The circuit of the Sachsenring, in Germany, has always been kind to Dani Pedrosa, and after his performance at Laguna Seca optimism has returned to the Repsol Honda Team pits. His teammate Andrea Dovizioso, is also hopeful even though in the last couple of races he has had some bad luck, he has made some good progress though and is keeping up witth the pace set by the leaders. This weekend the 125cc riders are also racing, they had a rest during the American GP at Laguna Seca, and go to Germany with their batteries recharged.
The sensations at the Repsol Honda Team have been getting more and more positive as the races go by. In spite of the setbacks that have interrupted this progress, Pedrosa`s injury at Mugello for example, the results of the good work can easily be seen and the performances of both Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso have improved in quality as the season has gone by.
The next race at the Sachsenring marks the halfway stage of the championship, and the Spaniard who has always been consistent is once again in a position to fight for the victory. Caution demands that he carries on doing things carefully and so the race in Germany this weekend, on a slow track, comes at a good time for him; he had a clear victory here two seasons ago and was a clear leader when he fell in the rain last year.
Andrea Dovizioso will be out to get the good result he deserves at this GP and the recent improvements made to his Repsol Honda RC212V factory bike have been obvious to everybody ever since they were added. The Italian has not finished the last two races after two falls but a look at the season overall shows that in practice as well as in the previous races with the Repsol Honda Team he has been developing and getting closer to a podium finish.
There is also a lot of expectation surrounding the 125cc team who after watching the last race on the TV – only the MotoGP category competed at Laguna Seca – have had to wait almost 3 weeks to get back to racing. Márquez, Rabat, Redding and Beaubier will go to the race dying to do well and hoping to put in good performances after the poor showing in the last race in the Dutch GP at Assen.
In the KTM pits Marc Márquez will fight to be among the leading positions where he has been during the first half of the season. The Repsol rider has already got a podium finish and with the gradual supply of improvements from the factory he hopes to get the best out of his KTM 125 FRR in Germany and so continue making progress and stay up with the best riders in this category. His teammate Cameron Beaubier, goes back to a circuit where he competed two years ago – in the Rookies Cup – and he thinks he will be able to take advantage of this to make quicker progress than normal, getting used to the bike and circuit more easily and so be able to fulfill his objective this season: to finish among the points.
For Esteve Rabat and Scott Redding the race in Germany is a good occasion to get back among the leading group. After a short break of two weeks the aim is for them to keep up with the leaders as they have been at times this season, but so far they have lacked the consistency to stay there in every race.
Dani Pedrosa
“I’ve had some good results at this track and I take a lot of confidence into the race weekend at Sachsenring because we’re probably in the best shape we’ve been in for a while. The win in Laguna Seca was really important for me and the team because it proves we’ve been making progress and we now have the pace to win races. However, we can’t take anything for granted and I’m sure our rivals will be strong again and determined to fight back. I really like the Sachsenring circuit too and, despite what happened last year, I think we can be competitive again here. I’ve had a good week since Laguna, and it was great to be able to go and see the start of the Tour de France stage in Barcelona on Friday. I’ve been able to get back in training on the bicycle, and seeing the Tour gave me even more motivation. So I’ m feeling confident for this weekend and I’m looking forward to Germany”.
Andrea Dovizioso
“I’m very motivated to show my potential and the potential of the machine in Germany because at the last two races we have improved a lot, without getting the results to match. The race results in Assen and Laguna were disappointing, but the recent signs have been encouraging, especially in Laguna where we were very close to the leaders and I had a good race pace and a package that meant I was capable of fighting for the front positions. Unfortunately I made a mistake, but it’s just something you learn from and move on. I wouldn’t say the Sachsenring racetrack is one of my favourites of the year but I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s is quite short, with a very slow first beginning section followed by a very fast second half. The team is getting stronger all the time and I’m confident we can have a good weekend.”
Marc Márquez
“Last year things went well for me in Germany, and as I am now more used to the pace in this category I can learn a lot here this weekend. I hope that KTM has been working hard over the last few days, as it has the whole season, to get some improvements on the bike that will allow me to make more progress at a personal level, that is with my riding. We are going to a slow circuit, with a very twisty first sector, slow corners and short straights. It will be important to have a good acceleration so that I can take take advantage of the chassis we have, a good one in my opinion, so that we can take the corners faster than our rivals. I hope we have a bit of luck and so get a good result”.
Esteve Rabat
“The break was good to give my body a bit of a rest, ride a supermotard, and even watch the race at Laguna Seca It was great to see Dani [Pedrosa] winning, he deserved it! Turning to the Sachsenring, this is a circuit I like and where I have got better every year. I think we can do things well because we have just had two good races, and personally it is a good moment for me. We have taken a step forward in our understanding of the bike and I feel confident that we can continue to improve. The Aprilia RSA is a motorbike that can work very well at this circuit because theere are some fast corners, and it behaves well on the slow ones, and it has a good acceleration which is another important aspect”.
Scott Redding
“The circuit of the Sachsenring is one of the best in the calendar, and last year things did not go badly although the race was bit strange because we started in the dry and then a bit of rain fell. I hope to get a good set up that will let us be competitive in the race because you need an agile bike for the twisty bit, but it has to accelerate well on the straights and on the climbs towards the end of the lap. It is important to control the sensations from the front wheel well, as braking is very important before the slow corners because you have to find the right line for them. I hope to get a good result because it would give me a boost just before my home GP at Donington”.
Cameron Beaubier
“I raced at the Sachsenring two years ago and I have some good memories of it. It was very hot, no rain though and we were able to enjoy it a lot, above all the second part, with the ups and downs because the first sector is much more difficult. It has very tight corners where you have to suffer a little. I can`t wait to get there after a couple of weeks at home, recharging my batteries and training a little.
I did some motocross, which I like, but now it is time to get back to what we do best, and to learn some more. I will begin calmly so that I can try to remember the layout of the circuit, and little by little take some steps forward. The pace will be totally different from the Rookies Cup, so I will have to work hard from the very first day.”.
