WSBK-Magny-Cours

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Guintoli and van der Mark ready for final WSBK European round

Pata Honda riders Sylvain Guintoli and Michael van der Mark are preparing for the final European round of the 2015 World Superbike championship at Magny-Cours in France this weekend (2-4 October).

Van der Mark is in sparkling form having secured the third podium of his rookie WSBK season last time out in race one at Jerez. The 22-year-old Dutch rider looked to be riding his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP to at least another third place finish at the Spanish circuit before crashing out of contention in the second race.

The 4.411km Magny-Cours circuit has been good to van der Mark in recent years. It?s where he secured the 2012 European Superstock 600 title before progressing to World Supersport the following season. He finished second in last year?s race having already won the 2014 championship.

For Sylvain Guintoli, the Magny-Cours event represents a home race, although the 33-year-old French rider lives in the UK. He, too, has enjoyed recent success at the circuit, which is situated in central France, around 260km south of the capital Paris.

Guintoli, who started his 150th World Superbike race in the second outing at Jerez, has scored a total of six podium finishes at Magny-Cours, including two wins. All have been achieved in the last three years and the Pata Honda rider is hoping to add to his tally this weekend.

The action starts tomorrow morning with Free Practice 1, building to Sunday?s two 21-lap races in the penultimate round of the 2015 World Superbike championship.

2015 World Superbike championship, round 12
Circuit de Nevers ? Magny-Cours, France
Event schedule (local times GMT +2):

Friday 2 October
11.15-12.00 ? Free practice 1
15.00-15.45 ? Free practice 2

Saturday 3 October
09.45-10.30 ? Free practice 3
12.30-13.00 ? Free practice 4
15.00-15.15 ? Superpole 1
15.25-15.40 ? Superpole 2

Sunday 4 October
08.40-08.55 ? Warm-up
10.30 ? Race 1 (21 Laps, 92.631km)
13.10 ? Race 2 (21 Laps, 92.631km)

Sylvain Guintoli
I?m really looking forward to this weekend because Magny-Cours has been good to me over the years. I love the track and always get great support there from the fans, who have been building in numbers in the last few years. The circuit has done a great job in increasing the crowd so it?s turned into a fantastic event in the calendar. I haven?t been off the podium there in the last three years so I?ll be aiming to carry on that form at the weekend. The CBR package has improved so much since the start of the year and I was able to be competitive in Sepang. I struggled to find a rhythm in Jerez but Mikey [van der Mark] showed that the bike is strong there, too, and those are two circuits which haven?t been great for the CBR in the past. We know we can get there now and it would be great to hit t he sweet spot again this weekend and get my first podium for the team. I really want to finish the season on a high and this would be a good place to do it!

Michael van der Mark
Jerez was really good for us, not just getting back on the podium but getting much closer to the guys in front. Even in qualifying, we showed that the CBR package has really improved over the season. OK, I crashed in race two but I was close to the podium again and I really want to be there again this weekend. The best thing about the Jerez weekend was that we had no problems and I think that if we can continue like this in France then we can hopefully be close again. I really like the circuit at Magny-Cours and always enjoy riding there. I?ve had some good results there, as well, and I?ve been on the podium three times in the last four years. In Superbike you get two chances on raceday, though, so I?m really looking forward to the weekend.

Pieter Breddels
We had a test following the Jerez weekend and were able to try some different electronics strategies, but we have nothing new for this weekend in France so it?s all about looking forward and aiming to get back on the podium. I?m sure that the performances that Sylvain showed in Sepang and Mikey showed in Jerez ? both circuits where we have struggled a little in the past ? can be translated to Magny-Cours this weekend. The CBR has worked quite well there in the past so the whole team is up for the challenge and really looking forward to the weekend

 

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New Champion Rea And Former Champion Sykes Go For More Trophies

KRT rider Jonathan Rea lifted the 2015 FIM Superbike World Championship last time out in Spain but even after this outstanding success both he and his team-mate Tom Sykes will be shooting for more race wins and podiums in the remaining races of the season to add to their already impressive season totals.

So far, after 11 rounds and 22 individual races, Rea has taken 12 race wins and eight other podiums in his first Kawasaki season. Champion in 2013 for KRT, Sykes has netted four wins and seven other podiums in the same time scale this year. Those combined statistics have ensured that Kawasaki has taken its first manufacturers? title in the Superbike World Championship with two rounds of the 2015 season remaining.
With the pressure of winning his first WorldSBK title now receding Rea just wants to aim for more race wins, while Sykes is keen to move up to second place in the championship standings by season end. He is currently 22 points behind Chaz Davies, with four races left to run, including Magny-Cours.
In terms of previous Magny-Cours raceday form Sykes has three wins and three further podiums. Rea has three previous French podiums, including a third place in 2014.
Magny-Cours is run as the final European-based round of the season and features one of the biggest spectator attendances of all ? despite the sometimes inclement weather that can arrive in the centre of France in October. The enthusiastic and knowledgeable fans spread themselves around the interesting 4.411km circuit often congregating at the final chicane and start/finish straight at the end of race two to hail the winning riders.
The final race weekend of 2015 will unfold under floodlights, at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, with raceday on October 18th.
Jonathan Rea stated: ?We had a really amazing moment in winning the championship in Spain but we struggled a little bit in the races. First, we have to really understand the reason why we struggled so much at Jerez on Sunday, when on Saturday everything was fine. When we sit down to make a plan for this coming weekend, and figure things out, we will be pretty clear in the direction we need to go. After that I just want to enjoy the races. I think in France we can start again with a clean slate and I see no reason why we cannot battle up at the front once again. I have had some good results at Magny-Cours in the past. To win the World Championship is a massive goal I have been waiting to achieve all my life and I have not really let my guard down too much since I did it. I was quite busy at the beginning of last week but since I got home I have been trying to treat each day as normal; to keep it in the back of my mind that we have to work hard for the next two races. I really want to bounce back after being off the podium in Jerez and fight at the front at Magny-Cours.?
Tom Sykes stated: ?Magny-Cours has been a mixed bag for me in the past. It is a circuit that has been quite kind to me in terms of race results but it has also been quite pivotal in my career. We lost the championship there by half a point in 2012, so of course that was bit of landmark. Last year things were going so well for most of the weekend but then it rained and we had a painful race day in wet conditions. It is a bittersweet place but, overall, with the race success I have had there, I like it. The good thing is that the Kawasaki fans always bring great support and it is great to hear the grandstands. The turnout is incredible so it looks like they are mad bike fans in France. The Kawasaki brand is very strong there, which is great, because that also means in recent years those fans have cheered on Tom Sykes. I am certainly looking forward to getting going again.?
David Salom (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) and his fellow Spanish rider Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) approach the penultimate rounds with a determination to finish as high as possible in the final rankings ? and as top non-factory Spanish rider. Currently Ramos is 14th, just four points and one place ahead of Salom.

