Press releases from the MotoGP teams after the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring:
Ducati press release to follow as soon as we receive it.
Superb victory for Dani Pedrosa
The Spanish rider of the Repsol Honda Team takes the highest step of the podium in Germany, accompanied by his team mate Casey Stoner, third, and Andrea Dovizioso, fourth
Dani Pedrosa had the perfect end for the perfect weekend by taking the victory in the ninth round of the World Championship. After securing the two first positions of the starting grid, Stoner and Pedrosa had a good start that allowed them to take the lead of the race together with Jorge Lorenzo, and had a very exciting battle for the first place during most of the race, where the Spanish rider signed again a new circuit record.
In the final stage of the race, Pedrosa took the lead of the race, was able to build some margin ahead of his rivals and secured his second victory of the season. With this result, Pedrosa has put an end in the best way to the difficult recovery he has had since he fractured his right collarbone France. The Repsol rider is now fifth in the World Championship standings, where Casey Stoner is still the leader with an advantage of 15 points after the third position he has obtained in Sachsenring.
Pedrosa victorious with new lap record on harder slicks
Round 9: German GP ? Race
Sachsenring Circuit, Sunday 17 July 2011
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Hard, Extra Hard. Rear (asymmetric): Medium, Hard
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa took a close-fought victory in Germany today from second grid, setting a new lap record and a new total race time record to open an eventual winning margin of 1.477seconds.
For much of the race though no rider led by more than one second, the top spot changing hands between Casey Stoner who crossed the line in third and Jorge Lorenzo who passed Stoner into the last corner on the final lap. The laptimes throughout were remarkably consistent as the top three set mid-to-low 1m 22s for the entire race.
Despite the cloud cover and a slightly reduced track temperature, all the front-runners used Bridgestone’s extra hard compound front tyres and harder option rears. Despite being one step softer in Germany this year, race-distance durability of the rear slicks was very good. Pedrosa’s lap record came at two third race distance on lap 20, though he also set a provisional record on lap 9, and the total race time was over 9seconds faster than the previous benchmark.
Further back the battles raged just as closely around the undulating 3.6km Sachsenring circuit. Andrea Dovizioso, Ben Spies and Marco Simoncelli hotly contested fourth position, all using the harder tyre options, whereas �lvaro Bautista used the softer option front and rear slicks to finish seventh, taking the chequered flag just ahead of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden.
Hiroshi Yamada ? Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department
“Congratulations to Dani and the Repsol Honda Team for a fantastic win here today in just his second race back from injury. This is clearly a circuit he likes as last year he also set a lap record on his way to victory. That was a very exciting race with so many close battles throughout the field and these are exactly the sorts of races we like to see and that are good for the spectacle of the sport and for the 101,309 fans that attended today which is a fantastic number. Sachsenring is a short circuit so hopefully we’ll have another exciting race like this one at Laguna Seca!”
Hirohide Hamashima ? Assistant to Director, Motorsport Tyre Development Division
“I am pleased with tyre performance today as both specs showed good warm-up performance, outright grip and race-distance durability. I am also satisfied with our revised softer rear tyre compound selection for this race as we saw a good mix of both the harder and softer options, meaning that both were suitable. A new lap record by Dani is a good measure of tyre performance, especially on lap 20 of the race, whilst we can see from the consistency of the laptimes at the front and the new total race time record that durability was also good.”
Dani Pedrosa ? Repsol Honda Team ? Race Winner
“This is an unbelievable feeling. To come back so soon and win so soon is unbelievable and I’m very happy. Even with the front row yesterday I was so happy, but I didn’t expect this. I wasn’t feeling perfect with the bike but as the race went on I was feeling better and had a better rhythm. I knew I would suffer less here than Mugello because it’s more lefts but still I was suffering a lot physically by the end. I’m really satisfied with the victory and I want to thank everyone who’s been with me during this hard time.”
