Racing numbers for Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Numbers and statistics for the latest round of the MotoGP World Championship.
159 – At Sachsenring, Valentino Rossi is scheduled to make his 159th successive premier-class GP start without missing a race. This will take the record for successive premier-class starts from Alex Barros, who started 158 successive races.
61 – With his tenth place finish at Laguna Seca, Marco Melandri has scored 61 points from the first eight races of the year. This is four more than top Kawasaki rider of last year John Hopkins scored throughout the complete 2008 season.
18 – Dani Pedrosa’s win at Laguna Seca ended an 18 race sequence without a win for Honda in MotoGP, since Pedrosa won in Catalonia last year. This is the longest sequence of races in the premier-class without a Honda win since they re-entered Grand Prix racing in 1982.
16 – Valentino Rossi has been on the podium sixteen times in the seventeen races since finishing second in Germany last year. The only occasion he has not finished on the podium during this period was when he crashed at Le Mans and re-started to finish 16th.
15 – Spanish riders have started from pole on fifteen occasions across the three classes in 2009. None of these riders have gone on to win the race after starting from pole.
11 – Race day in Germany will be the 11th anniversary to the day of the very first Grand Prix event to be held at the newly built Sachsenring circuit in 1998.
3 – Sachsenring is one of just three current circuits where Rossi has not started from pole in the premier-class; the others are Laguna Seca and Misano.
3 – There are only three riders in the 250cc class who have scored points at all seven races held so far in 2009; Hiroshi Aoyama, Hector Barbera and Raffaele de Rosa.
And now lets hear wht the boys have to say:
World Champion and standings leader Valentino Rossi was the first man to speak in Thursday’s press conference at Sachsenring, as he, Dani Pedrosa, Chris Vermeulen, Nicky Hayden and Mika Kallio commented on their 2009 experiences to date and offered their views on riding at the hilly German venue.
On his Sachsenring record Rossi stated, “It is always a difficult track for me personally but I have had some good victories here in the past, one in the 250cc class, one in MotoGP in 2002 and two in a row with Yamaha more recently. In 2007 I made a mistake in the race and lost a lot of important points in the championship, but last year was good in difficult conditions. It was very cold and there was a lot of rain but arriving in second position was an important result.”
Moving on to explain his approach the ninth GP weekend of the year, which he goes into with a nine point championship lead, Fiat Yamaha rider Rossi added, “This year we arrive here with a good pace and having got some good results. We also have a clear idea on our setting so we hope to start well from Friday.”
Meanwhile, Repsol Honda’s ‘comeback kid’ Pedrosa, who finally returned to full form with victory last time out at Laguna Seca less than two weeks ago, referenced his U.S. win saying, “It was a good result for me and for all our team, so we went out afterwards for dinner to celebrate and it was nice.”
Currently fourth in the classification, Pedrosa turned his focus to Sachsenring, where he dramatically crashed out last year, but normally goes well, adding, “I’ve also had some good times here but last year especially was not the greatest moment! It is a track where things are tight, the lap times are very close between the riders, so you have to work very hard to get on the front row.”
Rizla Suzuki representative Vermeulen, who lies eighth in the championship and was on the podium in 2008’s wet race in Germany despite starting 14th on the grid, stated, “Like Valentino said last season it was a very tough in the race, with conditions so different to practice and qualifying. We had struggled to get the most out of one lap on the tyre but I was very happy to be back on the podium in the race. It looks like the weather could be unstable again this weekend so it will be important to be fast in all conditions.”
Ducati’s fast-improving former World Champion Hayden arrives at round nine having boosted his confidence in his home race at Laguna. The American remarked, “In my last four races I’ve gone twelfth, tenth, eighth and fifth, so we know we are going in the right way. The next step, to put myself in with the front group, is the hardest one, but there is a lot of racing to go this year. We just have to keep our heads down and see what happens.”
Stoner diagnosed with mild anaemia
| By Pablo Elizalde from autosport.com | Tuesday, July 14th 2009, 13:28 GMT |
Casey Stoner has been diagnosed with a slight gastritis and mild anaemia after the Australian underwent further tests in the United States last week.
Stoner has been affected by the illness since the Catalunya Grand Prix and doctors were yet to discover the reasons for his slump during the races.
After staying in the United States following the Laguna Seca race, the former world champion underwent further tests and was finally given a verdict.
The Australian says he will now follow the doctors' indications to try and make a full recovery.
