Edwards 1’23.631 USA FTR-KAWASAKI NGM Mobile Forward Racing
19 Karel Abraham 1’23.752 CZE ART Cardion AB Motoracing
20 Hiroshi Aoyama 1’23.820 JAP FTR Avintia Blusens
21 Lukas Pesek 1’24.395 CZE IODA-SUTER Came IodaRacing Project
22 Bryan Staring 1’27.273 AUS FTR-HONDA Go & Fun Honda Gresini
23 Andrea Iannone 1’23.008 ITA DUCATI Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team
Moto2™
Belgium’s Xavier Simeon has claimed his first ever pole position for the Moto2™ eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. An impressive last-gasp lap for the Desguaces La Torre Maptaq rider saw him demote Aspar Team Moto2’s Jordi Torres and Tuenti HP 40’s Pol Espargaro, as only 39 thousandths of a second covered the leading trio.
Simeon – who finished on the podium at the French Grand Prix earlier this season – grabbed Saturday’s pole with his best effort of 1’24.665, also achieving his first ever front row start. Torres was denied by the narrow margin of 13 thousandths of a second, while Espargaro’s third place means he will start five positions ahead of title rival and current championship leader Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team).
Row 2 will be filled by the still recovering Tom Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing), Simone Corsi (NGM Mobile Racing) and Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team), while Simon’s teammate Takaaki Nakagami will head up the third row from Redding, whose own best lap missed pole by just under three tenths of a second.
The top ten was completed by eight-time Sachsenring podium finisher Alex de Angelis, who next weekend will be competing in the premier MotoGP™ class at Laguna Seca. In 23rd place, Tuenti HP 40’s Tito Rabat struggled to make an impression due to a twisted left ankle sustained in a crash during final practice.
Simeon’s result is the first pole position for a Belgian rider – in any class of the World Championship – for 24 years since. The last came courtesy of Didier de Radigues at the 250 Belgian Grand Prix of 1989, staged at Spa-Francorchamps.
Moto2™ Qualifying Practice Classification
1- Xavier Simeon BEL Kalex 1:24.665
2- Jordi Torres SPA Suter 1:24.678
3- Pol Espargaro SPA Kalex 1:24.704
Moto3™
Alex Rins has achieved pole position for the Moto3™ eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. The Spaniard’s third pole of the season will see him share the front row with the championship leader, Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Luis Salom whose challenge was halted by an engine problem, and Mahindra Racing’s Miguel Oliveira.
The early surprise of the afternoon was an error from one front-running favourite, as home rider Jonas Folger crashed his Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 bike at Turn 11. He was able to re-join the action in the late stages, sealing fourth spot on the grid. Rins’ pole came in the form of 1’27.300, with Salom staying second despite having had to pull off the circuit; his leading lap time from final practice remains the quickest so far.
Oliveira – who was on pole last time out at Assen – collects his third consecutive front row start, whereas Team Calvo’s Maverick Viñales could not make the most of Salom’s difficulties and went off-track at Turn 1. He will start sixth, behind Folger and Caretta Technology – RTG’s Jack Miller on the second row.
Second Mahindra rider Efren Vazquez will line up seventh from San Carlo Team Italia’s Romano Fenati, RW Racing GP’s Jasper Iwema – enjoying his best Moto3 qualifying position to date, in ninth – and Alex Marquez, who ensures that Estrella Galicia 0,0 are bookending the top ten.
A late fall for Folger’s teammate Eric Granado left the Brazilian 31st, four positions ahead of Jules Danilo who covers for the injured Danny Webb at Ambrogio Racing.
Arthur Sissis – “It was a very positive morning. I was feeling good and riding with a very steady pace in the morning session. In qualifying we made a few small adjustments to the setup, but I noticed them more than I expected. That’s why, when we put the new tyres on, I was unable to push to the maximum. Tomorrow we will use the settings we had in the third free practice, because I have a better feeling with that and I can run a higher pace. I’ll see if I can finish in the top five, but we’ll see, because my pace today was pretty good. I have confidence about this race.”
