Pedrosa takes third win at Sachsenring in MotoGP

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won the German Grand Prix to secure his third consecutive triumph at Sachsenring, having used Bridgestone’s hardest compound MotoGP tyres to combat the heavy abrasion of the circuit. Shinji Aoki – manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department said that the company had “advised some riders to use the harder rear slick” following analysis completed during the warm-up session, and while all but one rider fitted the extra hard front slicks for greater cornering stability and durability, the field was split on rear tyre choice, with all CRT riders using the softer medium compound.

“Thankfully we had fine weather and dry track conditions for the morning warm up session and this provided much needed track time for teams to find a dry setup for the race,” Aoki said. “Sachsenring is a very abrasive circuit and after analysing the rear tyres after the warm up session, we advised some riders to use the harder rear slick option instead of the softer rear to limit tyre wear during the race. Another benefit of using the harder rear slick is that its grip levels are very stable over the duration of the race as shown by Dani Pedrosa being able to set the fastest lap of the race on the very last lap.”

Pedrosa and Repsol Honda teammate Casey Stoner were engaged in an exciting battle for the whole race until Stoner crashed out on the last lap while fighting for the lead, promoting Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo into second place while Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso took the final place on the podium in third position. Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet is now the top CRT rider in the standings after the Frenchman crossed the line in eleventh place.
 
Conditions for the race were warm and dry, with a track temperature of 41°C at the start, before conditions cooled towards the end of the race as light drizzle began to fall, though without causing any disruption. Lorenzo’s second place sees him regain the championship lead, while Pedrosa’s victory moves him up into second position on the points table and just fourteen points behind Lorenzo, while Stoner is now in third place overall and six points behind Pedrosa.