While the weather had produced torrential downpours thoughout the preamble to this GP, it stayed dry for the action in Germany. As the riders lined up on the grid, there was a real feeling of anticipation as Rossi and Lorenzo, so close through practice until that awesome final qualifying lap from Valentino, pulled up next to each other. Stoner drew up next to Lorenzo, recovering from his mystery ailment and in a position to challenge at the front again. Back on the third row, Pedrosa was in position early, but with his lightening starts, this was the equivalent of a front row grid position for the diminutive Spaniard.
Sachsenring is a tight, twisting track compressing its 14 corners and 3.6km length into a tiny area. As a result, the start and short run into the first gear Coca-cola curve was a ballet on a knife-edge. Cold tyres and eager racers do not a friendship make. While Rossi held his line from the pole slot, de Angelis moved up on the inside of Stoner, but having arrive slightly faster to the turn than the Aussie, failed to get within a country mile of the apex and took Stoner and Lorenzo outside him way off line. Pedrosa’s start brought him up to the rejuvenated Hayden. Flying around the outside of the de Angelis scuffle, Dani contorted the Honda, trusting his cold Bridgetones tremendously to swing right around the outside and into second. Hayden, meanwhile, lacked this confidence in his bike and rubber and instead took a trip around the edge of the track, hung out to dry by the rest of the field. It was a mistake that would cost the American any hope of a top 5 finish which he had looked capable of, even after his crash with Canepa in qualifying.
That first corner would shape the first few laps, as Stoner and Pedrosa gave chase to Rossi. de Puniet, having muscled his way through to third, tried a little too hard and high-sided off his LCR Honda on the cold left side of his rear tyre. Lorenzo meanwhile, on the harder compound rear available, noticeably did not. Nursing his tyre up to temperature, he played the long game and closed on the leading trio slowly, consistently. Was this a strategic move by Lorenzo to defeat Rossi? Does he know he can’t beat him on the same equipment, so tried something different to see if that makes the difference?
Soon these four were pulling away from the rest of the field, confirming their status as the championship contenders. Pedrosa was making the new engine work for him, while his team-mate would fade rapidly from a top-5 placing, eventually retiring as his front tyre (the same compound as Pedrosa) chunked up and turned to mush. There were signs of this as early as lap 3 as Lorenzo moved smoothly into 4th place. On a track where the 250’s are as fast as the 800’s, the front is vital - Dovi never had a hope.
Four laps in and Stoner passes Pedrosa for second at the achingly slow turn 12 which follows the massive drop out of turn 11. Stoner continued to close the gap to Rossi in lap 5, exploring the possibility of another pass at turn 12. Lap 6 would see him pass Rossi for the lead. This move slowed the Italian and as a result Pedrosa and Lorenzo closed up to the leaders.
Lorenzo’s confidence in his harder tyres increased sufficiently for his to force his way past Pedrosa at what was fast becoming the favourite passing place - turn 12. He immediately gapped Pedrosa and closed again on Rossi in second. Stoner, still leading was coming under more pressure from Rossi in lap 10, the pressure further increased by a fastest lap from Lorenzo.
Stoner was late on the brakes everywhere, keeping both Rossi and Lorenzo in abayance for lap after lap. He covered all the common places to pass - turn 1, turn 6, turn 11 and turn 12, Stoner was the latest of the late brakers.
16 laps in and Rossi finally barges past Stoner at, guess where…turn 12. Stoner, knocked off line for the final corner didn’t get the drive down the start/finish straight as normal and by the end of turn 1 on lap 17 he found himself in thrid place as Lorenzo swept past him.
The final punch-up had now been set up. Lorenzo vs Rossi for the win. Rossi was pushing at the front to open a gap, but Lorenzo showed he was more than able to match him. Here, perhaps, was where Lorenzo thought his harder rear tyre might make a difference - the last ten laps. If Rossi’s tyre was not fading, Stoner certainly was, back into the welcoming arms of Pedrosa. With just 5 laps left, there was a shuffle in the order. Pedrosa passes Stoner while Lorenzo passes Rossi for the lead in turn 1.
Stoner in his efforts to stay with Pedrosa would have a massive slide on the left side of this tyre, and would settle for 4th. Pedrosa never looked likely to catch the front battle, so it was left to the two Yamahas to duke it out.
This would be no last lap high-risk move from Rossi. Spending two laps lining up Lorenzo and exploring his lines around the Sachsenring circuit, with a couple of rehersals at turn 12, Valentino set his sights. The move would come, however, at turn 1; Lorenzo’s strongest corner all weekend.
Rossi would later claim the last lap was perfect - speed and line judged with finesse to not allow Jorge hope or chance to pass. It was a lesson for Lorenzo from the master - had he ridden like this on the last lap in Barcelona, Rossi could not have passed him.
MotoGPBlog Man of the Weekend: Nicky Hayden, for qualifying in the highest position of any team-mate of Stoner on the Ducati, and for not letting a couple of monster crashes put him off, and for not giving up on the red machine.