Strong seventh for Suzuki’s Spaniard at Sachsenring
Publish Date: Sunday, July 17, 2011
�lvaro Bautista gave Rizla Suzuki its best dry result of the season so far with a gutsy and battling performance in Germany today.
Starting from 10th on the grid, Bautista knew a good start was required and by the end of the first lap he had moved up into ninth place. Over the next two laps he became involved in what turned out to be a race-long battle with the Ducati’s of firstly Nicky Hayden and then also Valentino Rossi. The trio swapped places many times over the remainder of the race, but Bautista saved his best till last. He produced his quickest lap of the race on the penultimate lap and then badgered and passed both Rossi and then Hayden on the final corner to take a well deserved, but hard-fought seventh.
Bautista chose the softer option of the Bridgestone race tyres today as the track temperatures and overcast, but humid conditions gave him the confidence to use the softer rubber. The 101,309 spectators at trackside were not only treated to the three way battle involving Bautista, but the action at the front was equally as hot, with Dani Pedrosa eventually coming out on top from World Champion Jorge Lorenzo in second, with current championship leader Casey Stoner third.
Rizla Suzuki now heads straight to the United States of America for the next round on the calendar, which is scheduled for Sunday 24th July at the Laguna Seca Raceway in California.
�lvaro Bautista:
“I am happy with today’s result because it was a fun race and I am quite pleased with where we finished. At the beginning I had to try and get a good start, because in the first corner you have to be very careful with other riders. I got a decent start and was in a good position just behind the top riders, but I was a bit too far away from them, and my rhythm wasn’t quite as quick, so I couldn’t quite stay with them. I got involved with the two Ducati guys and really enjoyed the race with them. At the end it was very difficult to overtake Valentino and Nicky because they brake very hard and very late, making it tough to get past. On the last lap I overtook Valentino at the end of the main straight. I then followed Nicky and waited for the last two corners because I knew I had an opportunity there to get him. I had to brake with everything I had to get past him on corner 12, but I ran a bit wide and lost some speed, Nicky overtook me on the last corner, but he entered too quickly and he went out, so I got past him on the exit of the corner. I am very happy that we are the first finisher after the top six because they are on a different level at the moment. For the next race I hope to continue with this way of working and get closer to the top.”
Paul Denning ? Team Manager:
“I think we showed this weekend at Sachsenring ? a track that has traditionally been very tough for Suzuki ? that both the GSV-R and the rider have made good steps in 2011 – despite the bad luck and huge injury at the start of the season. The high-speed crash that �lvaro suffered at the end of warm-up this morning was not ideal race preparation and it might have had a small effect on his ultimate pace, but nonetheless he dug deep and a rode a very entertaining and aggressive 30-laps. Maybe with a better qualifying position ? which we have to keep working on ? or with a luckier first couple of laps, he might have been able to tow along on the back of the fastest riders. We won’t know if that could have been the case until we get the opportunity again at Laguna Seca next week. It was an incredibly competitive race today, all the top riders finished and we were beaten by only the four Factory Hondas and the two Factory Yamahas – this weekend has definitely been a step in the right direction.”
H�CTOR BARBER� MAKES SPECTACULAR COMEBACK AFTER EARLY SETBACK
After running off track early on, MAPFRE Aspar rider moves up from last place to eleventh in Germany
MotoGP action in Germany was spellbinding stuff from 11am to 3pm this Sunday, with three fantastic races for fans to enjoy. The main course of the premier class capped things off in the best possible way, with a close contest that kept spectators guessing. Dani Pedrosa completed a Spanish treble across the three classes (together with H�ctor Faubel in 125cc and Marc M�rquez in Moto2). Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner had an entertaining battle at the front that was settled on the final corner, joining Pedrosa on the podium. Dovizioso, Spies and Simoncelli had an engaging tussle further back.