 

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ALTHEA RACING PREVIEW: MAGNY COURS

The 2015 eni FIM Superbike World Championship head back to the track for the penultimate race of the season at the French circuit of Magny-Cours.

The track, located close to Never in Burgundy, is not loved by the riders due to its configuration that makes overtaking difficult and the weather, always unstable and with low temperatures, but the Team Althea riders have done well here in the past.

In 2006, Matteo Baiocco achieved his very first Superstock podium finish at this very track, crossing the line third behind two other Italian riders. Baiocco, strong from the results achieved during last week?s round at Jerez de la Frontera last week and the solid performance in the Pirelli?s tests on the Monday following said races, will arrive in France with more references and motivation to complete two great races. He will aim to score more important points for the standings, in which he currently places eighth with the chance to improve further on the position.

Niccol? Canepa celebrated the Superstock 1000 title win in 2007, and last year he took the win in race 2 of the EVO championship, again on board the Ducati of Team Althea. He would like to make up for the Spanish weekend which was a rather unlucky one for him. Canepa was fast in all the qualifying sessions in Spain and completed a fantastic Superpole which saw him score a front-row start, and he will try to repeat this performance in France, striving for two strong race results that are well within his grasp.

As far as the Superstock 1000 championship is concerned, this is the final round of 2015, and Raffaele De Rosa chases his first victory of the season after having missed out on the win by so little thus far. After the second place finish scored in Spain, Raffaele aims for the top step of the podium to conclude this 2015 season on a high. He currently lies in third position in the championship standings.

It?s a different case for Luca Salvadori who, after having seen doctors once again, is still suffering shoulder pain that unfortunately will force him to sit out the final race of the season. We wish Luca a speedy recovery.

Matteo Baiocco: ?Magny-Cours is a track at which I?ve always scored good results in the past and where I scored my first podium in Superstock, so I have good memories of the place. Although I haven?t raced there for five years, I cannot wait to get on track and, after the positive race weekend in Jerez de la Frontera, I want to finish the Championship as strongly as possible.?

Niccol? Canepa: ?I?ve always been strong at the French circuit of Magny-Cours and as well as having won the EVO race there last year, I also won the Superstock 1000 title there in 2007. We will have to deal with the cold and the unstable weather but I?m feeling confident and am really ready to race.?

 

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DE PUNIET ON HOME SOIL FOR MAGNY-COURS WSB

The penultimate round of 2015 will see Voltcom Crescent Suzuki racer Randy de Puniet back on home soil as the eni FIM Superbike World Championship visits France?s Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours this week.

Round 12 will prove an interesting homecoming as de Puniet has not raced at the 4,411m Nevers circuit for over 16 years ? or at international level ? but the Frenchman is really looking forward to ?debuting? here in front of his home-crowd aboard his Yoshimura-powered Superbike. His confidence growing thanks to the braking solution found during the Jerez race last-time-out, de Puniet is excited to conclude the European chapter of his Superbike introduction in his native land.

A stellar performance a fortnight ago saw Alex Lowes overcome a challenging start to conclude his Spanish weekend with podium-matching pace in the day?s second race. The progress and rhythm found with his Suzuki GSX-R1000 leaves the British racer itching to get back on track and push further for the final two rounds of the season and he is looking forward to the passionate atmosphere and support that always accompanies a visit to Magny-Cours.

The Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours lies approximately 250kms south of Paris and a similar distance north-west of Lyon, in the Burgundy region of central France. The track consists of 20 corners ? 9 left and 11 right-handers, with many the namesakes of famous international circuits, for example Estoril and Imola ? while its smooth, flowing nature offers little elevation change. Practice for Sunday?s two 21-lap races begins at 11:15hrs local time (10:15BST) on Friday October 2nd for Voltcom Crescent Suzuki, with the second 45-minute session following at 15:00hrs (14:00BST). One timed and one non-timed free practice kick-off Saturday?s timetable of events at 09:45hrs (08:45BST) while Superpole gets underway with two 15-minute sessions starting at 15:00 (14:00BST). Sunday heralds the European finale with WSBK race action on track at 10:30 and 13:10 (09:30 and 12:10BST) respectively.

Randy de Puniet:

?I am really happy to be riding in France in front of my fans, it is always an important race and many people come to support the French riders. I have my fingers crossed for the weather as at this time of year it can be not so good, both for the riders on track and the fans watching! I have not raced here for over 16 years, but I remember liking the first and second corners. The last part of the track has been changed, so this will be new for me, but I have heard that it is an improvement to the layout I know and it should be interesting for the GSX-R. I really hope to have a good weekend (with more luck than Jerez) start the practice with a good feeling, continue the improvements throughout the sessions to make the bike more competitive than the last race and to do my best for Suzuki on the Superbike at Magny-Cours.?

Alex Lowes:

?I like the Magny-Cours track ? the first section is quite quick and important to get right for a good run down the long back straight and the middle section is technical and twisty and where our bike should work well. It won?t be an easy weekend but my goal, as always, is to do the best job I can and get as close to the podium as possible. The weather is always an extra factor there, especially in the early mornings, as you can never be quite sure what you?re going to get, but I want to finish the season strongly so I?m really looking forward to France, getting my head down and getting stuck in.?

 

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Hard work on opening day for Pata Honda in France

Sylvain Guintoli and Michael van der Mark had to work their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SPs hard in this afternoon?s second free practice session of the 12th round World Superbike championship event at Magny-Cours in France.

Having finished the opening session this morning in fifth and ninth places respectively, the Pata Honda duo ended the day in 12th and 14th overall with neither rider able to significantly improve their lap times at the 4.411km Magny-Cours circuit.

Van der Mark, fresh from his podium result in the last round at Jerez in Spain is confident that a couple of changes to his CBR will allow him to climb the leader board in tomorrow morning?s third free practice which is timed for the afternoon Superpole qualifying sessions.

As a French rider, Magny-Cours is a home round for Guintoli who will be working with his crew this evening to adjust the geometry and settings of his CBR and fine-tune the Cosworth electronics package to maximise its potential in tomorrow?s sessions.

