The Sachsenring circuit in Germany is one of the very trickiest tracks to get consistently right on all of the MotoGP games. It’s got very difficult sequences of corners that are a huge test of any player’s skill and concentration.

When you first ride on the circuit, just putting one complete clean lap together is hard enough, never mind multiple successive clean laps. But it does get easier the more time you spend practicing on the track, and having a stable, easy to control bike setup also helps.

I spent a lot of time on this track, and tested a few different setups. In the end, one configuration in particular stood out as being both the easiest to control and the fastest.

Here’s a MotoGP class bike setup for Sachsenring for MotoGP 23:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • •  Front pre-load – 4
    • Oil Quantity – 1
    • Front Spring Hardness – 2
    • Front Swingarm compression – 4
    • Front Swingarm extension – 3
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 2
    • Swingarm connector – 4
    • Rear spring hardness – 3
    • Single shock absorber compression – 4
    • Single shock absorber extension – 3
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 2
    • Trail – 4
    • Steering plate position – 4
    • Rear swingarm length – 5
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 5-5-4-4-4-4
    • Final ratio – 5
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 355 mm
    • Rear disc – 220mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 5
    • Engine braking – 4
    • Anti-wheelie – 4
    • Power mapping – 2

Recommended race tyre – Hard front; Medium rear.

While no bike setup can make this track easy, I found it easier to ride the Sachsenring and get used to the corner sequences using this setup. It gets rid of the understeer that’s built into the game’s default handling on MotoGP 23. It’s also got good leaning characteristics round the prolonged corners.

For the minutiae of the setup, you might want to alternate between the 340 mm High Mass and 355 mm (maximum) front brake disc. The max one gives the best stopping power, but the 340 one makes the braking slightly easier round the tricky left handers. Test to see what works for you better.

Also, for the ECU settings some players prefer a lower TC value to run something like 1542 or 2542. I need a higher TC value to get rid of the annoying understeer on this game.

Alternative Sachsenring MotoGP Class Bike Setup

I did test another setup that’s basically a slightly altered version of my template setup that I start with on most tracks:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 2
    • Oil Quantity – 3
    • Front Spring Hardness – 4
    • Front Swingarm compression – 3
    • Front Swingarm extension – 3
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 4
    • Swingarm connector – 3
    • Rear spring hardness – 2
    • Single shock absorber compression – 3
    • Single shock absorber extension – 3
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 4
    • Trail – 4
    • Steering plate position – 3
    • Rear swingarm length – 5
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 5-5-4-4-4-4
    • Final ratio – 5
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 355 mm
    • Rear disc – 220mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 5
    • Engine braking – 4
    • Anti-wheelie – 5
    • Power mapping – 2

Honestly, this setup didn’t work as well for me compared to the first setup. It wasn’t as fast and it was also harder to be consistent with this setup. But bike handling and setups can be quite subjective, so test it out to see which one you prefer.

Moto2 and Moto3 Bike Setups For Sachsenring

The less powerful Moto2 and Moto3 class bikes are a bit more forgiving around the Sachsenring, but this circuit isn’t easy on any bike really.

If you want custom setups for these bikes as well, check out my generic setups page for for the game for starter setups for Moto2/Moto3 that you can bolt on and test against the game default to see if it’s faster or easier to ride around here.

Tips For Riding Around The Sachsenring

To get even one lap of the Sachsenring nailed, you need to get a lot of things right, and not do a whole lot wrong. But you can definitely get better on this circuit with practice. Here’s some extra tips for putting a solid lap together here.

Braking technique – You’ve got to be super strict on yourself here and never apply the front brake while leaning the bike. Small dabs of the rear brake can help tuck the bike into sharper corners, but only ever apply the front brake in a straight line with the bike upright. Also, for heavy braking zones, take several dabs of the front brake rather than holding it on continuously (causes lock-ups and crashes).

Turn 1 – Braking point for here is just after you pass the overhead sign. You can go a bit deeper the more you get used to the track, but it takes longer to get the bike stopped for this corner than you might think. Take several hard dabs of the front brake, and then some extra rear brake on it’s own can help tuck the bike into the corner.

I find it easier to see the first section of this track as a series of 3 alternating hairpins – right hairpin—left hairpin—-long right hairpin.

Middle section – Once you exit the long right hairpin section, you bear slightly left, and then after that, it’s 6 consecutive left handers that all follow quickly after each other. This is the trickiest part of the track as if you go off line it’s very easy to crash. The 3rd left hander is longer and awkward to navigate, and the 4th one is easy to over-run – brake well before the overhead sign to be safe. It’s only very short dabs on the power between all these corners on a MotoGP bike, and it takes a lot of practice to get the rhythm of this section ingrained into your muscle memory.

Final few corners – Once you get that very difficult sequence of left handers out the way, it’s another very short burst on the power before you take the very fast right hand “kink”, and then you plunge downhill before taking the final two left handers to finish the lap. An easier part of the track, but be careful not come in too hot and over-shoot these corners after getting the hard part out the way.

Front tyre – I couldn’t manage with a medium front tyre, and so had to switch to hard to stop over-heating with all the successive corners. If you can get away with a medium front tyre, it will offer more grip, but switch to hard if you’re struggling with temps.

Over-running corners – If you find yourself continually over-shooting the corners round here, your main tips are to:

• Use the thickest front brake disc (355 mm/13 in) if you’re not already.
• Be more restrained and cautious on the accelerator (short dabs/bursts only)
• Brake earlier and take several dab on the front brake to prevent lock ups.

Mastering Sachsenring – Track Guide