H�ctor Barber� has found his way again with the satellite Ducati, and is reaping the rewards of some hard work. Two weeks ago he rode his best MotoGP race to date, and today he could have repeated that -were it not for a setback on lap two. In avoiding a collision with another rider, the MAPFRE Aspar man went straight on and rejoined the action in last place. He refused to let the incident affect him adversely, and picked up his pace to give another strong showing. His fastest lap of 1.22.588 was the seventh quickest of the entire MotoGP field, and was only seven tenths slower than that of racewinner Dani Pedrosa’s new Sachsenring record. Barber� moved up from seventeenth to eleventh by the time the chequered flag was waved.
The next MotoGP round takes place next Sunday, at Laguna Seca in the United States.
11th H�ctor Barber�: “The only setback in the race today was that I ran off track so early. I enjoyed the rest of the race as if was a kid. I arrived at a hard braking point, and stopped right at the same place as in practice, but this time I had a rider just in front of me when I lifted my head up. I had to take evasive action so as not to crash into him. I went off, and from then on my target changed. I wanted to push as hard as possible and ride in similar times to in practice. Analysing the times afterwards, I had a great pace for the entirety of the race, and could have finished in the top seven. I feel good, because I worked well during the entire race and made a tremendous effort. My bike also worked very well. On the other hand, it is a shame to have my race affected by an isolated incident at the start.”
SACHSENRING GRAND PRIX: THIRTEENTH PLACE FOR RANDY DE PUNIET. GUINTOLI THANKS THE PRAMAC RACING TEAM
Randy De Puniet finished the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, site of the ninth stop in the MotoGP world championship, in 13th place. After a positive weekend for the Frenchman, who was one of the fastest and most solid Ducati riders, the race didn’t go as the Pramac Racing Team had hoped. A mistake on the first lap cost No. 14 precious seconds, and several positions as a result. His teammate Sylvain Guintoli, riding the Ducati Desmosedici in place of Loris Capirossi, finished at the rear, in eighteenth place.
Marco Rigamonti – Randy De Puniet rack engineer
“Randy had a race pace that was pretty similar to that of the second group, composed of Bautista, Hayden and Rossi. Unfortunately, the first lap affected the rest of his grand prix; he didn’t want to risk crashing and was a little cautious, mostly when cornering. Lap by lap, he wasn’t able to maintain the rhythm of the others, especially because of some problems with the front that showed up midway through the race. As he wasn’t able to push very hard, he decided to finish the race as well as he could. We could have done better if we hadn’t lost the group ahead in the opening laps.”
Randy De Puniet – 13th in race – 17th in MotoGP standings
“I’m not satisfied about my thirteenth place. I was able to start from the third row, having lost all those seconds in the first lap has affected the whole race. I have lost the group in front of me, the one composed by Hayden, Rossi, Edwards and Barbera and I was no longer able to shorten the distance. Halfway through the race, then, I had problems with the front: I could not close the gap, and I lost more positions. I tried to finish the race, I could not do better. We will try to improve in next weekend”.
Sylvai Guintoli – 17th in race
“It was a great experience for me. In these two days my goal was to understand the bike. I’ve done it: today, lap after lap, I improved my bests lap times, and the best one has arrived at the end of the race. I would like to thanks Pramac Racing Team for giving me this opportunity and, of course, my Superbike team which allowed me to be here. MotoGP is always a good test”.
ANOTHER TOUGH RACE FOR ELIAS AT TWISTY GERMAN CIRCUIT
Sachsenring, 17 July: after yesterdays positive qualifying session, the LCR Honda MotoGP racer Toni Elias started from the 14th spot on the grid for the 30-lap race at the German circuit but the Spaniard was hoping for a different result aboard his RCV.
The reigning Moto2 World Champion worked on getting more feeling and easier handling from the front end of his RCV at the twisty race track but after another good start Elias had to face his usual problems with the rear managing to finish the race in 16th position. Now LCR Team will move straight to Laguna Seca circuit for the USA GP on the 24th of July.
