Pedrosa out to extend Sachsenring run
By alley July 8, 2013 11:07 AM
By alley | July 8, 2013 11:07 AM ET
Dani Pedrosa has targeted a fourth straight Sachsenring MotoGP victory as he bids to extend his advantage at the head of this year's championship.
The Spaniard surged to the top of the standings following back-to-back wins at Jerez and Le Mans, but has failed to win since and even missed the podium last time out at Assen.
That run has allowed Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo the man who beat Pedrosa to the 2012 crown to close to within seven points despite the fact he raced with a broken collarbone in the Dutch TT.
Pedrosa says he is eager to return to a track where he has scored four of his 24 premier class wins, and has not been beaten since the 2009 season.
"[The] Sachsenring has typically been a good track for me in the past and it's a circuit where I always enjoy racing," Pedrosa said. "It's important to keep the momentum and ride my best to keep fighting for race wins.
"It's a short track where you spend a lot of time on the left, but the fastest corner is to the right, so tire performance will be key."
Pedrosa's Honda stablemate Marc Marquez also boasts an impressive record at the German track, having captured Moto2 pole and victory in both of his past two visits. The 19-year-old said he had been buoyed by a podium at Assen given that he had suffered a fractured finger and toe in a massive practice crash just one day before racing.
"It was a tough and complicated weekend in Assen, but the important thing is that we learned a lot and picked up another podium and some important points," Marquez explained. "Now we head to Sachsenring, another new circuit for us on the MotoGP machine.
"When we get there, I'll take my time to learn the lines with my team, as we do every week, and try our best for another good result."