As after each Grand Prix, Freddie gives his point of view on several important events of the weekend. Here he talks to us about this atypical circuit that is the Sachsenring, and the main heroes of the race, including of course Jonas Folger, and the fight for the Championship.
“I had the chance to drive a 500 GP on the Sachsenring circuit a few weeks ago. I drove there last year for the first time. The corners are so close together that it's difficult in many ways to create a rhythm. You're around one corner, then immediately into the next. So, on a 260 horsepower motorcycle like a modern GP machine, it's really a challenge for the riders. They spend a lot of time on the edge of the tire trying to maintain pace while passing and from point A to point B. Patience is really necessary when riding on a circuit like the Sachsenring, it's one of the real keys.
“Another thing that was really interesting was the difficulties of the Yamahas. The Hondas looked strong this weekend, while the Yamahas were stronger in the previous race when Valentino won. We talked about the drivers struggling with the tires from week to week and how they managed to adapt to that. They constantly talk about the change in feeling from race to race, which made this race exciting.
“Tech 3 is an interesting story. They are on the 2016 Yamaha against the factory guys on the 2017 with Viñales and Rossi. At Honda I thought Marc would be very hard to beat in the race, as he was, Pedrosa had difficulties with the tires, but he was there and the surprise for me was Folger.
“As the race progressed, it was great to see him not get too excited about the chance to win his first MotoGP race. He really used his head and when Marc had a bit of a gap with a few laps remaining, he stayed patient and got this great second place. All the focus is on his teammate Johann Zarco at the moment, it will be interesting to see if Folger can extend that momentum.
“Then there was a big battle between Viñales and Rossi. Maverick kept his freshness and got a very good fourth place, so he's back in the championship. This will definitely make things exciting this year. It's going to be awesome. We know Valentino has all these years of experience, and he really uses that to his advantage by staying well placed. Now he is ten points behind Marc at this stage of the championship.
“We still haven't seen that big battle we expected between Viñales and Marc. We'll just wait and see if it happens next time. »
Photo © Michelin
Source: motorsportmagazine.com