Elias: “Yesterday we thought we made a good step forward and I was hoping for a better result. But at the beginning of the race with the full load of fuel when the bike was heavier I have struggled very much to control it. Suddenly our usual problems came back again and I have started to lose the front in the braking and no confidence in the rear. I managed to cross the line in 16th position but obviously I am very frustrated. By the way I do not want to lose my motivation and my concentration and we’ll see what is going to happen in Laguna”.
Lorenzo and Spies Save it for the Last Lap in Sachsenring Thriller
The Grand Prix of Germany provided some of the most exciting racing yet this season as Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies kept it to the last corner to deliver second and fifth places respectively.
Mugello race winner Lorenzo spent the entire 30 lap race distance embroiled in a battle at the front with Championship leader Casey Stoner and fellow Honda rider Dani Pedrosa. Having retained second off the grid, the Yamaha Factory rider passed Stoner with 17 laps to go. As the laps counted down Lorenzo conceded first to Pedrosa then second to Stoner before coming back with a stunning pass on the last corner of the last lap to steal second place back at the line.
Spies dropped one place to sixth off the start line, the Texan battling with a lack of grip that prevented him from closing down the front group early on. A consistent pace for the majority of the race saw a lonely ride holding position until his patience paid off as Marco Simoncelli and Andrea Dovizioso were gradually reeled in. The fighting of the two in front made it difficult to make a pass on the twisty track. Spies held off until the last corner on the last lap to pass Simoncelli for fifth, echoing his team mate’s pass on Stoner just seconds earlier at the same spot.
Denying Stoner second place means Lorenzo has now taken a step to close the Championship lead down, trailing by just 15 points with a total of 153 as they head to Laguna Seca. Team mate Spies holds onto sixth position, now just 13 points behind Valentino Rossi in fourth.
Jorge Lorenzo
Position : 2nd Time: +1.477
“I’m very happy! It has been a fantastic race today. From the middle of the race I got very tired in my left hand so I didn’t know where I could find the force to push and keep pushing to the end. Then Casey stopped the bike a lot two corners from the end so I took profit from it, opened full throttle and in the last corner I went for it. It was a miracle pass! This race is very important so we are very proud and happy with the result. I have to thank my Yamaha crew who worked very hard to give me a fast bike all weekend, they have been fantastic.”
Ben Spies
Position : 5th Time: +10.719
“Unfortunately I got to the front group a little too late but I tried as hard as I could. I just lacked some rear grip in the beginning, I tried to be consistent and hope they came back to me because I couldn’t run the pace they were running in the beginning. Lap time wise it was probably the most consistent I’ve ever done in a race. We caught up to them with three laps to go and then all hell broke loose. Simoncelli started trying to find a way past Dovizioso and every time I tried to look to go past one of them was on one side of the track and the other on the other side. It was fair play, they were racing each other but it kind of messed up my game plan! Simoncelli ran wide at the end so I got him again in the last corner. I wish we could have got Dovizioso because we had the pace, we just ran out of laps.”
Wilco Zeelenberg
Team Manager
“A great result, of course we would have liked to win it but it was clear that Dani had a little bit extra, he’s very good at this track and was also strong last year. To make up four championship points in the last corner at the end of the race is of course great, especially mentally for Jorge. The rest of the season is coming up and we’re closing the gap with still a few races to go!”
Massimo Meregalli
Team Director
“A good weekend for us, we are catching Stoner. I think Jorge did a really great job and a very impressive last lap. He saw a door almost open and he just went in and took the place cleanly, a perfect job. Ben had a big lack of grip but he was really consistent; he did almost all the race at the same pace. I don’t think he could have found an additional tenth of a second. Fifth place is not so bad looking at the pace and I think he could have finished fourth with a couple more laps. We are looking to Laguna Seca now, and I am confident we can make another step forward.”