Sylvain Guintoli ? P12

This morning was good straightaway. We were able to get into some decent lap times early on and we were only 0.4s from the front with a good time. But it then became a struggle to go faster this afternoon and I could only match the morning time and not improve. I felt like I was riding on the limit and couldn?t go any faster. We?ve got some different geometry and settings to use tomorrow morning to try and improve where we are weak, and we?re lacking a little on top speed, too. I know the track here really well and I know how to go fast quite quickly but improving after that has been quite difficult.

Michael van der Mark ? P14

This morning?s session was quite good but in the last 10 minutes we had a small technical problem which meant that I couldn?t really push on the new tyre. This afternoon there were a couple of other problems which took some time to fix and that meant that I couldn?t really find a rhythm or get many laps together. The lap time at the end was getting better but not perfect. I just need to get some more laps and find that rhythm in order to make some steps forward with the bike.

 

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STRONG 5TH FOR LOWES & VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI

The opening day of action at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours concluded with Voltcom Crescent Suzuki?s Alex Lowes comfortably fifth in the combined times after two successful set-up sessions.

Less than 0.4-of-a-second separated fifth from second position at the close of play this afternoon, with Lowes? best lap ? a 1?38.390 ? set on his second fast-lap on new tyres. The British racer remains pleased with the progress made throughout the two 45-minute sessions, despite not hitting the planned number of laps on his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R due to a gear-shifting sensor issue mid-way through the afternoon practice. Saturday?s morning session will see him concentrate on a longer run to cement the current feeling but Lowes is confident the set-up work completed today is heading firmly in the right direction.

Randy de Puniet worked hard both on and off the track today as his visit to his home race saw him coveted for interviews, autographs and two appointments with the World Championship?s Paddock Show alongside his racing commitments. Concentrating on learning the layout while continuing to improve the feel with his Suzuki GSX-R1000, the Frenchman concluded his first day in 16th with a 1?39.701 and agility and brake feeling his target for tomorrow.

Kawasaki?s newly-crowned World Champion Jonathan Rea continued his reign at the top of the times, setting the pace with a 1?37.750 as the autumnal sunshine warmed the French track to 27?C by late afternoon.

Lowes and de Puniet return to Magny-Cours as Saturday?s action begins with the final timed-for-qualifying session at 09:45hrs local time (08:45BST), the 30-minute free practice following at 12:30hrs (11:30BST). Superpole commences at 15:00hrs (14:00BST) with the top-12 shootout on track at 15:25hrs (14:25BST).

Alex Lowes:

?We had a decent start today, the bike feels quite good and I?m enjoying the track and looking forward to tomorrow. I think we have decent pace, but there is plenty still to work on overnight. The lads did a great job between session one and two ? working on stopping the bike and getting through the faster chicanes ? so if we can take another step tomorrow we shouldn?t be too far away. We didn?t get as many laps in as we had wanted today ? due to a few minor issues ? so hopefully we can get more down tomorrow, build-up the consistency and start understanding it a little bit more over the longer race distance.?

Randy de Puniet:

?I?m not that happy about the first day, ok it is the first time I have ridden here for many years, but the feeling with the bike is like Jerez not like Malaysia and Laguna as I would like. We have tried some adjustments which improved during the morning session, but this afternoon we tried something different again which did not work for me. The rhythm is not good enough so we need to find something for tomorrow morning because we need one second to be inside the top-10. I hope we can take half a step with the bike and I will find the last half to be able to fight at this point.
?I also have a new helmet design for my home race which I really like, with a small symbol to the French people and to commemorate the French round.?

Paul Denning ? Team Manager:

?It?s been a very solid first day for Alex?s side of the garage here in Magny-Cours. The GSX-R is working well at this track and the fact that Alex has the experience of last year means we were able to hit the ground running this morning. We didn?t have the best FP2 and made fewer laps than Alex or the team would have wanted due to a gearbox shifting issue, but taking this into account the lap-time was still very good and the pace was very consistent.

?The start of the weekend for Randy?s home race hasn?t gone quite as well ? no fundamental problems, the new Nissin brake system is working well and the bike clearly has reasonable potential ? but Randy hasn?t seen the track for 17 years and hasn?t quite found the sweet spot of either bike setting or his own rhythm to be as far up the order as he would like. Let?s hope we can keep working hard and improve tomorrow.?

Magny-Cours ? eni FIM Superbike World Championship ? Free Practice Combined Times: 1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 1?37.750: 2. Chaz Davies (Ducati) +0.294: 3. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) +0.323: 4. Leon Haslam (Aprilia) +0.580: 5. Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) +0.640. 16. Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) +1.951.

 

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Magny-Cours (France), 2 October 2015

The first day of qualifying has concluded at the historic French track of Magny-Cours where the eni FIM Superbike World Championship riders are taking part in the penultimate round of the 2015 season.

After today?s two practice sessions, the Team Althea riders both placed inside the top ten, with Niccol? Canepa sixth and Matteo Baiocco eighth.

Canepa and his team worked on a different set-up with respect to that used in Spain two weeks ago, testing different solutions throughout both sessions. The team has identified the right path and the Italian was fast right from the outset, concluding with a best time of 1'38.496.

Baiocco used the morning?s session to regain feeling with a track he has not raced at for five years, concluding the practice in tenth place. He improved on his performance in the second session, moving up into eighth place with a time of 1'38.905 and with more references to use tomorrow during the qualifying sessions that will establish Sunday?s race grid.

This weekend signifies the final round of the season for the Superstock 1000 Championship, where Team Althea will fight for its first win of the season with rider Raffaele De Rosa.

De Rosa closed day one by scoring overall fourth place, with a time of 1'40.528, just 0.042 from the leader. After testing various set-up solutions ahead of the race, tomorrow?s work will focus on finding the best pace and fighting to obtain pole position.

Niccol? Canepa: ?It?s been a positive day for me, as I?ve been fast and positioned towards the front in both sessions. Despite having changed the bike?s set-up dramatically since Jerez, we?ve found the right direction to take today. Tomorrow we have more to test in order to push for the fast times, in the hope that the weather conditions also remain stable.?

Matteo Baiocco: ?I hadn?t been to Magny-Cours for five years and so it took a little time to find the right feeling and references with the track. I?m inside the top ten, currently lying eighth, but am confident that we can improve on our performance tomorrow. We have some changes to make ahead of the races in which I will need to try and be as consistent as possible and where the weather remains the biggest question mark.?

