Nicky's Comments for GermanyJuly 08

 Free Practice comment

“Today was pretty average, really. I certainly hoped to be nearer the top in both sessions. We made some little improvements this afternoon, got the bike to steer a bit better, and dropped the lap time a bit which helped, but we’re still down in eighth. It’s a short little lap here, so a couple of tenths is a lot. We’ve got a couple of ideas to improve tomorrow, but it’s not easy to figure out how we’re going to get down to where we need to be. We need to find a big chunk from somewhere. In the past I’ve had some good results here but it’s a track where I always struggle a bit on the first day and then pull it together, so let’s see if we can’t do the same this year. Lap time-wise we’re already quite a bit quicker than last year which we have been everywhere, in fact I’ve already gone faster than I qualified last year.”

Pre Free practice - comment

“The bike is working good, the engine is running plenty good, but we just had that little issue at the end of Assen which stopped me getting third. I’m sure the guys at HRC will have the electronics all fixed for this race because I quite like the Sachsenring and I’ve always gone pretty well there. It’s a short little lap and some people complain it’s too tight and twisty but I like fast left-hand corners and it’s got a lot of them. I’m a dirt tracker so I like going left! The first bit is quite technical, then you’ve got that fifth-gear drop-off round the back which is really good, definitely one of the best. The key for going down that hill is getting the bike so you’re confident in the front. The next right-hander (Turn 12) is a big one, it’s blind and it’s downhill, so you can’t go tip-toeing through there if you want a good lap, you’ve got to be committed and charge it. Last year the track had a new surface because tyre wear had been a big issue there.”