Repsol Honda victory and another double podium in Sachsenring
The Repsol Honda Team dominated the German Grand Prix in a hard fought thirty lap race. The 101,309 spectators at Sachsenring witnessed an incredible battle for the win between Pedrosa, Stoner and Lorenzo, with Dani Pedrosa finally clinching victory. There was also an exciting fight for fourth position between Dovizioso, Simoncelli and Spies with Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso coming out on top and finishing behind team mate Casey Stoner.
It was a great race for Dani Pedrosa who returns to the top step of the podium at only his second race after having missed three races due to an injury to the right shoulder. The Repsol Honda rider today sealed his second win of the 2011 season and his fifth Grand Prix victory at the Sachsenring circuit (three wins in MotoGP class, and two in 250cc). On lap twenty, Dani also broke his own Circuit Record Lap record here at Sachsenring with a 1’21.846.
Championship leader Casey Stoner celebrated a seventh successive podium finish today, a personal record in MotoGP class. He led the race for nine laps but was unable to match the pace of Pedrosa and was robbed of second place at the very last corner by Jorge Lorenzo.
Andrea Dovizioso had an exciting duel with Marco Simoncelli, finally finishing ahead of him in fourth and retaining his third position in the Championship standings.
The Repsol Honda Team will have no time to rest, as they pack all the race equipment tonight and leave for the United States tomorrow. The U.S GP hosted at the fascinating circuit of Laguna Seca will take place next Sunday, July 24th.
DANI PEDROSA ? 1st ? World Championship Position: 5th with 94 points
“It’s an incredible feeling to be back and win a race so early; I didn’t expect it, but this circuit has been always very good for me and I made it happen. I was already surprised yesterday with second position in qualifying and to finish the weekend in this way is amazing, a huge relief for me after a very hard time with injuries. Here I suffered less than in Mugello because of the layout, but in the race today I had a strange feeling, something I’ve never had before. At the beginning of the race I wasn’t feeling great on the bike, I was fourth but I didn’t get nervous or worried because I’m still not mathematically out of the Championship battle, but I know it’s almost impossible. So, I just let the laps pass and in the middle of the race, with less fuel in the tank and when the tyres started sliding, I decided to step it up a little and it worked perfectly. I’m very happy with this v ictory, I’ve been suffering a lot even though this race track is not physically demanding, because I’m still weak. So a big thanks to my family and doctors that helped me to be back here because they all know how hard it has been. Also to my team and to all my fans that never gave up, they deserve it also”.
CASEY STONER ? 3rd ? World Championship Position: 1st with 168 points
“We knew today would be a hard race, we found a good set up yesterday in qualifying but we had an issue with the rear tyre and the temperatures getting too high, with it spinning too much. We took it easy in the early part of the race and thought we’d try to preserve the tyre and warm it up slower than we did in Mugello. After a few laps I decided to make a move to the front to see what we could do and we were able to pull a small advantage, but too small compared to the effort we were putting in so I backed off on my pace a little and tried to stay as smooth as possible and see what happens. They came past me and Dani was riding so strong and was able to get past Jorge before I got there, he built a small advantage and by the time I got past Jorge and I struggled to chase him down. I made a few small mistakes and that left just Jorge and I for the last few laps. I tried everything I co uld, riding the cleanest lap possible and trying to block my line, but Jorge came up on the dirty part of the track and I thought it would be too high a risk but he made it stick and I have to settle for third place. I’m still leading the Championship and I’m thankful for the points here today”.
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO ? 4th ? World Championship Position: 3rd with 132 points
“It was a tough race because this circuit is small and difficult. Our target was the podium so I’m a little disappointed with fourth position, but if we look at today’s race in a bigger perspective, we took a big step forward in terms of race pace compared to my previous records at this circuit. We had a good start and tried to stay with the front riders. It was a good battle with Simoncelli and Spies for fourth position and I’m happy we won this battle! We were consistently fast during the whole weekend and even though today we were struggling, we finished fourth. We confirm that we are there and we have retained third position in the Championship, even if we aimed to gain more points on Lorenzo and Casey. My congratulations go to Dani, Casey and Jorge for a great race”.