Ducati said doctors are sure that with the right treatment Stoner will be back to full fitness in a matter of weeks.
"I have been in USA until Saturday to do all the tests," Stoner said. "First of all I'd like to thanks all the doctors involved in this, Dr. Ting and Dr. Tuan in the Fremont Surgery Center, Dr. Macchiagodena, Dr. Catani, Dr. Ceccarelli and of course my physiotherapist Freddy.
"Hopefully step by step I will feel better with their indications. I still don't feel like I am 100 per cent but the biggest problem now is the ribs that are very painful after the crash in the USA GP qualifying.
"It will be probably another hard weekend, but as always, we will do our best to stay as much as possible close to the lead of the championship".
Team boss Livio Suppo added: "This is a delicate time for Casey but we know he is made of stern stuff. He will continue to fight like a lion, as he has done in the past few races, even though the crash at Laguna left its mark on him and that certainly won't help.
"Nicky again rides at a circuit where he has always gone well at in the past and I'm sure he will be able to confirm that the improvement made at Laguna is only the start!"
Nicky Hayden: "I'm Starting To Enjoy Riding The Ducati"
At the pre-race press conference for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, Nicky Hayden spoke about the progress he'd been making on the Ducati, after a difficult start to the season. Speaking to a packed press room, under questioning from MotoGP.com's official commentator Nick Harris, the American revealed how the hard work put in by him and the team were starting to pay off. Below is a transcript of part of Hayden's interview:
Your 5th place at Laguna must have given you a great boost.
Last couple of races we've been 10th, 8th, 5th, we've made a lot of progress. That makes me happy that we're moving in the right direction, and we've found a way with the team. I'm enjoying riding the bike more. It's pretty good, and we need to keep going. But now I know that to stick my nose in the next group is when it's going to get real hard. That's the big step, that final group up front. We're going in the right way, just keep our head down and there's a lot of racing left to go.
What made the difference or did it just start to click? You've changed personnel, you've all been working very hard to make it work?
It was a lot of little things. In the beginning everything was wrong; I didn't feel any confidence in the bike, and a lot of bad luck, and it was just a disaster really. But slowly we've just started eliminating problems and working through it. Sure we've had some setbacks along the way and it hasn't just come over night - not that anything at this level ever does. It hasn't been just one thing that fell in place. We're still a long way off where we want to be and there's still a lot of work left to do. But certainly a lot of people have worked hard, and the team is starting to understand me better and the communication has certainly improved since the beginning of the season so now we're able to make a lot more progress through the weekend.
And there's a lot of work with Bologna and from the test team and they spend a lot of time testing. I spend a lot of time in Bologna with Filippo talking about things. We'll see if we can't keep it up because now I'm enjoying it. The bike is good, but that's the thing, sometimes it's hard to get it out of the bike, though when the bike is right it has huge potential but when it's off a bit it can often be a nightmare.
Injured Lorenzo says podium realistic
| By Matt Beer at autosport.com | Monday, July 13th 2009, 13:44 GMT |
Jorge Lorenzo thinks a podium should still be possible at the Sachsenring this weekend even though he admits he will not be back to full fitness following his Laguna Seca accident.
The Yamaha rider managed to take third in America despite damaging his shoulder and breaking bones in his foot when he had a violent high-side shortly after taking pole position in qualifying.
He said his condition had improved since then, but was not yet perfect.
"Following my injuries in Laguna Seca, I am feeling a lot better after a week of rest but I won't be at 100 per cent this weekend," Lorenzo warned.
"I have some pain in my foot when walking and also in my shoulder joint, so the first thing I will do when I get to Sachsenring is go to the Clinica Mobile."
He expects this race to be a damage limitation exercise.
"My aim as ever this weekend is to be on the podium and to try to get as many points as possible compared to the rivals that are in front of me," he said.
His team manager Daniele Romagnoli is confident that Lorenzo can still take home plenty of points despite his injuries, having shrugged the discomfort off very effectively as he battled team-mate Valentino Rossi for second at Laguna.
"We're happy to report that Jorge's condition is a lot better after a week of rest," Romagnoli said. "He won't be in perfect condition but he will be a lot stronger and therefore able to push harder on the bike this weekend than he could in Laguna.
"In America Jorge showed once again that he has a great determination to achieve his potential whatever condition he is in and so we hope that in Germany we can be in good shape once again, be at the front and fight for the podium. We need to try to recover some points as we look to the summer break."
Lorenzo currently holds second in the world championship, nine points behind Rossi, and seven ahead of Casey Stoner.
