Honda rider Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) takes his World Championship lead to Germany this week, to a racetrack at which he has won on his last three visits. He will be joined at the Sachsenring by MotoGP rookie team-mate Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) who is still very much in the battle for the world title after a storming ride to second at the Dutch TT a fortnight ago. Marquez has also won on his last three rides at the Germany GP venue.

Pedrosa and the Sachsenring have got along well together ever since he graduated to the 250 class after winning the 125 World Championship in 2003. Since then the 27-year-old has won six Grands Prix at the track; on his Honda RS250 in 2004 and 2005, on his RC212V in 2007, 2010 and 2011 and last year aboard his RC213V. The sinuous circuit that climbs and falls in countryside near the ancient city of Chemnitz demands inch-perfect accuracy and therefore suits Pedrosa’s sublimely neat riding technique. His 2012 win at the track kicked off a stunning run of results that had him win seven of the season’s last 11 races.

Although Pedrosa leads the points chase, nine points ahead of reigning champ Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) and 23 ahead of Marquez, he has had a difficult last three races, never quite getting his machine to extract the maximum from the Bridgestone control tyres. The Spaniard was second behind Lorenzo at Mugello and Catalunya, but only fourth at Assen, where he struggled to find grip as the race wore on.

Marquez too has an impressive record at the Sachsenring, which first hosted a Grand Prix (as a street circuit) back in 1961. The 20-year-old won on a 125 in 2010 and on a Moto2 bike in 2011 and 2012. The reigning Moto2 World Champion has made an astonishing entry into the elite class this year, scoring podium finishes at six of the first seven races, including his debut win at April’s Grand Prix of the Americas, which made him the youngest premier-class winner in six and a half decades of Grand Prix racing. Only one other rider has scored six podiums from his first seven races in the premier class: American Kenny Roberts, who went on to take the title at his first attempt, in 1978.

Inevitably, so much speed so early in his MotoGP career has come with a few mistakes, including a record-breaking crash at 337.8km/h (209.9mph) during practice at Mugello and another heavy fall at Assen, which left him nursing a broken finger and toe. That didn’t stop the tough youngster from challenging for the win.

The German Grand Prix is, of course, the biggest weekend of the season for home-grown hero and 2011 Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) who will be aiming for his first MotoGP podium just two weeks after scoring his first MotoGP front-row start at Assen. Bradl has had an up-and-down start to his second season in the premier-class. After two tumbles at the first three races his crew refined the set-up of his RC213V and at Mugello he equalled his best MotoGP result with a fine ride to fourth place. Since then his team have made another significant change, switching to Brembo brakes at the last race.

Bradl has good form at his home Grand Prix. He has twice finished second – in the 2008 125 GP and the 2011 Moto2 race – and last year he finished a strong fifth on his RC213V.

Between Assen and this weekend’s race, Bradl and Alvaro Bautista (Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V) visited Argentina to try out the new Termas de Rio Hondo circuit which will return the nation to the MotoGP calendar next year. Both men praised the circuit and look forward to racing there in 2014. Bautista comes to the Sachsenring hoping for a good result after a difficult race at Assen and first-lap tumbles at Mugello and Catalunya.

The rookie season of Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) nears its halfway stage this weekend, with the Australian working hard to get in the points again. Staring scored his first MotoGP points last month at Catalunya – where he finished 14th – and knows that he once again has a huge amount to learn at another circuit that is new to him.

Even before Pedrosa began his dominance of the Sachsenring event, Honda riders have enjoyed plenty of success at the track. At the end of the 500cc era, five-time World Champion Mick Doohan won the venue’s inaugural premier-class GP in 1998 and Alex Barros took victory two years later, both men riding Honda NSR500s. Honda dominated the first years of MotoGP at the track, with Valentino Rossi winning in 2002, Sete Gibernau in 2003 and Max Biaggi in 2004, all riding Honda’s RC211V. Pedrosa followed with his first success in 2007.

The original Sachsenring street circuit was first used for racing in the late 1920s and hosted the first GP behind the Iron Curtain in 1961. The track regularly attracted crowds of 350,000 and was last used for World Championship racing in 1972. Following German reunification, a Sachsenring short circuit was constructed. The venue hosted its first GP in 1998 and underwent substantial upgrades a few years later. It is a slow but complex and challenging circuit, with an ultra-tight first section that leads into a rollercoaster series of high-speed left-handers that are its dominant feature.

After Sunday’s racing the MotoGP circus immediately heads across the Atlantic for next weekend’s United States GP at Laguna Seca, which hosts only the MotoGP class. The sport’s traditional three weekend break is followed by the Indianapolis GP – for all classes – on August 18.



Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda:

“This week we head to Germany and I hope we can get a good feeling and have a good weekend. Sachsenring has typically been a good track for me in the past and it’s a circuit where I always enjoy racing. It’s a short track where you spend a lot of time on the left, but the fastest corner is to the right, so tyre performance will be key. It’s important to keep the momentum and ride my best to keep fighting for race wins.”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda:

“It was a tough and complicated weekend in Assen, but the important thing is that we learned a lot and picked up another podium and some important points. Now we head to Sachsenring, another new circuit for us on the MotoGP machine. We will see how the weather is there, as it can change quite a lot! It will be interesting to see what the circuit is like on this bike because it’s one of the smallest circuits on the calendar and I already found it small in Moto2, so I can’t imagine how it will be in MotoGP! When we get there, I’ll take my time to learn the lines with my team, as we do every week, and try our best for another good result.”

Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini:

“I didn’t have confidence with the bike in the race at Assen and couldn’t ride it as I wanted but it was important for me and the team to make it to the end of the race after two DNFs in the previous two rounds. We have to look at this as a building block for the second half of the season now. I’m a little tired after the trip to Argentina, where the authorities, press and fans gave us an incredible welcome. I could have never imagined motorcycle racing to be so popular in Argentina but the track at Rio Hondo is spectacular, one of the nicest I have ever ridden. It has a lot of long, fast corners and plenty of run-off so you can ride hard and have fun. There are still a few minor things to sort out but I think there could be some great races there. For me it was a nice opportunity to try out a new track and enjoy myself without any pressure and it has given me a little boost ahead of the next round. I had a good race in Germany last year, coming from the back of the grid following my penalty after an incident at Assen. I made it back up to fifth place but made a mistake and ended up seventh after an otherwise great race. I am confident that by using the data from last year and with the determination we have to get a result after the disappointment of the last race we can do very well at this Grand Prix. Sachsenring is not an easy track and it is one of the slowest on the calendar, especially through the first section. There are a lot of left-handers with elevation changes that make it difficult to find a set-up but we will try to find something that makes the bike handle well and accelerate hard.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP:

“The last period has been pretty busy for me but I am looking forward to this weekend. Sachsenring is a short and difficult circuit with no major straight and a lot of left-handers. Honestly, it’s not one of my favourite race tracks but my family, my friends and my fans will be there to support me. The Assen GP front row was a great achievement for us but it would be nice to reward my local crowd with another good performance.”

Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini:

“I go to Sachsenring feeling motivated because in the race at Assen I realised that I am capable of much better results than we have achieved so far. I feel we have made progress recently and I want to confirm this in Germany. I don’t know the Sachsenring circuit but I hope it suits my riding style and I will certainly be giving my best to get to grips with it as quickly as possible. I am determined and looking forward to getting out there and trying to take that next step towards becoming a contender amongst the CRT bikes.”

.