[Zootcadillac]

Ducati Team arrives at Sachsenring for the German Grand Prix


After the satisfaction of Assen, where Andrea Dovizioso picked up an excellent second place, the Ducati Team now arrives in Germany for the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship, which takes place this weekend at the Sachsenring circuit, near the town of Chemnitz in the former East Germany.

The Sachsenring is one of the shortest and slowest circuits on the calendar, but it is by no means an easy track. Its counter-clockwise layout contains several truly difficult curves, as well as a number of ups and downs. Dovizioso has obtained one podium in MotoGP with a third place in 2012, while Crutchlow finished runner-up in the race at the German track twelve months ago.

The German Grand Prix will also mark the half-way point in the 2014 MotoGP World Championship.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04)
“The result at Assen was very important for me and the Ducati Team, but I don’t think we have the speed in dry conditions to be able to aim for the podium too much. As always however we must push 100% and improve over last year. In my opinion Sachsenring is too short and too tight for MotoGP, but I think the bike has improved from last year so we have to show the difference at every race, like we did at Assen".

Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35)
“I’ve never ridden at the Sachsenring on the Ducati, but I like the track and went really well there last year, when I was second in qualifying and finished second in the race, which is one of my best results ever in MotoGP. Unfortunately because of the layout and the corners I think we will have a few problems with understeer on this track, but we will see and as always I’ll try my best to be competitive".

The Sachsenring Circuit
Like Assen, Sachsenring is another circuit with a great motorsport tradition: racing on roads near the town of Chemnitz began in 1920 and continued there until 1990. In 1996 it was decided to build the new Sachsenring circuit about ten km away from the German town, and its first German GP took place there in 1998. Since then the circuit has undergone a series of improvements, including a radical change in the track layout in 2001. Its numerous tight curves make it one of the slowest circuits on the calendar, but these characteristics ensure that races at the Sachsenring are always exciting and hard-fought.

Fastest lap: 2011 Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 1’21.846 (161.4 km/h)
Qualifying: 2008 Casey Stoner (Ducati), 1’21.067 (163.0 km/h)
Track length: 3.671 km
Race length: 30 laps (110.1 km)
Corners: 13 (10 left, 3 right)
Race start: 14.00 local time (GMT +2)

Andrea Dovizioso
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP14
Race number: 04
Age: 28 (born on 23 March 1986 in Forlimpopoli, Italy)
Residence: Forlì (Italy)
Races: 212 (114 x MotoGP, 49 x 250cc, 49 x 125cc)
First GP: 2001 Italian GP (125cc)
Wins: 10 (1 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
First win: 2004 South African GP (125cc)
Poles: 14 (1 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 9 x 125cc)
First pole: 2003 French GP (125cc)
World titles: 1 (1 x 125cc)

Cal Crutchlow
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP14
Race number: 35
Age: 28 (born on 29 October 1985 in Coventry, UK)
Residence: Isle of Man
Races: 59 (59 x MotoGP)
First GP: 2011 Qatar
Poles: 2
First pole: 2013 Assen TT

 

[Zootcadillac]

please note. There will be spoilers and there will be hi-res large pictures which can eat up data on mobile devices. I think if you want to be able to join a discussion without the pictures ( which should only load once then be in your cache ) then start a new thread and I'll add any relevent text minus pics if asked.

Fp1 strange. AE topped the times, not that they mean much in FP1. MM crashed out and was in a bad way for a time if only winded. He didn't go to the medical centre and was back on the bike 15 mins later to claw back to 6th. Both Pramac Ducatis were ahead of the factory efforts.
BS had a couple of crashes though it's becoming expected of him. NH had a bit of off-roading to do himself.

 

[Zootcadillac]

PRAMAC RACING


Germany marks the halfway point of the season

Andrea Iannone and Yonny Hernandez arrive in Germany to face the race that will close the first half of the season, the ninth of the eighteen planned. The Sachsenring circuit is one of the shortest in the MotoGP championship, measuring just 3671m, only three of its thirteen curves are to the right.

After the exciting Dutch race, in which Andrea Iannone gained for the second time, his best finish in sixth position, the Pramac Team is again ready to get back into the game, and repeat the good performance achieved during the last race.

