The MotoGp stops in Germany, history and curiosity of the Sachsenring

The garden of Marquez dresses in new colors: no longer the Repsol orange of hers Honda, with which the Cannibal won 8 consecutive times. Last year, with the Catalan absent due to the fourth operation on his arm, the Sachsenring was painted electric blue Yamaha: with Quartararo who reached the largest advantage – 91 points from Bagnaia: and when does he get me back again?, the Frenchman deluded himself – and smiled happily. Over the weekend Marc will be back on the attack, but with an RC213V manifestly in crisis: who knows if he will be able to return to victory in what everyone calls his “garden” at home. Here in 2021 he won with one hand, but now … Better to bet on red Ducati. Bagnaia, veteran of the en plein at Mugello and confident again, tries to escape on the eve of the summer break. Bezzecchi he wants to keep dreaming. Bastianini he is looking for redemption. And then Martin, Zarco, Alex Marquez.

Slow and tortuous, the circuit most loved by the Cannibal

We are in the heart of industrial Saxony, just halfway between the old Karl Marx Stadt – today Chemnitz – and Zwickau, where the legendary Trabants were produced. Centuries-old circuit (the first race in 1927) which after the war celebrated the exploits of Agostini, Hailwood, Read, Pasolini, Redman, and was always incredibly crowded (232,302 visitors last season), especially in the years when this was the Republic German Democrat. Rebuilt in 1996, in continuous evolution, it is a short and winding course to be covered in an anti-clockwise direction, with 14 bends mainly to the left – 10 to 4: Marquez is there wonderfully – and a straight to the finish line of only 800 metres. According to the technicians of Brembo, which supplies the braking systems to the entire world championship, the tortuosity of the first part of the Sachsenring translates into use of the brakes in 4 of the first 5 corners, even if in 3 of these the speed drop is less than 30km/h. In the second half, the straights become longer, also increasing the speed of the motorbikes and consequently the spaces necessary to brake them are lengthened, up to exceeding 130 meters in 3 points. The 22 seconds of use of the brakes over the entire lap represent the lowest figure of the whole championship, thanks to the reduced extension of the track, less than 3.7 km. You brake and accelerate very little: agility, the key word.

MotoGP, the sprint race on Saturday at 3pm and Sunday off at 2pm

Live on Sky and NowTv, delayed on Tv8, the Sachsenring takes to the track at 9 on Friday with the Moto3 for the first free practice session. At 9.50 it’s Moto2’s turn, at 10.45 MotoGP. In the afternoon off to Fp2: Moto3 starts first (13.15), then Moto2 (14.05), finally MotoGP (15), which is already giving away the first 10 posts direct entry into Q2. Saturday is time for FP3 for Moto3 (8.40) and Moto2 (9.25), while MotoGP free practice starts at 10.10 and is immediately followed at 10.50 by Q1 and 11.15 by Q2. Moto3 qualifying at 12.50, Moto2 at 13.45. At 3 pm there is the MotoGP sprint race, over 15 laps. Sunday, after 10 minutes of MotoGP warm up at 9.45 and following the Rider Fan Parade, the start of the Moto3 race: at 11 there will be 23 laps; at 12.15 green light for Moto2 (25), at 14 the MotoGP starts which runs over 30 laps.