Moto3™ Qualifying Practice Classification
1- Alex Rins SPA KTM 1:27.300
2- Luis Salom SPA KTM 1:27.480
3- Miguel Oliveira POR Mahindra 1:27.55
— HRC Report
Today was a day of mixed fortunes for the Repsol Honda team during free practice and qualifying for the German Grand Prix, at the Sachsenring, with rookie Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) storming to pole position while team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) was helicoptered to hospital following a heavy fall this morning. The World Championship leader has a small fracture to his left collarbone and will reassess the situation tomorrow morning before deciding if he is able to race. Two weeks after the first front-row start of his premier-class career at Assen, local hero Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) was a close fourth fastest in front of his home crowd despite a low-speed fall during qualifying.
This was Marquez’s third premier-class pole (after Austin and Le Mans) and he did it in fine style, his second run putting him more than a tenth of a second in front of Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha), who had started the previous race at Assen from pole. Assen race winner Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) completed the front row in third place.
Marquez loves this tight and twisting track, and has won on his last three visits, once on a 125 and twice on a Moto2 bike. The 20-year-old reckons that the difference between riding a Moto2 bike and a MotoGP bike is less than at most circuits, simply because the Sachsenring is so full of corners that a MotoGP bike never gets the chance to really stretch its legs.
Pedrosa, who currently leads the points chase, fell during this morning’s FP3 session, run in cool temperatures and after a brief rain shower that had sent riders back to the pits, waiting for the rain to abate. His rear tyre let go a few laps later as he rode through the first turn. The tyre then gripped suddenly, triggering a huge highside that had the Spaniard landing heavily on his left shoulder. He previously broke his left collarbone at Motegi in 2010. After medical checks at the track Pedrosa was taken by helicopter to Chemnitz hospital for further examination.
Although he was unable to take part in qualifying, Pedrosa’s lap times from free practice automatically seed him into the race, in 12th position on the grid, though he has yet to decide if he will make the start.
Tomorrow’s race will certainly go ahead in the absence of reigning World Champion and Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) who crashed heavily yesterday, aggravating the left collarbone injury he sustained at Assen. The impact of the tumble bent the titanium plate inserted to fix the broken bone. Lorenzo currently sits second in the championship race, nine points behind Pedrosa. He also looks set to miss next weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
Bradl was in the hunt for another front-row start when he slipped off at the low-speed Turn Three right-hander. He quickly rode back to the pits and continued the session on his second bike, ending up just 0.551 seconds behind Marquez.
Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) ended qualifying in eighth place. He made the mistake of letting his tyres cool down too much before pushing for his qualifying lap, though he believes he has a good enough race pace to stay in touch, so long as he gets a good start.
MotoGP rookie Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) had a nasty highside at turn four during QP1, which damaged his first machine. Although the Australian got back to the pits, his second bike was set up differently, so he didn’t have the confidence to push to the maximum. He will start the race from 22nd on the grid.
Xavier Simeon (Desguaces La Torre Maptaq Kalex) scored his first ever Grand Prix pole position with a thrilling ride in the Honda-powered Moto2 class qualifying session. The Belgian, who scored his first GP podium at May’s French GP, bettered Jordi Torres (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 Suter) by little more than one hundredth of a second. Pol Espargaro (Tuenti HP40 Pons Kalex) was a close third fastest, with the front row covered by just 0.175 seconds.
The Moto2 grid is always tightly packed but more so than usual at this track, because the lap is short and the circuit layout is tight. Due to those two factors the top 25 riders are separated by just 1.219 seconds, suggesting close and frantic racing tomorrow.
Row two is led by fourth-fastest Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Suter), his best qualifying performance since returning from injury at the Spanish GP. The Swiss ace will start tomorrow’s race alongside Simone Corsi (NGM Mobile Racing Speed Up), with Julian Simon (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) completing the row.
Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) heads the third row, two weeks after crashing and breaking his left collarbone at Assen. The Japanese had the break plated and is already back to full speed. World Championship leader Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex) had a difficult qualifying after topping yesterday’s times. The Briton ended up eighth, albeit less than the tenths off pole. He will start the race between Nakagami and team-mate Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex)
Jack Miller (Caretta Technology – RTG FTR Honda) had another strong Moto3 qualifying, scoring his fifth second-row start from the first eight races. The Australian teenager was in fine form, using the sweet handling of his FTR Honda around this tight and twisty track to qualify less than three tenths of a second off pole. And he believes he could have been even closer to the front if he hadn’t been held up by slower riders on his final lap.
Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTR Honda) also enjoyed today’s Moto3 session, achieving his best qualifying performance of the year and is first third-row start, in eighth place. The Italian teenager was just 0.510 seconds off pole.
Third fastest Honda rider was Spaniard Isaac Vinales (Bimbo Ongetta-Centro Seta FTR Honda) in 11th and just ahead of Niccolo Antonelli (GO&FUN Gresini FTR Honda) in 13th, Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing Suter Honda) in 14th and Lorenzo Baldassarri (GO&FUN Gresini FTR Honda) in 16th.
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: pole position – 1m 21.311s
“I’m very happy with this pole position. It’s important to start from the front row at this circuit, since it’s quite difficult to overtake! I felt very comfortable, especially after the pace I had in FP4. In qualifying I struggled a little to get the most out of the bike, but things went better on our second exit. I think we have done a great job and we will try to do our best, have a good race and fight for the podium, and with a little luck for the victory. After I saw Dani’s crash this morning I was definitely a little more cautious going through turn one. I really hope he recovers quickly and can race tomorrow. It will be a difficult race, because Valentino will be fighting also Stefan and Cal, if he’s okay physically, will be up there as well.”
Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 4th – 1m 21.862s
“We did a good job in FP4 and our consistency is very good. Actually, we have just missed one maximum fast lap in qualifying but I am still very pleased with my fourth place on the grid. Unfortunately I had a little crash on my first run because I hit a little bump. At least I was able to start the bike and get back to the garage. After that I jumped on bike two and pushed more than 100 per cent but I could not set the perfect lap time to make the front row. I really wanted a front-row start at my home race but we are quite happy anyway because we are doing a good job. It’s difficult to set any target because the race is very long, but I sternly want to perform well for my home crowd.”
Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 8th – 1m 22.484s
“We have made a slight improvement yesterday and found a bit more grip and confidence with the rear of the bike. We worked hard with the electronics and found some benefits that allowed me to improve my lap time. Unfortunately I made a mistake in qualifying and let the tyres get too cool before pushing for a fast lap. My race pace isn’t so bad but it will be important to get a good start if we are going to stay in touch with the lead group.”
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 12th – 1m 22.221s
“It was definitely a scary moment and I’m still not totally sure what happened. I hit my head hard and immediately felt a lot of pain in my shoulder and I checked to see if I could feel anything. Thankfully in the medical centre they saw it wasn’t broken but maybe a small fracture, and I was also feeling very dizzy but never lost consciousness. Just to be safe, we flew to Chemnitz Hospital for a CAT scan and then returned to the Clinica Mobile at the circuit. They confirmed I had a small fracture in my left collar bone but I am thankful it’s not a complete break. Now I will rest tonight and see how I feel in the morning. If I feel strong enough I will have the medical check to clear me for the race.”
Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 22nd – 1m 27.273s
“Unfortunately when I came into turn four the rear came round on me and threw me into the air. It was a big crash and we didn’t need it. We went back out on the second bike but the set-up as different and I didn’t have the same confidence with it. Now I have to get over the pain in my left foot and try to get ready for the race.”