Edwards and Crutchlow collect valuable points in Germany
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow collected valuable points after both were engaged in exciting battles throughout today’s German MotoGP race at the Sachsenring.
Edwards delivered a determined ride throughout the 30-lap encounter, the American shrugging off the lingering affects of a nasty sore throat to finish in a hard fought 10th place.
Edwards was locked in a captivating four-rider battle for seventh that included Alvaro Bautista, Valentino Rossi and compatriot Nicky Hayden, who are all riding full factory machinery.
But with four laps remaining he had to abandon his pursuit of the trio in front when he enco untered a rear grip problem in the left-hand corners. Edwards though was still satisfied having set a personal best race time at the Sachsenring, which has traditionally been a bogey track for the 37-year-old. He is now confident and looking forward to competing for a top six finish in his crucial home round at the Laguna Seca in California next weekend.
Crutchlow meanwhile rode with typical aggression and he produced a fantastic ride under intense pressure to keep Randy de Puniet, Hector Barbera and fellow MotoGP rookie Karel Abraham at bay in 11th position.
Battling a lack of front-end feel that Crutchlow had worked tirelessly to improve over the course of the weekend, the British rider was unable to keep his line entering Turn 3 on lap 26 and he dropped back to 14th place. The 25-year-old quickly got back into his rhythm, but despite launching a concerted effort to reclaim the lost places, he finished less th an 0.5s away from 11th.
Colin Edwards 10th ? 59 points:
“That was a difficult race because it was one of those where you can see a few places up for grabs in front of you but you can’t do anything to try move forward. I was with Valentino, Nicky and Alvaro for pretty much the whole race but it didn’t matter what I did or tried, I couldn’t get close enough to try and pass them. One tenth round this track feels like a million because it is so short but it felt like I was on a bungee rope the whole time. Each time we started going through the series of lefts from Turn 4 onwards, they just seem to have more traction than me. They’d pull a few bike lengths on me but then I’d gain it all back in the hard braking for Turn 12 at the bottom of the hill and hard braking for the last corner. My bike was really stable on the brakes but the bike lengths I’d c atch up I’d lose again on the next lap and the process would start all over again. With a few laps to go I was in Turn 2, off throttle and the rear came round. From that point on I had less grip and a bit of vibration and I couldn’t stay with them and I was making more mistakes trying to keep their pace. So I just took 10th place, which is not where I want to finish, but I’ve never gone great at this track and I’ve gone faster than I’ve ever run here. Usually it’s a disaster here, so I’m actually happy with my race and going to Laguna Seca now to race in front of my home fans, I feel really good and confident.”
Cal Crutchlow 14th ? 34 points:
“Obviously I can’t be happy to have finished 14th because I believe I should be fighting inside the top ten. But taking the positives out of a difficult race, I was able to fight for the whole race with riders that are a lot more experienced than me, and who have much more knowledge of this track. I really wanted to finish 11th but when I ran wide with a few laps remaining, it was always going to be an uphill battle to get back three places on a track like this that is tight and twisty. But I didn’t give up and I pushed as hard as I could right to the end and nearly recovered a couple of places. I just didn’t have enough grip from the front or the rear and it was difficult. I didn’t feel I could push any harder and it strange because we made a lot of big changes to the bike this weekend without ever really finding an improvement. We’ve learned a few things that will help in the future and now I’m looking forward to getting to Laguna Seca where I’ll be aiming to get back inside the top ten.”
