MotoGP got `back in the ring´ from July 11th-13th for the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, the tenth round of the World Championship. The paddock was buzzing with expectation on the pre-race Thursday at Sachsenring, a unique track due to its tight and twisty nature.
The action began in earnest on Friday morning, with the first free practice session for the MotoGP riders seeing some trademark dominance from Casey Stoner. The reigning World Champion was having a great Friday, only marred by a lowside crash in the second session. Also hitting the ground was Repsol Honda´s Dani Pedrosa, whose opening day tumble was not the last time he would be involved in an incident over the course of the weekend.
With tricky weather conditions in Germany, protective equipment, settings and grip were always going to be crucial for the MotoGP competitors. In-depth explanation of the gear ratios needed on the Fiat Yamaha M1 over the weekend were given by Jorge Lorenzo´s Chief Mechanic Ramon Forcada, perhaps best illustrated by an OnBoard lap with the Spanish rider at Sachsenring.
Lorenzo´s teammate Valentino Rossi had also made some slight adjustments for the race, with every detail accounted for by the Italian star. An example of his attention to the finer points of MotoGP competition are the adjustments made to his Dainese knee sliders, as shown in a feature interview with those supplying the five-time World Champion with said protection.
Saturday morning saw another dry free practice session for the premier class, their final preparations for the grid-deciding qualifying run. Stoner once again took pole position, but it was a disastrous qualifying session for Rossi as he could only manage to place on the third row. The title contender was not best pleased after the session, knowing that the task of catching his rival had been made yet more difficult.
There was also racing action taking place on Saturday afternoon, with the ADAC Junior Cup youth initiative out on track. Before the young talents put their visors down and revved their engines, however, they were paid a visit by Tech 3 Yamaha riders Colin Edwards and James Toseland, who chatted and signed autographs for those in attendance.
Marco Melandri´s Manager, Alberto Vergani, confirmed on race day that the Italian and Ducati Marlboro had come to a mutual agreement to cut short his contract for 2009, after a disappointing adaptation to the Desmosedici GP8 from the former 250cc World Champion. Whilst he was once again struggling in Sachsenring, teammate Stoner was showing his mastery of the bike and circuit, as shown by an aerial lap following the Australian.
In the MotoGP Race itself, Stoner was once again the dominant force en route to his third consecutive race win. He took advantage of another crash by Pedrosa, who had escaped after taking the holeshot before his sixth lap fall. There was also an early fall for Lorenzo as two of Stoner´s title rivals fell by the wayside.
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