Moto2 rider quotes
Xavier Simeon, Desguaces La Torre Maptaq: pole position, 1m 24.665s
“I didn’t expect to be on pole – I was expecting anywhere on the first two rows. I’ve had a good pace from the start of the weekend and at the end of qualifying I tried to concentrate very hard for a good lap. The race will be very different, however, but we have a good pace and I think we can be there.”
Jordi Torres, Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2: 2nd, 1m 24.678s
“I’m very happy with my first front-row start because I feel very good on the bike. I have really good feeling from the tyres and that’s really important. A big thank you to my team because they work harder and harder for me.”
Pol Espargaro, Tuenti HP40 Pons: 3rd, 1m 24.704s
“This track is so short that all the riders are very close. I’m very happy to be on the front row, with Scott [Redding] on the third row, so we have a good opportunity to recover some more points. I have a good rhythm and feel confident with my bike. Now we have to wait for the race but I know it will be tough. Anyway, I’m happy to be fit and feeling confident.”
Honda Moto3 Rider quotes
Jack Miller, Caretta Technology – RTG: 5th, 1m 27.599s
“That wasn’t so bad, though I lost some time on my last lap when I was behind [Maverick] Vinales and [Efren] Vazquez. They were going at it like it was the last lap of the race and I couldn’t get by without messing us all up. We’ve tried quite a few different things today and I can’t complain about fifth – it’s another strong second row for us. It’s very close at the front, so I think it’ll be a big group and a hard fight in the race. We’ve got a new, stiffer swingarm from FTR here. I’m a bigger rider, so it gives me more feedback. We tried a softer swingarm at Catalunya, just to give us a direction, and it had too much twang. Not we’ve gone in a the opposite direction and it’s the right way. Yesterday we had our usual swingarm and the bike was moving around more than I like; now we’ve fitted the stiffer swingarm I’ve got more confidence in the tyres.”
Romano Fenati, San Carlo Team Italia: 8th, 1m 27.810s
“I’m very happy. The team and I worked hard and were able to make the most of the softer tyres. Starting closer to the front will be a huge help during the race. We will start with the right spirit to try and get our best result of the year.”
Isaac Vinales, Bimbo Ongetta-Centro Seta: 11th, 1m 27.954s
“I’m happy because I managed to ride very fast, only six tenths of a second behind [Alex] Rins who got pole. However, we had some problems with rear grip, so I couldn’t go any faster. The lap times of the top 15 riders are really tight, I am very motivated to try and get a good result in the race tomorrow.”
— Yamaha Report
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi made a welcome return to the front row of the grid in third position today in qualifying for Sunday’s Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. The quick fire 15minute session proved to be the best qualifying performance by the Italian nine-time Champion since Le Mans over two years ago, his last appearance on the front row.
Rossi wrapped up the fourth free practice prior to qualifying as the fastest rider with the second fastest lap of the weekend so far, a 1’21.978 lap. He then carried that speed straight through to qualifying, slotting straight into third position on his second lap with a 1’22.44. He stepped up the pace immediately and slotted into the top spot only to be knocked down to second a few seconds later by Cal Crutchlow. With seven minutes remaining Rossi made a pit stop for fresh rubber and returned to the track. Another flying lap saw him secure third and a front row start with a 1’21.493, just 0.182 seconds from pole.
Valentino Rossi 3rd / 1’21.493 / 10 laps
“I’m very happy, from one side not a lot because the first position was very close but the target was to come back to the front row and I was able to. I was able to do it in a good way because I did a good lap riding well and also my gap to pole position is very close which is very important. I feel good with the bike, I have a good setting and I have quite a good pace also. Now we have to put everything together for tomorrow and try to slide the rear a bit less. I am a bit worried about the second part of the race; that will be very hard for everybody. If we want to stay with Marc we have to make a small improvement for tomorrow. Anyway, I am so happy, the last front row for me was in 2010 in Le Mans, a long, long time ago. Tomorrow it will be a strange feeling to have nobody in front!
