After disappointments at two circuits he knows well, James Toseland returns to his journey into the unknown at the Alice Grand Prix of Germany at the tight twisty Sachsenring on Sunday. The 27 year old Yorkshireman has shown already in his MotoGP debut season how quickly he can learn new circuits on the Tech 3 Yamaha and the tenth round of the MotoGP World Championship should be no exception.
Toseland crashed in Donington and struggled with the set-up in Assen to eventually finish in ninth place but still holds eighth place in the Championship, just ten points behind former World Champion Nicky Hayden.
The 125 cc British stars will be praying for no rain in Germany after a heavy shower in Holland wrecked their chances of success. Seventeen year old Bradley Smith was comfortably leading the first race on the Polaris World Aprilia when he crashed in the rain. He finally finished fifth in the mayhem of the five lap second race sprint.
British Grand Prix winner 15 year old Scott Redding missed the second race in Assen after a power valve broke on his Blusens Aprilia in the first race. Once again it will be a new circuit for the talented teenager to learn but like Toseland it seems to make little difference.
Kent-based Danny Webb hopes to return to the action after missing the Assen race because of a broken collarbone sustained when he crashed in the British Grand Prix at Donington.
Ulsterman Eugene Laverty is hoping the tight twisty nature of the 2.281 mile Sachsenring circuit which is situated between Leipzig and Dresden, will give him a big chance of World Championship points in the 250cc race. He has ridden well on the underpowered Blusens Aprilia in the last three races but the lack of power and top speed has kept him out of the points.
James Toseland“I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike and putting both Assen and Donington behind me. It’s a new track for me and I hope we can reproduce those set-up procedures that gave us so much success earlier in the season.”
Scott Redding"Another new circuit to learn but it should not be a big problem and it certainly looks really twisty. Assen was a downer but there was nothing I could do about it and I’m looking forward to getting back out there.”
Bradley Smith“A real bike rider’s circuit with plenty of twists and turns plus a few technical parts. Last year despite still recovering from injury, I qualified on the front row in fourth place and was really chuffed to finish eighth in the race.”
Danny Webb“I’m going there and I’m hopeful I can ride. The collarbone is a lot stronger but still a little sore. I’ll go out for practice on Friday morning and see how it goes.”
Eugene Laverty"I’ve been riding well in the last four races but just can’t compete with the speed and power of the works bikes. The Sachsenring is tight and so I fancy my chances of some World Championship points. That would be great after no points in the last three races."
Stoner Roars Into The RingWorld Champion Casey Stoner roars into the Sachsenring this weekend chasing his third consecutive MotoGP victory. The 22 year old Australian is determined to win on Sunday at the tenth round of the MotoGP World Championship and at round 11 at Laguna Seca in America to put real pressure on Championship leaders Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi before the summer break.
Stoner and the Marlboro Ducati have proved an unbeatable combination in the last two races and trails Championship leader Pedrosa by 29 points half way through the season. If he continues in the same style in the next two weeks the gap on Pedrosa and second placed Rossi will be considerably reduced.
Stoner has not got a great record at the tight twisty 2.281 mile Sachsenring circuit with a second place in the 2003 125 cc race his best result. Last year he was fifth in the MotoGP race which was won by Pedrosa riding the Repsol Honda and the Spaniard has a good record in Germany. He won the 250 cc race in 2004 and 2005 which will stand him in good stead in the 30 lap race on Sunday especially against Rossi who has an impressive record at the circuit. The Italian, who trails Pedrosa by four points in the Championship, won the 250 cc race in 1999 and has secured three premier class wins on both Yamaha and Honda machinery.
Jorge Lorenzo, Rossi’s Fiat Yamaha team-mate, has recovered well from his Barcelona crash with sixth places in Great Britain and Holland. The Spaniard retains fourth place in the Championship but like Stoner, the double 250 cc World Champion has never won at the Sachsenring. Fifth placed Colin Edwards arrives in Germany full of confidence after a last ditch third place in Holland riding the Tech 3 Yamaha.
Italian Andrea Dovizioso has made a brilliant start to his MotoGP career and is sixth in the Championship riding the JIR Team Scot Honda and his best results at the Sachsenring are fourth places in the 125 and 250 cc classes. Former World Champion Nicky Hayden was robbed of a podium finish when he ran out of fuel on the finishing line in Holland and he returns to action in Germany where he had podium finishes in 2005 and last year.
American John Hopkins will miss this race and next week in America after having an operation on the ankle he broke in the high speed crash from the Kawasaki during qualifying in Holland. Italian Loris Capirossi hopes to return to the action riding the Rizla Suzuki after missing Assen with a badly cut arm.
Finnish KTM rider Mika Kallio saw his lead in the 250 cc Championship slashed to a single point in Holland by the in form Italian Marco Simoncelli who has finished on the podium at the last five races including two wins on the Gilera. Kallio won the 125 cc race three years ago but look out for his team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama who won last year and Yuki Takahashi who was victorious on the Honda in 2006.
One thing the 125 riders will not be wanting is any rain on Sunday. The rain reduced the race in Holland to just five laps and was won by World Champion Gabor Talmacsi who won the race in Germany last year. Simone Corsi closed to within 16 points of Championship leader Frenchman Mike Di Meglio after finishing third.
EVENT TIME SCHEDULEFriday 11th July 09.00 – 09.45: 125cc Practice
10.00 – 11.00: MotoGP Practice
11.15 – 12.15: 250cc Practice
13.10 – 13.40: 125cc Qualifying 1
13.55 – 14.55: MotoGP Practice
15.10 – 15.55: 250cc Qualifying 1
Saturday 12th July09.00 – 09.45: 125cc Practice
10.00 – 11.00: MotoGP Practice
11.15 – 12.15: 250cc Practice
13.10 – 13.40: 125cc Qualifying 2
13.55 – 14.55: MotoGP Qualifying
15.10 – 15.55: 250cc Qualifying 2
Sunday 13th July08.40 – 09.00: 125cc Warm Up
09.10 – 09.30: 250cc Warm Up
09.40 – 10.05: MotoGP Warm Up
11.00: 125cc RACE (27 laps)
12.15: 250cc RACE (29 laps)
14.00: MotoGP RACE (30 laps)
TELEVISION TIMESPractice, qualifying and the races will be shown at the following times on British television:
Saturday July 12thBBCi and BBC Sport Website 12.45 – 14.00 Qualifying
Sunday July 13thBBCi and BBC Sport Website 125/250 cc races 09.45 – 12.15
BBC Two and BBC Sport Website MotoGP race 12.30 -14.00
BBCi and BBC Sport Website - MotoGP Extra 14.00 – 14.30
EUROSPORTFriday July 11thMotoGP 19.00 – 20.00
Saturday July 12thQualifying 12.00 – 14.00
MotoGP 23.30 – 01.00
Sunday July 13thWarm-up and 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP races 08.45 – 14.00
MotoGP 23.00 – 00.30