 

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Second row for Guintoli at home

Sylvain Guintoli will start tomorrow?s two 12th round World Superbike championship races from the second row of the grid after setting the fifth-fastest time in Superpole at Magny-Cours in France.

With steady rain falling on the second Superpole session of the afternoon, the Pata Honda rider took his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP around the damp 4.411km Magny-Cours circuit in a time of 1m57.839s as British rider Leon Haslam took pole position.

Guintoli pushed a little too hard to improve his time and crashed unhurt exiting the infamous Adelaide hairpin. The 33-year-old French ace was able to rejoin but a red flag shortly afterwards brought all riders back into the pits. With two-and-a-half minutes remaining, Guintoli was planning another assault on the front row but handlebar damage from the earlier crash ended his Superpole.

His Pata Honda team-mate Michael van der Mark, endured a difficult day at Magny-Cours, despite making a step forward in the final free practice session. The Dutch rider was forced to sit out much of the earlier FP3 following a technical problem and could not elevate himself on the timing sheets for a Superpole 2 slot.

Instead, van der Mark, 22, started well in Superpole 1 but found that a lack of grip at the rear prevented any further progress. He came into the pits for some adjustments to his CBR but was unable to improve and will consequently start tomorrow?s two 21-lap races from 15th place on the grid.

Sylvain Guintoli - P5
Fifth is OK I guess, especially after crashing, and I think it?s probably as good as we could have hoped for in the dry. I was improving during the session and getting the lap time down, so it?s not so bad, but it might have been better without the crash. There?s not too much grip here in the wet so you have to keep going and build the temperature in the tyres and build your confidence at the same time, step by step. You can very easily make a mistake, exactly like I did, but to be fair the bike felt quite good. I was just building the session towards the end but then we couldn?t restart after the red flag because the handlebars were broken. It?s a shame about the little slide, but no damage and no injuries, so we?ll be alright for tomorrow.

Michael van der Mark - P15
We had a little problem this morning which took away some track time but we changed a couple of things and made a step forward in FP4. In the end the lap time was OK and the overall pace wasn?t too bad and I think we made some progress but then the rain came down before Superpole. There was just no grip and I had to come in because it didn?t feel good. We changed a bit but there was still no grip and very little feeling from the rear.

Pieter Breddels - technical co-ordinator
This morning was not so good for Michael but FP4 was a much better session and he improved his lap time quite a bit, so there was some progress in the dry. Superpole was wet, however, and he came in after a small moment. We tried to do something with the tyre pressure and the settings and sent him back out again but, in the end, he didn?t have quite enough laps to get into a rhythm. With Sylvain we continued looking for an improvement in the set-up and ended up close to the setting we started with yesterday. That was enough to see him go directly to Superpole 2, which was wet. He ended up fifth, in spite of a small crash, so it?s all to play for tomorrow.

Qualifying position
1 Leon Haslam 1'56.404 GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
2 Jonathan Rea 1'56.408 GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
3 Niccolo Canepa 1'56.912 ITA KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
4 Chanon Chumjai 1'57.049 BMW RAC Oil Racing Team
5 Sylvain Guintoli 1'57.839 FRA HONDA Pata Honda
6 Luca Scassa 1'57.991 ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
7 Leon Camier 1'59.768 GBR MV AGUSTA MV Agusta Repart Corse
8 Ayrton Badovini 2'00.676 ITA BMW JR Racing Team
9 Tom Sykes 2'01.144 GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
10 Markus Reiterberger 2'01.800 GER BMW VanZon Remeha BMW
11 Alex Lowes 2'02.227 GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
12 Jordi Torres 2'02.379 ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
13 Matteo Baiocco 1'59.117 DUCATI Althea Racing
14 Leandro Mercado 1'59.446 DUCATI BARNI Racing Team
15 Michael van der Mark 2'00.528 NED HONDA Pata Honda Championship standings
1 Jonathan Rea 528 pts GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
2 Chaz Davies 383 pts GBR DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
3 Tom Sykes 367 pts GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
4 Leon Haslam 297 pts GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
5 Jordi Torres 222 pts ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
6 Sylvain Guintoli 201 pts FRA HONDA Pata Honda
7 Michael van der Mark 170 pts NED HONDA Pata Honda
8 Matteo Baiocco 138 pts DUCATI Althea Racing
9 Alex Lowes 136 pts GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
10 Leandro Mercado 125 pts DUCATI BARNI Racing Team
11 Davide Giugliano 119 pts ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
12 Ayrton Badovini 92 pts ITA BMW JR Racing Team
13 Leon Camier 89 pts GBR MV AGUSTA MV Agusta Repart Corse
14 Roman Ramos 71 pts ESP KAWASAKI Team Go Eleven
15 David Salom 67 pts ESP KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
16 Nicolas Terol 54 pts ESP DUCATI Althea Racing
17 Niccolo Canepa 47 pts ITA KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
18 Randy de Puniet 39 pts FRA SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
19 Xavi Fores 38 pts DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
20 Max Biaggi 36 pts ITA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
21 Michele Pirro 35 pts ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
22 Santiago Barragan 17 pts KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
23 Troy Bayliss 16 pts DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
24 Michel Fabrizio 13 pts ITA DUCATI Althea Racing
25 Christophe Ponsson 11 pts KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
26 Luca Scassa 10 pts ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
27 Sylvain Barrier 10 pts FRA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team
28 Gianluca Vizziello 8 pts ITA KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
29 Markus Reiterberger 6 pts GER BMW VanZon Remeha BMW
30 Imre Toth 5 pts HUN BMW BMW Team Toth
31 Gabor Rizmayer 3 pts HUN BMW BMW Team Toth
32 Jed Metcher 2 pts KAWASAKI Race Center - Demolition Plus
33 Larry Pegram 2 pts EBR Team Hero EBR
34 Anucha Nakcharoensri 0 pts HONDA YSS TS Racing
35 Javier Alviz 0 pts KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
36 Ireneusz Sikora 0 pts BMW BMW Team Toth
37 Greg Gildenhuys 0 pts KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
38 Chanon Chumjai 0 pts BMW RAC Oil Racing Team

 

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Rea Second After Wet Superpole At Magny-Cours

New World Champion Jonathan Rea (KRT) was only 0.004 seconds from the Superpole winning time at Magny-Cours and thus he will start Sunday?s races from second place on the grid after a dramatic and wet Superpole 2. Tom Sykes (KRT) fell in the tricky conditions and despite being unable to make the restart of Superpole 2 he finished ninth, for a third row start to Sunday?s races.