For Jorge it is a great pity because he made a small mistake and unfortunately landed on the wrong shoulder. After what he did in Assen he was very close to a superhero. It’s a pity also for his championship but now I think he’s made the right choice to take some quiet time to recover. For him the Championship will be hard but still not impossible before the end.”
Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
“Today was an important first row for Vale, we know he is capable of starting from the front so it’s good to see him do this. I think his speed and pace is pretty good which gives us confidence for tomorrow. It’s not going to be an easy race, it’s going to be long and really tough but I think we are ready for it. Fortunately Jorge’s surgery went really well which is another important point from today. We miss having him here challenging for victory this weekend but he has made the right choice to recover as fully as possible. We wish him all the best and we wait for him to return even stronger than before.”
Crutchlow bounces back to claim stunning front row in Germany
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Cal Crutchlow showed tremendous mental and physical resilience today to secure a stunning place on the front row of the grid for the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. Battered and bruised after two high-speed crashes in practice yesterday, the British rider demonstrated his phenomenal fighting spirit to claim second position in this afternoon’s qualifying session at the tight and twisty Sachsenring.
The 27-year-old is nursing numerous cuts, bruises and friction burns after a physically punishing start to the eighth round of the 2013 World Championship campaign. Far from being in peak physical shape today, Crutchlow managed to brush off the aches and pains to this morning to finish sixth overall in practice. With his confidence and feeling on Yamaha’s YZR-M1 restored in advance of the 15-minute qualifying session, Crutchlow put up another terrific fight for pole position.
He led the session with a 1.21.640 and a brilliant late burst of speed saw him improve his pace to a 1.21.434. That put him only 0.123s behind Marc Marquez, who denied Crutchlow a second successive premier class pole position. Crutchlow certainly won’t be back to 100% fitness in time for tomorrow’s 30-lap race but his pace throughout a difficult weekend means he is optimistic he can mount a serious challenge for a fourth podium of the season.
Bradley Smith enjoyed another positive and productive day and he managed to improve his pace by almost 0.5s in the decisive qualifying session. A best lap of 1.22.758 secured him a top 10 finish in practice and in full time attack mode in qualifying he was able to drop his pace down to a 1.22.297 that secured him seventh position on the grid. Smith was just over 0.9s off pole position and a second successive start from inside the top six only eluded the 22-year-old by 0.140s. Smith’s main objective in tomorrow’s race will be a fast start, with the tight and twisty Sachsenring track hard to overtake on as the British rider goes in search of a sixth straight top six finish in his impressive rookie MotoGP season.
Cal Crutchlow 2nd – 1.21.434 – 10 laps:
“I am really pleased to be back on the front row after all the drama of yesterday. They were two really big crashes in practice and my body took a bit of beating to be honest. The first crash was completely my fault because I made a mistake on the brakes but the second was because the front tyre was cold. It was definitely my worst day of the season, so to put all that behind me and get a front row when I am not close to my physical best is a great achievement. When I woke up this morning I didn’t feel that great because my body took a big impact in a few places. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to ride and just to be out there is great. It is going to be a very difficult race in my condition but I will be giving it my all to get another podium. Today was a great result for my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew. I gave them plenty of work to do yesterday but they did a great job and as always I am grateful for their efforts.”
Bradley Smith 7th 1.22.297 – 10 laps:
“Seventh position is a great result and to do a 1.22.2 was a bit of surprise. We still need to work a bit more on my confidence and understand the Bridgestone tyres a bit better. They work really well at this track and it is a case of understanding how much you can push them. For the race tomorrow the start will be so important. The track is so tight and twisty that the first three laps will be vital to achieving a good result. Hopefully we can improve the bike but I feel for the full race distance we are in a good position and I am happy with the set-up. I just need to make sure we can put in a consistent pace because it will be a very long race.”
— Lorenzo Surgery Update
Following his crash yesterday in the second free practice at the Sachsenring circuit for Sunday’s German Grand Prix race Jorge Lorenzo returned immediately to Barcelona. Today he underwent surgery at the Hospital General de Catalunya in Barcelona to repair further injuries to his collarbone.