Herve Poncharal ? Team Manager:
“The feeling is better than the result looks because Colin had a strong race. He had a good start and he rode most of the race together with the factory Ducati and factory Suzuki. The pace was good and I think there was not a lot more we could do. This is a tough track for Colin but his pace was pretty strong and consistent and I am happy. Cal finished 14th and he is not happy with that. I think he has learned a lot today and after a tough period it means something to finally see the chequered flag. I don’t want to say that we are happy to finish 14th, but I think together with Randy and the other Ducatis he has been learning a few things. Cal has done some really good performances in the beginning of the season, but we should never forget that it is a learning year and he has to understand that if he has to finish 14th like today, it is all about learning from that experience. The target we are working on this season is that he becomes a better MotoGP rider, even if sometimes he doesn’t get the result he expects. Now we can focus on L aguna Seca, which is a massive race for Colin and Monster, so everybody at Tech 3 Yamaha will be giving maximum effort as usual to deliver a top result in America.”
SIXTH FOR SIMONCELLI SACHSENRING
Marco Simoncelli leaves the Sachsenring circuit these evening feeling satisfied but slightly frustrated at a sixth place finish in the German Grand Prix. The Italian showed his pace in the middle part of the race but struggled with tyre wear over the final ten laps. Despite that “Super Sic” put up a brave battle for fourth place with Andrea Dovizioso, only to lose out in the final corner when he was also passed by Ben Spies. Nevertheless, Marco has shown once again that he is prepared to battle with the best in the class. Hiroshi Aoyama has endured a tough weekend with physical problems and now he is simply hoping to be in better shape for next weekend at Laguna Seca.
Marco Simoncelli (6th) “It’s a shame because fourth place would have felt completely different. I was faster than Dovizioso for the first half of the race and maybe I took too long to pass him, losing contact with the leaders in the process. We passed each other a few times and then the tyre wear was so bad on the left side I was really struggling and it was hard to control the bike. I tried everything I could on the last lap but it wasn’t enough and Spies also came through. It is a shame but this was still a good race for us because we were close to the front and if we can just find another couple of tenths in race trim we’ll be fighting for wins.”
Hiroshi Aoyama (15th) “It wasn’t an easy race, especially the first half, but I tried to finish it in the best possible way. Unfortunately my physical condition has been a problem all weekend and I have not found it easy. I have tried to get more confident with the bike from session to session but it has been hard. I am sorry for the team and I hope to be in better shape for the next race at Laguna Seca. “
Fausto Gresini “It was a tough but nice race at the same time. Sixth place is a shame because a better result was possible but he fought to the end with Dovizioso despite his problems with the rear tyre. Unfortunately this is racing and the important thing is that we are getting some consistent results. We know that Marco can do better than this but the tyre situation didn’t help. Now we have to stay focused sand build on these results because the competition is very strong.”
Karel Abraham secures four points as he finishes twelfth
Grand Prix of Germany at the Sachsenring Circuit saw Karel Abraham producing a determined performance which brought him four points for twelfth place.
Struggling with the set-up of the Ducati Desmosedici GP11, the Cardion AB Motoracing rider was determined to score as many points as possible before the race start.
When the lights went off, the Cardion AB Motoracing rider was fifteen but then he began his pursuit to other riders.
“Due to problems we had during the whole weekend I am satisfied with the result of the race,” said Karel Abraham. “I have to get used to the set-up of the motorcycle during the race, but even though I scored faster and faster lap times,” continued Karel Abraham, who set his best time 1:22,897 on lap 23.
For the last four laps, when he overtook two other riders, Karel Abraham fought with Hector Barbera for eleventh place.
“I was behind him on the last lap, but the I managed to overtake him,” said twenty-one years old Czech rider, who eventually finished 0,204 s�behind the Spanish rider. “Unfortunately, in the corner – in which I crashed yesterday ? he overtook me again and finished ahead of me,” added.
With 41 points, Karel Abraham is now in the twelfth position in the overall MotoGP standings.
Members of the team Cardion AB Motoracing now heads to Monterey for the Grand Prix of USA which will take place at the Laguna Seca from 5th to 7th of August 2011.
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