Rea had been fastest in regular qualifying and Sykes fourth, but with a sudden change in weather conditions Superpole was run in full wet conditions, undoing all the team?s preparations for a time.
It was looking good for Rea to earn another Superpole win right at the end of the restarted session, but he lost his advantage in the final sector by exercising caution in the final downhill run to the last corners. Leon Haslam (Aprilia) took pole despite having crashed out shortly before the end.
Sykes was unable to get the required heat into his wet tyres and slid off without injury at high speed. He had already set a time good enough to get him into the top ten. He will now have work to do to clear traffic in the early laps of Sunday?s races at a circuit he has enjoyed success at in the past.
Whatever the race day weather brings now the team and riders have gained experience in all track conditions, and will be ready to face the scheduled 21 laps in each race.
Jonathan Rea stated: ?I was so nervous because going down the last hill into the final complex it is like a sheet of water and there were no riders in front to make a line. Every lap I was so nervous there. I saw on the big screen that my sectors were red, red, red, meaning I was fastest but I just bottled it in the last part! Everything was going good earlier in Superpole and I was P2, P2 and then the red flag came. I went back to pitlane and nobody was in the Superpole enclosure. My crew chief Pere said, ?pitlane opens again in ten seconds.? So I had to go again, with the same tyres. The problem is keeping heat in the tyres because I had slowed down and come back into pitlane. I had some moments on my out lap under deceleration, which is the main issue we need to improve in wet conditions. But it was fun. To be on the front row is good because we have done a lot of work over the weekend in dry conditions. Then being suddenly thrown a wet session, which I was nervous of, a front row start was the best we could have hoped for.?
Tom Sykes stated: ?It was such a shame to fall but we did not have the initial grip in the first two laps and I was waiting for the tyre to come to me. I had a crash with no warning so it is just one of those things. The track grip was at a low level and the temperature was very low. It was a very fast crash and there was no time to save it. With the one bike rule, it was game over, so I was disappointed with that. After the fall I was expecting to be last in the session so I was much better off than I thought. From the third row tomorrow it will be a little bit harder in the beginning. Tough, but not impossible. At the start you are only a few metres off the leading bike so we just need to make it count in the first few laps.?
David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) was 20th after not setting a lap in Superpole 1. Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) placed himself 18th on the grid for Sunday?s races.

 

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Magny Cours (France) 3 October 2015

A fantastic Superpole for Niccol? Canepa who scored a front row start, in third position, for tomorrow?s races. Matteo Baiocco will line up on the fifth row, in fifteenth place.

The rain made an appearance at the French track of Magny Cours today, starting to fall heavily just before the start of the Superpole. The difficulty for the riders who were straight out on track lay in identifying the best wet set-up and making best use of the tyres.

Canepa who, thanks to the seventh fastest time in qualifying, progressed directly to Superpole 2, immediately found the right feeling with his bike and, lap after lap, he improved his times, to close in overall third position. The Italian did well to not lose his concentration, something that can happen in these conditions, causing a crash. Many other riders did crash in fact while pushing for the fastest time. A front row start for Canepa, making it two in a row after that of Jerez two weeks ago.

Baiocco was obliged to take part in Superpole 1 after having closed qualifying in twelfth place. Despite setting best time of 1'59.117 that positioned him first until one minute from the end of the session, he was unable to complete the final lap that would have undoubtedly positioned him in the top two. Camier and Scassa were able to do so on the other hand, making the most of the final two minutes and moving in front of Matteo, who closed in third position. Only the first two riders in Superpole 1 proceed to Superpole 2.

In the Superstock 1000 championship, Raffaele de Rosa will line up in ninth position tomorrow after a qualifying session in which he rode his Ducati in the wet for the first time. Having never tested it in the rain, De Rosa made a cautious start and, in trying to find the right feeling, he crashed, fortunately without consequences, four minutes from the end while improving his times. Tomorrow he will try to make a good start and fight for the podium, well within his reach.

Niccol? Canepa: ?Having not yet ridden in the wet this weekend, I preferred to use the first few laps to find the right feeling with the bike. The set-up was good and lap after lap I found the right confidence that allowed me to achieve final third place. I am pleased with this front row start and confident ahead of the races.?


Matteo Baiocco: ?The session didn?t go as I wanted. I was fast and missed out on participating in Superpole 2 by so little. I?m sorry because with my time I could have started much further forward but I?m optimistic ahead of the races anyway. I could have done a lot more but the potential to do well tomorrow is there and I want to complete two top-level races.?

 

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SUPERPOLE ?SPILLS? HITS VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI

Blue skies and sunshine gave way to the first wet qualifying of the year for Voltcom Crescent Suzuki?s Alex Lowes and Randy de Puniet as the heavens opened at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours this afternoon.

Saturday?s two free practice sessions began by enjoying similar conditions to the previous 24-hours, as Lowes continued hunting the top-six. His lap-times consistent as he worked through his 38 laps, the British racer was confident of his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R heading into the Superpole qualifying. The curse of the Magny-Cours weather, however, had other ideas, with heavy rain engulfing the circuit just minutes before qualifying commenced. Lowes struggled to find a rhythm with his Suzuki?s wet-settings, succumbing to the conditions at the sweeping ?Estoril Turn Three? - his 2?02.227 lap-time placing him 11th in the times and sitting on row four for Sunday?s contests.

De Puniet also fell-foul of the rain-soaked circuit, crashing at the same corner as his team-mate on his third lap of the opening Superpole session. His previous lap-time of 2?06.621 left the French racer ninth in the session and places his Suzuki GSX-R1000 19th on the grid for his two 21-lap home races tomorrow.

The dedicated spectators remaining through the downpour witnessed Aprilia?s Leon Haslam snatch the Pole Position with a 1?56.404, despite also taking a tumble in the session?s dying minutes, as Superpole claimed six crashes and two trips through the gravel during its 30 minutes of track time.

Hoping for a brighter forecast, Voltcom Crescent Suzuki returns to Magny-Cours at 08:40hrs local time (07:40BST) tomorrow for warm-up ahead of the day?s two races at 10:30 and 13:10 (09:30 and 12:10BST) respectively.