In these ten days without races, Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing) continued to train, in order to improve and face the German race in the best way possible. The Colombian rider, has made much progress since the beginning of the year and is ready to let the Dutch race behind.



Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing)

"I'm very positive for this weekend because I got to try at Mugello. I'm glad to was able to try at Mugello. I hope to be fast from the start, in order to improve my pace and be fighting again with the top riders. We will keep working to figure out where and how to gain valuable time. "



Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing)

"I like this track a lot, is very different from the others and I am comfortable there. In the past I have achieved very important results. It will be the first time I race here on a Ducati, but I am convinced I will do well. Together with the team we will focus to achieve our goal that we missed in the Netherlands. "

 

[crisan]

Thank's for talking your time for those threads Zoot. It is appreciated.

 

[rubbish]

Marquez had a nasty high-side in FP1...he bounces off well though and now he's leading FP2

 

[crisan]

Kid is missing the self-preservation wheel. It is amazing what he can do with such a little experience compared to the others.

 

[Zootcadillac]

Thanks Crisan.

Can't add a lot personally about FP2. Damn pain meds are making me drift in and out. Which is a blessing if inconvenient whilst bikes were running

I don't expect heroics from any Ducati at this tight circuit. A lot will once again depend upon the weather. Spots of rain today show that it can be changeable. Still humid here in great Britain but markedly less so than yesterday and much more overcast. There is talk of rain tomorrow which means today's times could become important.

Dovi is doing ok though, considering there are no long, fast straights here he's spooled the GP14 up enough to get fastest overall speed for the day. Given his consistency I'd like to think he'll be able to push for a top 5 in the dry with no overly warm temperatures. In the wet? All bets are off and I'll take any advantage as a fan of big red no matter how false a result.

Looking forward to the photos which I shall post later. Always some nice ones as this is a great looking track in a beautiful area of the former East German republic.

AE making good use of the soft tyre, talk again that this is a track where it may actually be viable to use it. Which is another advantage for the open class bikes and those running under those rules. Ducati are still not using their full fuel allocation which is just interesting, to me at least.
MM being MM is right there in the mix despite his morning crash which has got twitter talking with Superbike race Director Stuart Higgs unclear why he was not forced to go to the med centre to be checked, even if only for a precaution.

Gee, i said more than i thought I could. Looking forward to this weekend, love this track and superbikes at Laguna Seca? Spoiled

 

[Zootcadillac]

Keith Heuwen has just tweeted that the heavens have just opened at the Sachsenring in a "biblical" way. It's a little after 5pm there which is later than race time of course but I urge you not to count any chickens regarding the weather in Europe. We like to keep you guessing ( and wet )

 

[ASM]

Marquez had a nasty high-side in FP1...he bounces off well though and now he's leading FP2

Dare I say 9 for 9????

 

[Zootcadillac]

(this is translated from the original Italian by the pramac press officer Lorenzo, he has an issue with past and present tense when using English but I don't feel like correcting it, so it's as presented by him )


First day of practice at the Sachsenring circuit
The first day of practice starts in the right way for both Pramac Racing Team riders, Andrea Iannone and Yonny Hernandez finished the FP1 in the top ten respectively with the ninth and tenth position. In FP2 Iannone earned other positions while Yonny was not far from the tenth fastest time.

Andrea Iannone and his team take full advantage of the time available on track. Despite the difficulties encountered during riding due to lack of grip in both distance and acceleration, Andrea gained position, achieving the sixth position with a lap time of 1'22.565 which allowed him to be the first Ducati.



The first seventeen riders are within a second and Yonny Hernandez is just a little more than a tenth of a second from the coveted top-ten position, precisely in twelfth place with a time of 1'22.724. The EnergyT.I. rider was unable to improve from the first free practice session his time lap by lap, ending the day positively. The team is focused on doing the little leap forward that will allow Yonny to gain direct access to the QP2.





Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing)

"I'm glad for the sixth best lap time. It’s hard to make the bike turn faster because the track is very narrow and when I turn the throttle the bike begins to slide. With the guys we're working hard to try to stay in the top five riders even if they are very fast, we'll do our best!"



Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing)

"I am very happy to be close to the top ten lap and not too far from the official Ducati bikes. I'm pretty close to the top 10, which is my primary goal, tomorrow I will try to directly access QP2. We worked well on the bike and this gives me a lot of confidence. I'm also working on tire life because the thirty laps of the race are a lot.”

 

[Zootcadillac]

Dovizioso 9th, Crutchlow 13th in Friday’s free practice for German GP at Sachsenring

Round 9 of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship got underway today at the Sachsenring circuit in the former East Germany, with the first two sessions of free practice action. On the German track, one of the shortest and slowest on the calendar, Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow set ninth and thirteenth quickest times respectively.

Dovizioso worked well with his team crew today and the Italian already has quite a clear idea regarding the choice of race tyre for this track, even though the weather has to be factored into consideration, seeing as there is a slight chance of rain on Sunday.

Team-mate Crutchlow, who was just two-tenths of a second away from Andrea’s time, was a bit more cautious in his approach. The rider from Coventry has not yet been able to find an optimal set-up to tackle the German weekend, and in addition is also suffering with a back problem, which should however not affect his performance in the race.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 9th (1’22.576)
“We did a good session, working both with the hard and the soft tyre. For us it’s quite difficult to use the hard tyre because we struggle to get the bike to turn, and we have to spend a lot of time in lean angle where we don’t have much grip. The soft tyre on the other hand gives us the possibility to manage the bike better and in fact we were able to constantly set some good times towards the end of the session. In my opinion we are in line with the times that we expected and quite close to the front, and so the session was positive for this reason. For sure we still have to improve because for us lapping in these times is quite tiring.”

Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – 13th (1’22.757)
“As was to be expected today, the Ducati bikes seem to be struggling with understeer, but we are trying hard to resolve the problem. Today me and the guys tried a few different settings but they didn’t give the results we hoped for. We’ll check the data tonight and see what we can do for tomorrow. My main concern at the moment is that I probably have a trapped nerve in the bottom of my back. I woke up this morning with a pain, I’m unable to walk very well, but on the bike actually it’s not so bad and is of little hindrance.”

 

[219R]

Great report and coverage! Thank-you!!

 

[Zootcadillac]

FP3 Few surprises. I'll be interested more in FP4 as although people call it a nothing session in terms of times, it's very indicative of race pace and can tell you a lot.
I want to see who's considering the extra soft if it's dry.
If the weather does not play a part and give us a wet race or sessions then I think much will be down to the tyre and how people cope with turn 11 and the change of direction onto what is essentially a cold tyre on that side, as much as 40 degrees difference in temp from the hot side to the side that's spent so much in the air on the rest of the lap.

 

[Zootcadillac]

Actually forgot to mention one of the half-surprises. Dovizioso will have to compete for the two places in QP1 and with Yonny looking good on last year's GP13 then Crutchlow is going to have to pull his finger out if he wants the opportunity to fight for a better grid spot in QP2.

Always expected a struggle for the Ducati's here but that extra soft tyre could be key....if they can run it, and that's a huge if.

 

[Zootcadillac]

Moto3 QP delayed due to ....rain...tada. Pretty much expected it. Light drizzle at the moment but will make an interesting day for the big biks in QP later.


Edit:// didn't mean to say delayed, as the session has continued, but that anyone who set a reasonable time went to sit down in the garage. last few minutes and now the back markers are all out frantic to improve.

 

[Zootcadillac]

Tough German GP qualifying session for Ducati Team at Sachsenring

Today the Ducati Team faced up to a difficult qualifying session at the Sachsenring circuit in Germany, where the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship will be taking place tomorrow.

Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow first had to tackle the Q1 session after failing to get through directly into the Top 10 following the three combined free practice runs. After setting two excellent split times on his fast lap, Crutchlow was pushing hard when he lost the front of his GP14 at the notorious Turn 11, a fast downhill right-hander, but he emerged unscathed from the crash. Cal was unable to conclude the session and he will start from fifteenth place on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

Dovizioso on the other hand managed to get through Q1 with second-quickest time, but then in Q2 he never found the right feeling with his Desmosedici and had to settle for eleventh place, which means the Italian will start from row 4.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 11th (1’22.120)
“It was a bit of a strange qualifying session for us, because I also had to do Q1. For me it was difficult to set a good time and I was unable to get the best out of the bike. I didn’t have the right feeling to be able to do a perfect lap on my own. It’s a pity about my grid position, because on this track it’s important to start close to the front. As for race pace, we’re actually not that bad but it will be important to make up some positions at the start because the track is very narrow and it becomes difficult to pass.”

Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35) – 15th (1’22.529)
“It was obviously a tough day, and I’m disappointed with how the qualifying went. I was doing a good lap and it looked like we were going through to Q2 but unfortunately I crashed at Turn 11 and didn’t make it. We always knew the risk with our setting, but I never had enough heat in the front tyre because we were going too slow the previous lap with other riders on the line. For the race I think we can be in a better position than what we are, but it seems that all the Ducati riders are struggling on this track, so as a team we look to progress in tomorrow morning’s warm-up.”

 

[Zootcadillac]

Seventh place for Iannone

Another positive day for Andrea Iannone at the Sachsenring circuit, in which the young Pramac Racing rider one again is the first of the Ducati. His teammate Yonny Hernandez for a split of a second doesn't get access to qualifying two. The whole team is doing its best to find the right set-up for the bike, in a circuit that seems to not help the Desmosedici.

The morning starts with an exciting free practice session, where Andrea Iannone, manages to improve constantly, but not enough to get into the top ten. The tension inside the garage goes up till a minute to the end, when the young rider finally is able to get access QP2. Andrea in the second qualifying session proves once again his talent by gaining the seventh starting position for tomorrow's race and finishing the day with his best time in 1'21.679.



Yonny Hernandez successfully finishes the third free practice session. It is a good day for the Colombian rider that manages to pull out all his talent, during the last lap of the session unluckily he is excluded from the top-ten for just two-tenths of a second. Even more intense of the FP3, was the first qualifying session in which the EnergyT.I. rider initially managed to get the first position. Yonny’s team takes on the fifteen minutes of qualifying with there teeth clenched, but once again on the last lap, this time, for only 7 thousandths of a second he loses access to QP2. Yonny Hernandez in tomorrow's race will start from the thirteenth position, gained with a time of 1'22 .411.



Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing)

"I am very glad I was able to get the seventh position, since the beginning of the weekend that they are the first Ducati, but the result that counts is tomorrow’s. This is one of the hardest tracks we faced and it is very difficult to keep a small gap from the first, even if the track is so short. The team is working well, the weekend is going in the right direction and I honestly did not expect to be able to do a similar time, so I'm very happy with what we managed to do! "



Yonny Hernandez (EnergyT.I. Pramac Racing)

"For a hair i could have accessed to QP2, in spite of this I am very happy with how it today. Lap after lap I was able to improve more and more. I was able to race in lap times not too distant from the official Ducati bikes. Tomorrow I hope to do well in the race, I really enjoy this circuit although it is not at all simple. "

 

[219R]

Marquez is in a different..... Universe..

 

[219R]

Now, I ask you,




Record breaker Marquez takes pole with fastest ever Sachsenring lap





MotoGP Q2 Sachsenring Marquez

Sachsenring 2014 - MotoGP - Q2 - Highlights


Saturday, 12 July 2014


Marc Marquez notched a new best pole lap in the MotoGP™ Q2 session at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, with Dani Pedrosa and Stefan Bradl also on row one – Pedrosa setting a fast lap before a crash.



A 1'20.937 effort from Marquez gave him pole by just under 0.3s from Repsol Honda colleague Pedrosa who went down at turn 1 with three minutes remaining. The rapid lap time for Marquez broke Casey Stoner’s six year old best pole lap record of 1’21.067 from 2008.


Is Marquez getting faster????

 

[Zootcadillac]

nah not faster, he's just the road runner and everyone else is Wile E. Coyote

btw notice in Gigi's birthday party above. Tell me who's missing?