Dr. Joaquin Rodriguez – Hospital General de Catalunya, Surgeon
“As a result of the trauma suffered in the crash yesterday the original fracture suffered a little movement that required a new surgery to close the space and reduce the fracture by the osteosynthesis method and with a new plate. The new plate needed 10 screws plus 1 inter fragmentary screw. We then needed to take out some bone substance from the pelvis that was mixed with dried bone. We placed this implant into the collarbone to stimulate the creation of the callus and help speed up the consolidation of the bone. The Surgical team involved at the Hospital General de Catalunya, Sant Cugat del Vallés were Doctors Joaquin Rodriguez, Marc Cots and Anna Carreras, anesthetists Doctors Angela Verde and Eric Alvarez and instrumentalists Cristina Gil and Laia Torrens. The operation lasted two hours.”
— Ducati Report
For the second day in a row, track action at the Sachsenring was marred by a number of frightening crashes, but Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso managed to make it through unscathed to qualify in sixth and ninth place, respectively.
The morning free-practice session was interrupted by rain, affecting the teams’ planned work programs, but after it was confirmed that injured Jorge Lorenzo would not return to action, both Ducati Team riders advanced directly to Q2. The weather was better in the afternoon, but grip was still scarce in some parts of the track. Hayden managed to qualify on the second row, while Dovizioso will start from row three.
Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team, 6th (1:22.157)
“With the rain-interrupted session this morning, we didn’t get a chance to try a couple little things we had planned to. This afternoon we made a few things better, but some other areas were a bit worse. The guys here are working really hard, and the bike is okay in some places, but in the downhill corners, it’s impossible to put enough load on the front to get feedback and make the bike turn. We got on the second row, although the fact that a couple guys were missing makes that look better than it really is. We’re .8 off pole, which is too much at a little track, but we’ll have a good think tonight and try to do something in the morning. It’ll be a long race, but we’ll do our best to have a good result.”
Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team, 9th (1:22.561)
“Honestly, I expected this position, as our pace is eight tenths of a second off. I lowered my times from yesterday, but the others were also able to improve. I’m a bit disappointed with my qualifying time because I made a mistake in turn eight, where I went off-line and lost a couple tenths. I was ready to fight for sixth place with Nicky; it’s a shame because at this track, the grid position is pretty important, so it’ll be essential to get a good start. The race will be long tomorrow—30 laps—and I think if we grit our teeth, it could be possible to fight for fifth or sixth place. There are five of us on a similar pace. Unfortunately, it’s a long way from the top guys, but we’ll do everything possible to get a good result.”
— Red Bull Rookies
Jorge Martin brilliantly turned pole position at the Sachsenring into race victory while the Red Bull MotoGP Cup leader Karel Hanika was dusting the dirt off his Alpinestars leathers after a last lap crash from the lead. The 17-year-old Czech was trying to break away from a seven rider battle for the win when the rear tyre let go, he caught the slide only to clash with Stefano Manzi as he tried to get back on line, then slid off the track unhurt.
Manzi, the 14-year-old Italian, held the lead but was then pounced on by Scott Deroue, the 17-year-old Netherlander who had Martin, the 15-year-old Spaniard, on his tail. When Deroue only changed down to 4th instead of 3rd for the penultimate corner, the sweeping left hander at the bottom of the hill, it killed his drive and both Martin and Manzi swept past to take first and second.
Deroue won last year’s Race 1 and was not too distressed to mount the third step of the podium. “It was a great race, very tough and I really thought I had it worked out on the last lap, I was going for the win, had the lead then just messed up the gears at the bottom of the hill. Still there is another chance tomorrow and I think that we can still improve the bike a little bit.”
Second placed Manzi also felt that there was more to come from the bike. “I think we can improve the rear suspension and that can help me but it was still a great race, so much fun and so hard. I was having a great time at the front, leading the race and then on the last lap I saw Hanika have a big problem, I thought he was off the track but then he came back and we touched. I hope it will be another great race tomorrow I will try my hardest again, as for the result, I really don’t know.”
