The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team is travelling to Germany for the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, held this weekend at the Sachsenring after a one-year absence.
Following a week of rest after the back-to-back Italian GP, Catalan GP, and Catalan Test, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales are full of energy to start the Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland weekend.
Quartararo, though not a big fan of the Sachsenring, is more motivated than ever to step onto the podium there for the very first time and score vital points to maintain his first place in the rider standings and increase his 14 points advantage over his closest rival. Having shown a competitive pace for most of the season, he is feeling confident that he will be able to produce a strong result again on German soil.
Viñales heads to the Sachsenring feeling eager to continue working with new Crew Chief Silvano Galbusera on improving his feeling with the bike, especially on turning. The challenging and narrow Sachsenring track is exactly the right practising spot for him to work further on his M1’s base set-up. Having stood on the German rostrum four times prior (he came third in the 125cc, Moto3, and MotoGP class in 2011, 2013, and 2018 respectively, and took second place in the premier class in 2019), he is eager to climb those steps again this weekend to improve on his sixth place in the rider standings and reduce the 40-point gap to the championship leader.
The area of Chemnitz is known for its love of car and motorcycle racing. Originally, races in the area were held on closed public roads from the 1920s onward. The Sachsenring was built in 1996 for safety reasons. Just two years later, the track hosted its first MotoGP event, and it has continuously been updated since. The just 12m wide circuit has numerous tight corners (ten left, three right), making this circuit one of the slower tracks on the calendar, but there will still be plenty of action at the German GP.
Fabio Quartararo
“Thanks to the work we did at the Catalan Test we have been able to prepare a setting for the Sachsenring that we feel quite confident about. This is not my best track, but I‘m looking forward to start riding here anyway. We have had a good pace all season so far, so I‘m happy with that, and I hope to be able to get a good result this weekend.”
Maverick Viñales
“We‘ve made another step at the test in Barcelona, so little by little we are improving. I really can’t wait to see if the changes we‘ve made during the test will help us at the Sachsenring. It‘s a track that‘s quite narrow and different from other circuits, but I have scored good results here in the past. In the last two races at the Sachsenring, in 2018 and 2019, I finished in third and second place respectively, so I hope that this year we can also do a good job.”
Massimo Meregalli
Team Director
“We now start the final back-to-back MotoGP weekends before the summer break. This is a crucial time for the championship. Everyone wants to end the first half of the season on a high note so they can enjoy their summer holidays more and also start the second half of the season in a more comfortable position. This weekend we are racing at the Sachsenring for the German GP. This is a peculiar circuit in that it‘s not to every rider‘s taste, but a good set-up and the M1‘s nimble characteristics have proven to be effective for this track. Our team achieved quite a few podiums here, but to do so we need to start the weekend off in the right manner on Friday. We are keen to get going and continue the work done at the Catalan Test, which we hope will be beneficial to us.”