Alex Lowes:

?I?ve not got much to say as it was my worst qualifying of the season. I will start 11th on the grid for tomorrow so I?ve not made it easy for myself. Hopefully the conditions will be better for the races and we can put in a good fight. We?ve had a good weekend so far, so this is disappointing but as always we will be back doing our best and hope to enjoy the races tomorrow.?

Randy de Puniet:

?Today is the worst weather I have ridden in for a long time, there was no grip and the track was so slippery. I crashed at turn three but I don?t really know why. I didn?t have a good feeling with the bike from the start of the session and my lap times were slow; Alex crashed as well, so it was a session to forget. I am hoping for better weather for tomorrow, to make some adjustments during warm-up and to enjoy two consistent races and score some good points for my home round.?

Magny-Cours? eni FIM Superbike World Championship ? Superpole: 1. Leon Haslam (Aprilia) 1?56.404: 2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) +0.004: 3. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) +0.508: 4. Chaz Davies (Ducati) +0.645: 5. Sylvain Guintoli (Honda) +1.435. 11. Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) +5.823: 19: Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) SP1.

 

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Guintoli podium tops fine day in France for Pata Honda

Sylvain Guintoli scored his first podium of the 2016 season today, taking his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP to third place in the first of two 12th round World Superbike championship races at Magny-Cours in France.

His Pata Honda team-mate, Michael van der Mark, also put in two stunning performances, starting from 15th place on the grid and taking fourth place in each of today?s races, both of which were won by Jonathan Rea.

Guintoli was relishing the prospect of a wet race after yesterday?s rain failed to dry overnight and he was duly rewarded with a damp 4.411km track this morning. Starting from fifth place on the grid, the 33-year-old delighted the partisan crowd with a good start and kept in touch with the leaders, passing Chaz Davies for third and never looking back.

The French rider was not so confident with his dry set-up but those were the conditions as race two began. After another strong start, Guintoli settled into a relatively lonely sixth place and brought his CBR home for a solid points haul.

Van der Mark endured a difficult qualifying session yesterday at Magny-Cours and ended up on the outside of the fifth row of the grid. However, superb starts in both races allowed him to get close to the leading riders in both wet and dry conditions.

In race two particularly, the 22-year-old Dutch ace showed impressive pace by riding around the outside of Leon Haslam on to the back straight at Magny-Cours. Van der Mark?s times in the closing laps of the race matched those of the podium finishers and he takes renewed confidence into the final round of the season at Losail in Qatar in two weeks.

Sylvain Guintoli - 3rd and 6th
It was good to grab the opportunity with the wet conditions in race one and bring home the first podium of the season. Race two was dry but it was OK ? P6 was not too bad, and I would definitely have taken that yesterday morning. We made a few changes from the last dry session in FP4 yesterday to improve the pace and we used the SC0 tyre. I thought the other tyre would drop in performance but the guys in front seemed to be on that one. The important thing was that it was two solid races. To be on the podium at home was what I really wanted to do, so it?s been a good performance from the whole team. Now we?re looking forward to the final round in Qatar to finish the season on a high.

Michael van der Mark - 4th and 4th
It?s been an awesome day because we?ve had some problems all weekend, not only on Friday and Saturday but also in Superpole yesterday. I wasn?t really happy and then the warm-up was wet this morning. It was OK though, and I had such a good start to race one. I took a lot of risks but the bike felt really good, even though I missed a bit of acceleration. I was really happy with fourth and happy for Sylvain to be on the podium because he also worked really hard. For race two we changed some settings on the front for the dry and it worked perfectly. I got a really good start again and fought my way round the outside and ended up in a nice battle with Sylvain. There was a gap to Leon [Haslam] and I had to make a bit of a move to get by him. Our bike is not quite as fast as his and I had to make so much spee d going on to the back straight that I had no choice really. I was not really sure about making the move but I was quite happy with how it worked out! Then I saw the pace of Sykes in third was dropping a little so I kept pushing in case it dropped more. But I?m really happy with another fourth place and want to thank the guys in my crew who did a fantastic job today.

Pieter Breddels - technical co-ordinator
The conditions were strange today with a wet race and a dry race, but we know that Sylvain is strong in the wet. We?re very happy to finally get a podium with him at his home race, and it?s great for his team, too. Michael started from 15th on the grid and got a good start in race one. He caught Sylvain but then had a little problem and had to slow the pace a bit. He raced really well in race two and passed Haslam to secure another fourth with a fantastic manoeuvre and then was matching the lap times of the race winner, so well done to Mikey and his team.