No bike problems for winner Martin, he sees the trouble coming from elsewhere. “The bike was just great, it was good through qualifying and it was great in the race. It was a very tough race but I knew that I had the speed to run at the front and I also knew I was faster in the last sector so I just had to be in a good position for the last lap and that is how it worked out. For tomorrow the problem will be Hanika gain, with him on track it is always going to be very difficult.”
Hanika fortunately escaped with a small injury to a little finger and a knock to the helmet that he said was not serious. “I’m not happy of course but I was pushing and the rear tyre let go, it was well worn just like in qualifying. The unlucky thing is that I saved it, was OK, then suddenly there was Manzi and I was on the ground. I will talk to the technical guys and see if we can improve the bike a bit for tomorrow, both front and rear.”
There are plenty of others who featured in the battle for the lead in Race 1 and are likely to do so again in Race 2. First year Rookie Olly Simpson, the 15-year-old Australian got a great start from the second row and led the first lap. He fought hard against the more experienced men but was swallowed up in the pack and fell off on lap 9.
Turkish 16-year-old Toprak Razgatlıoğlu took the fastest lap of the races as he clawed his way through the pack and at one time had the lead. He was then in the heart of the seven rider battle and eventually crossed the line 6th. Manuel Pagliani, the 16-year-old Italian, had also fought his way through and took a well-deserved 4th ahead of Diego Perez who has done everything but get on the rostrum this year. “For Race 2 it is full gas right from the start,” said the 15-year-old Spaniard.
It is half way through the 14 race Cup season and Hanika still heads the table by 17 points from Martin but it is all too obvious how fragile that advantage is.
— Bridgestone Report
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft & Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium & Hard (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Soft (Main), Hard (Alternative)
Weather: FP3 – Dry. Ambient 17-17°C; Track 23-24°C (Bridgestone measurement)
FP4 & QP – Dry. Ambient 22-23°C; Track 36-41°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez grabbed his third pole position of the year courtesy of a blazing lap time of 1’21.311 in an action-packed qualifying session at Sachsenring.
Marquez’s time was a shade off the all-time pole position record set in 2008 on qualifying tyres and rounded out an impressive day for the MotoGP rookie. Second quickest today was Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow who narrowly beat Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi to P2 by less than a tenth of a second. Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro put in an amazing qualifying performance, his lap time of 1’21.887 qualifying him in fifth position – the best ever qualifying result for a CRT rider.
The warm track temperature in the afternoon allowed riders to perform race simulations on slick tyres. The softer rear slick options emerged as the most popular choice among both the works and CRT riders, while front tyre preference was split among the riders between softer and harder front slick. The soft compound front slick gives extra edge grip – especially important through the infrequent right-hand turns, while the hard compound front slick gives greater stability through the faster sections. As the Sachsenring circuit is such a severe circuit on tyres, Bridgestone engineers will analyse tyre wear on the CRT-specific soft compound rear slick to see if some riders would be better suited to using the harder, medium compound rear slick for tomorrow’s race.
Morning Warm Up is the next MotoGP session at 0955 local time tomorrow (GMT +2) before the thirty lap German Grand Prix gets set to start at 1400.
Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“This morning track conditions were not the best due to the cool weather and some spots of rain, thankfully we had better conditions in FP4 which allowed the riders to do race simulations on their preferred tyre combination. The improved track conditions also resulted in a very good being set in qualifying and in particular, the times in QP2 were very quick. It was particularly pleasing to see three CRT riders in QP2 as their class-specific soft option rear slick gave them a big boost in performance at this tight and technical circuit. As this circuit is so severe on rear tyres and this is the first time we’ve brought a soft compound asymmetric rear slick here, we will analyse the rate of wear of the soft rear slick to see if any CRT riders will be better off using their harder rear slick option.”