Gresini team bring progress back to Europe
Toni Elias
“It is important that we have started to find the right way forward at this stage of the season because there is still a long way to go and perhaps if we had taken any longer it would be too late. We have had eight tough races but we're starting to find the limits of this bike and we still have nine races left in which to push it to the maximum”, he said. “To be honest I don't like Sachsenring much but looking back I have raced there injured on three occasions so maybe that's why I don't have good memories or good results to reflect on! Last year could have been much better but it rained so hopefully this is the year my fortunes change in Germany. I stayed on in America for an extra day to go sightseeing in San Francisco, which was great fun, but after that I was straight home to train and get ready for another important race.”moto-live.com
Alex De Angelis'
"I have had so many good results at Sachsenring in the past, just the kind of results we could do with right now! Unfortunately we made the wrong choice with the setting for the race at Laguna but there were a lot of positives about the weekend as a whole and we are looking to bring those to the fore in Germany”, he said. “The German Grand Prix is definitely one of my favourites. I have a lot of affection for the Sachsenring circuit because I took my first pole there and I was on the podium every year from 2002 to 2007. The track is very technical, varied and without any long straights so it is important to have a good chassis set-up, more than a powerful engine. We're going through a difficult phase right now but we won't give up."moto-live.com
Kallio: Not as bad as it looks!
Mika Kallio will return to MotoGP action in this weekend's German Grand Prix after a nasty finger injury forced him to miss the recent Laguna Seca round.The MotoGP rookie fell from his Pramac Ducati just a few corners short of claiming a career best sixth at Assen, then had part of his left ring finger ground away when his hand became trapped under the bike.
“It looks quite bad, but the pain is ok now,” said Kallio on Thursday in Germany. “I think it's not so bad for riding, but if I feel too much pain we just need to get an injection and that's it. Of course it would be much nicer to ride without this, but this is how it is.
"I would say I am at 90% of my usual physical condition," he added. "I will have to wear a special glove made by Alpinestar with much more space for my left ring finger due to the big bandage I have on it. For sure in the next few weeks I will not be able to get married as the ring would never fit!"
Kallio scored two eighth places in his first two MotoGP rides, but has claimed points in only two of the six races since (including his American absence).
“It's really tough in MotoGP,” said the Finn. “The start of the season was really good but then we get some little problems and struggled with some settings, so the feeling with the bike was not what exactly what I wanted. That it why the results were a little bit down.
“But now I think we are coming back. Like we saw in Assen, when everything was quite good. My speed and lap times were constant and good during the race.
“For sure it will be a tough weekend here," he continued. "Qualifying is really important here and we'll see what happens, because my finger is not so good. But wherever we qualify, we will push in the race.”
"It is so nice to have Mika back with us," stated Pramac Racing technical director Fabiano Sterlacchini. "We really missed him in America, but I am still convinced that we took the right decision by leaving him at home for one weekend to recover in the best way possible and not ruin the rest of the season.
"From the beginning of the season Mika has been telling me that this is one of his favorite tracks, if not the favorite, this is why we expect a lot here. For sure it will not be easy due to the injury, but we believe that Mika will almost be in the best physical condition possible to compete at the maximum level." crash.net
And the real sad news this week, another team runs into financial difficulties and another rider loses his sit.
So good bye to Gibernau- hopped to see more of you this year. better luck somewhere else
Gibernau's team quits MotoGP grid
http://news.bbc.co.ukGerman MotoGP, Sachsenring
Date: 18-19 July
Saturday 18 July: Qualifying: 1150-1500, BBC Red Button/online Sunday 19 July: 125cc & 250cc races 0950-1205, BBC Red Button/online Race live: 1230-1400, BBC Two/online ; MotoGP Extra, 1400-1430, BBC Red Button/online
 Gibernau's career has been blighted by a string of injury problems |
Sete Gibernau's future in MotoGP is in doubt after his Ducati satellite team Grupo Francisco Hernando withdrew from the championship for financial reasons.
The Spaniard returned to the series this season after two years away and competed in six races, missing two others because of a broken collarbone.
"I am the most surprised at this decision," said Gibernau.
"It's a shame that just as we're getting close to picking up the results we were after we have had to pull out."
The former world championship runner-up has yet to make a statement over whether he plans to continue riding.
He retired for the first time in 2006 after a crash at the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Gibernau's most recent race of his comeback also ended in disappointment, crashing out of the United States Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.
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