Event results - Round 12- Race 1
1 Jonathan Rea 36'29.856 GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
2 Tom Sykes 4.711 GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
3 Sylvain Guintoli 14.683 FRA HONDA Pata Honda
4 Michael van der Mark 22.772 NED HONDA Pata Honda
5 Leon Camier 30.136 GBR MV AGUSTA MV Agusta Repart Corse
6 Chaz Davies 31.528 GBR DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
7 Matteo Baiocco 32.129 DUCATI Althea Racing
8 Alex Lowes 39.034 GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
9 Leandro Mercado 1'01.396 DUCATI BARNI Racing Team
10 Niccolo Canepa 1'07.845 ITA KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
11 Gianluca Vizziello 1'09.622 ITA KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
12 Jordi Torres 1'16.782 ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
13 Luca Scassa 1'19.531 ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
14 Ayrton Badovini 1'26.459 ITA BMW JR Racing Team
15 Roman Ramos 1'30.260 ESP KAWASAKI Team Go Eleven
16 Leon Haslam 1 Lap GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
17 Gabor Rizmayer 1 Lap HUN BMW BMW Team Toth
18 Christophe Ponsson 1 Lap KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team Event results - Round 12- Race 2
1 Jonathan Rea 34'40.147 GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
2 Chaz Davies 2.848 GBR DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
3 Tom Sykes 6.551 GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
4 Michael van der Mark 10.202 NED HONDA Pata Honda
5 Leon Haslam 12.921 GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
6 Sylvain Guintoli 19.885 FRA HONDA Pata Honda
7 Niccolo Canepa 24.248 ITA KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
8 Jordi Torres 27.248 ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
9 Luca Scassa 29.220 ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
10 Alex Lowes 32.799 GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
11 Matteo Baiocco 37.183 DUCATI Althea Racing
12 Leandro Mercado 37.347 DUCATI BARNI Racing Team
13 Markus Reiterberger 43.676 GER BMW VanZon Remeha BMW
14 David Salom 45.943 ESP KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
15 Leon Camier 47.982 GBR MV AGUSTA MV Agusta Repart Corse Championship standings
1 Jonathan Rea 528 pts GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
2 Chaz Davies 383 pts GBR DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
3 Tom Sykes 367 pts GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
4 Leon Haslam 297 pts GBR APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
5 Jordi Torres 222 pts ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
6 Sylvain Guintoli 201 pts FRA HONDA Pata Honda
7 Michael van der Mark 170 pts NED HONDA Pata Honda
8 Matteo Baiocco 138 pts DUCATI Althea Racing
9 Alex Lowes 136 pts GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
10 Leandro Mercado 125 pts DUCATI BARNI Racing Team
11 Davide Giugliano 119 pts ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
12 Ayrton Badovini 92 pts ITA BMW JR Racing Team
13 Leon Camier 89 pts GBR MV AGUSTA MV Agusta Repart Corse
14 Roman Ramos 71 pts ESP KAWASAKI Team Go Eleven
15 David Salom 67 pts ESP KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
16 Nicolas Terol 54 pts ESP DUCATI Althea Racing
17 Niccolo Canepa 47 pts ITA KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
18 Randy de Puniet 39 pts FRA SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
19 Xavi Fores 38 pts DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
20 Max Biaggi 36 pts ITA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils
21 Michele Pirro 35 pts ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
22 Santiago Barragan 17 pts KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
23 Troy Bayliss 16 pts DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
24 Michel Fabrizio 13 pts ITA DUCATI Althea Racing
25 Christophe Ponsson 11 pts KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
26 Luca Scassa 10 pts ITA DUCATI Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team
27 Sylvain Barrier 10 pts FRA BMW BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team
28 Gianluca Vizziello 8 pts ITA KAWASAKI Grillini SBK Team
29 Markus Reiterberger 6 pts GER BMW VanZon Remeha BMW
30 Imre Toth 5 pts HUN BMW BMW Team Toth
31 Gabor Rizmayer 3 pts HUN BMW BMW Team Toth
32 Jed Metcher 2 pts KAWASAKI Race Center - Demolition Plus
33 Larry Pegram 2 pts EBR Team Hero EBR
34 Anucha Nakcharoensri 0 pts HONDA YSS TS Racing
35 Javier Alviz 0 pts KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
36 Ireneusz Sikora 0 pts BMW BMW Team Toth
37 Greg Gildenhuys 0 pts KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
38 Chanon Chumjai 0 pts BMW RAC Oil Racing Team

 

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Double Win For Rea And Double Podium For Sykes In France

Jonathan Rea (KRT) took the 13th and 14th race wins of his remarkable championship-winning season today during the 12th round of the FIM Superbike World Championship at Magny-Cours in France. He also broke through the 500 points mark, with one round and two races still to go. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was second and then third at Magny-Cours, to draw himself closer to second place in the championship standings.

After an oil spill on the wet track surface at the end of morning warm-up session the first race start was delayed and cut to 19-laps. The riders had to finally contend with a wet but drying track surface and a nervous first few laps.
The second race at the 4.411km circuit was held in dry but not ideal conditions after the track had to be heavily cleaned following the morning oil spill.
In the first race of the day Rea led for the first two laps, until he got demoted to second for a time by Sykes. Tom had been fourth after one lap, having started from ninth place on the grid. Rea waited until three laps from the end to take the lead again and earn his first ever WorldSBK race win at Magny-Cours. Sykes stuck to his task behind Rea but finally slowed to make sure he would take second place and another 20 championship points.
In the full-distance 21-lap second race, slightly delayed from its original starting time after a red flag in the earlier FIM Supersport World Championship fight, Chaz Davies led for nine laps before Rea took control, and won by 2.848 seconds while easing up over the line. Sykes, looking good for second again, could not pick up the pace at the end as he had used up his tyre in the early laps. He still scored his 13th podium of the season.
Rea now has 528 points and a lead of 145 over second place rider Chaz Davies. Sykes has 367 points, and has 16 points to make up over Davies in the final round at Qatar on October 18th to move into second place in the final points standings.
Jonathan Rea: ?I am super-happy, especially to win in the wet and the dry. It was a double bonus. It was tough because I came here off the back of being really busy after winning the title in Jerez so I did not get too much down time, and my typical training week was out of the window. When I got back here it was just so important to me to get back on the podium. Pirelli brought my favourite SC2 front tyre and immediately from the first session I felt really comfortable again. So I am really happy to have come out and not just have two podium finishes but a double win at a circuit I have never won at before.?
Tom Sykes: ?Two podiums today but things could have been even better. In race two we had the exact same bike set-up as we had in free practice and we had such a great feeling and great consistency then. The only thing I can think of is that today, with no rubber on the track, it looks like it did not accept the change. We used our package a bit too much and certainly used the tyres too much and for that we were not able to finish off the corners in some areas, and that proved costly. In race one we had a good race in the first half but it just did not stick in there in the drying conditions.?
David Salom (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) had a DNF in race one, followed up by being 14th in race two. Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven Kawasaki) scored a point in race one, for 15th place, but just missed out again by being 16th in the second. Salom is only three points behind Ramos, in 15th position overall, with one round remaining.

 

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Magny Cours (France), 4 October 2015

The penultimate round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship has concluded at the French track of Magny Cours.

Niccol? Canepa concludes race 1 in tenth place and race 2 seventh, while Matteo Baiocco closed seventh in the first race and eleventh in race 2.

It was already a difficult morning with riders having to deal with a wet warm-up session as a result of overnight rain. The short session also closed prematurely after a crash for another rider left oil on the track. Subsequent sessions were delayed and other warm-ups cancelled as a result.

In race 1 riders took to the track with rain tyres despite the fact that it was no longer raining. Baiocco made a cautious start, not wanting to make mistakes and despite having started further back on the grid he was able to make a great recovery. After executing a series of perfect passes, he was forced to manage the tyre wear in the later stages, closing the race in seventh place.

Canepa unfortunately had to deal with a technical problem that slowed him down throughout the entire race. Niccol?, having started from the front row, did his best to limit the damage, concluding nevertheless inside the top ten.

In race 2 weather conditions had improved and the temperature was higher. With a different set-up and tyres, Canepa was able to put together a good race this time around, sticking with the leading group. He crossed the line in final seventh position. Baiocco struggled with a physical problem (likely an intestinal virus) but by gritting his teeth he was able to finish eleventh, consolidating his position ? eighth ? in the general standings.

