Striving for home glory
The LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP team is looking forward to its home race these days, as the tranquil little town of Hohenstein-Ernstthal near the Sachsenring will transform into the motorsport Mecca par excellence from the 5th - 7th of July. All riders of the German racing team have just one goal: to put on a great show for the German fans and score points at the same time.
The Sachsenring Grand Prix is synonymous with incredibly passionate fans, full stands and three days of the finest racing party. At just 3.67 kilometres in length, the German race track in the east of the republic is one of the smallest on the racing calendar, but that's not all. It is also ridden in an anti-clockwise direction and requires the utmost sensitivity for tyres and machines due to the ten left-hand corners and only three right-hand corners.
Just a few days ago, Moto3 fans and Dutch rider Collin Veijer held their breath as he crossed the finish line at the Dutch TT just 0.012s behind rival Ivan Ortola. Now it's time to move from one traditional race track to the next, as the Sachsenring also looks back on an unrivalled history - a history that the 19-year-old would like to continue with his next success of the season. Hot on his heels will also be 26-year-old Tatsuki Suzuki, who is trying to fight his way back after his early crash in Assen and assert himself as an equal points contender. The 23-lap race on Sunday at 11:00 (CEST) will be the ninth showdown of the season and certainly one not to be missed.
In Moto2, 25 laps on Sunday at 12:15 (CEST) will decide between victory and defeat. For rookie Senna Agius, the fight for victory has come a little closer over the last few Grand Prix races, as the young Aussie is developing noticeably in his first year in the World Championship and manages to shine every weekend with improvements and damn strong duels. This is now set to continue at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix of Germany, his team's home race. Darryn Binderhas been pushing for the points more and more often recently and the South African is also aiming for the top 10 at the Sachenring, but rain could make the endeavour even more difficult. So it will be exciting to see how the Intact GP riders perform this weekend with the Pirelli tyres for the requirements of the track with its unbalanced corner amounts.
Schedule (according to CEST)
Friday, 5th of July
08:30-08:45 MotoE Practice 1
09:00-09:35 Moto3 Free Practice
09:50-10:30 Moto2 Free Practice
10:45-11:30 MotoGP Free Practice 1
12:45-13:00 MotoE Practice 2
13:15-13:50 Moto3 Practice 1
14:05-14:45 Moto2 Practice 1
15:00-16:00 MotoGP Practice
17:05-17:15 MotoE Qualifying 1
17:25-17:35 MotoE Qualifying 2
Saturday, 6th of July
08:40-09:10 Moto3 Practice 2
09:25-09:55 Moto2 Practice 2
10:10-10:40 MotoGP Free Practice 2
10:50-11:05 MotoGP Q1
11:15-11:30 MotoGP Q2
12:15 MotoE Race 1 (11 laps)
12:50-13:05 Moto3 Q1
13:15-13:30 Moto3 Q2
13:45-14:00 Moto2 Q1
14:10-14:25 Moto2 Q2
15:00 MotoGP Sprint (15 laps)
16:10 MotoE Race 2 (11 laps)
Sunday, 7th of July
09:40 - 09:50 MotoGP Warm-up
11:00 Moto3 race (23 laps)
12:15 Moto2 race (25 laps)
14:00 MotoGP race (30 laps)