The Superstock 1000 Championship concluded today, with Althea rider Raffaele De Rosa a frontrunner in the difficult but exciting race. After yesterday?s qualifying, Raffaele started the race in ninth position and was already able to make up several places in the early stages, soon moving into the lead, a position he was able to hold for several laps.

Unfortunately he had to use the tyres more than usual in order to catch up and suffered a sudden drop in performance as a result. He was overtaken on the penultimate lap by Guarnoni and Calia, to conclude in third place. The sixth podium of the season, out of eight races, for De Rosa, who concludes the Superstock 1000 championship in final third position.

Matteo Baiocco: ?It?s been a positive Sunday for me. In race 1 I really had fun, I had a great wet set-up and completed a good race. In the final stages a drop in tyre performance forced me to manage the situation and I closed seventh but I?m pleased with how I did. In race 2 I didn?t do so well also because I was feeling unwell. Now we focus on Qatar where I want to do as well as possible in the final races of the year.?

Niccol? Canepa: ?Overall I?m satisfied with my performance this weekend, as I was constantly among the frontrunners. Unfortunately in race 1 I was slowed down by a technical problem that really made me suffer. I?m sorry because I could have done very well. In race 2 I maintained a strong pace to close seventh, a good result. Now we go to Doha where I?ll try to close the season on a high.?

Raffaele De Rosa: ?The race was very difficult because I was started from further back on the grid. I held the lead for several laps and did all I could to win the race. It wasn?t easy even though I fought all the way to the end. I want to thank my team, Genesio Bevilacqua, and my family for believing in me and giving me the great opportunity I have had this season.?

 

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MIXED MAGNY-COURS FOR VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI

2015?s penultimate race saw Voltcom Crescent Suzuki?s Alex Lowes power through to take two top-ten finishes at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France, despite his high-speed crash in qualifying yesterday.

A wet track greeted the Superbike World Championship for the early warm-up but a problem with Marcus Reiterberger?s wildcard BMW towards the end of the 15 minutes session left a covering of oil on the already slippery surface ? bringing out the red flags and delaying the first race by 15 minutes. With the race declared wet, and reduced to 19-laps, the question of tyre-life hung in the air ? the rain had abated but how quickly the evolving surface would dry remained an unknown.

Yesterday?s crash in Superpole had left Lowes with little wet knowledge of his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R, so he tentatively judged his feel as the lights went out. The British racer?s pace improving as his confidence in the conditions grew, Lowes concluded the opening contest in a strong eighth position and with the weather brightening he was looking forward to the second race.

The sun shone brightly as the afternoon grid formed, but the wrong choice of tyre proved costly for Lowes, making challenging work of the final 21-lap race. Dropping down the order in the early laps, he struggled to pass his competitors without running wide, but true to style he dug deep to regain the top-10 and claim 14 points overall from the day?s efforts.

Randy de Puniet concluded a frustrating home race with just one 18th place finish from the afternoon battle, having struggled to gel his Suzuki GSX-R1000 with the Magny-Cours track. The Frenchman was keen to perform in front of his native fans but a lack of grip in the wet race brought about an early retirement on lap 11, after previously pitting for a new rear tyre failed to improve his situation. The second race looked more promising as de Puniet diced with the mid-pack but it was ultimately not to be as he crossed the line out of the points.

World Champion Jonathan Rea proved Jerez was a misnomer as he returned to the top step of the podium in both today?s wet and dry conditions, while his Kawasaki team-mate Tom Sykes and Ducati challenger Chaz Davies continued their fight for the runner?s up spot claiming a second place apiece in front of the 23,000 passionate Gallic-fans.
Lowes and de Puniet now have their sights firmly set on the 2015 finale, as Voltcom Crescent Suzuki prepares for the journey east, to Qatar?s capital Doha, for the concluding round of the Superbike World Championship under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit on Sunday October 19th.

Alex Lowes:

?Tyre performance was the main story for us today. We chose the hard tyre as we had struggled to make the soft option work over long distance, and when we changed the bike settings to run the soft, it created problems in other areas. We were running about half a second down on our FP3 pace, but as the track was quicker today that ultimately dropped us a second a lap. It?s disappointing as we had been running top-six for the majority of the weekend, but eighth and 10th in the changing conditions is at least an improvement from last year! Now we have the night race, and the season finale to look forward to, so we will get our heads down and look forward to Qatar.?

Randy de Puniet:

?It was a really, really difficult weekend. I?m really disappointed because it was my home race. In race one the feeling was bad, I had no entry-grip and I locked the rear so I decided to stop, change the tyre and make some adjustments but it was the same. In race two I started ok and was in the back of the group for the top-10 but I was over the limit, again locked the engine-brake on some corners and finally I went straight-on. I changed the mapping but in the end I finished 18th. I am really disappointed but I hope I can finish well in Qatar so we will concentrate on this.?

Paul Denning ? Team Manager:

?It was really a disappointing race day at Magny-Cours, the only positive being that Alex was able to compete at all after such a big crash and impact yesterday. The difficult wet qualifying performance yesterday and the crash itself meant that Alex needed to feel his way in to the level of grip in the first race and once he?d done that he made impressive improvements to eighth place. The dry race was an opportunity to do well as Alex had been in the top-six all weekend in every dry session, but the bottom line is we selected the wrong rear tyre and tenth place was the absolute maximum that could be achieved. We need to learn from this and move forward.

?Randy also had a tough day, and while he didn?t have any issues with the bike, the pace was simply not there. Let?s look forward to Qatar in two weeks? time and we will do our best as a team to make full potential of the bike?s performance.?

Magny-Cours ? eni FIM Superbike World Championship ? Race One: 1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 36?29.856: 2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) +4.711: 3. Sylvain Guintoli (Honda) +14.683: 4. Michael van der Mark (Honda) +22.772: 5. Leon Camier (MV Agusta) +30.136: 8. Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) +39.034. DNF Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki).

Magny-Cours ? eni FIM Superbike World Championship ? Race Two: 1. Rea 34?40.147: 2. Chaz Davies (Ducati) +2.848: 3. Sykes +6.551: 4. van der Mark +10.202: 5. Leon Haslam (Aprilia) +12.921: 10. Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) +32.799. 18. Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) +1?15.533.


World Championship Classification: 1. Rea 528: 2. Davies 383: 3. Sykes 367: 4. Haslam 297: 5. Torres 222. 9. Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) 135. 18. Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) 39.