Motul FIM Superbike World Championship
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France
October 2, 2016
Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 21 laps, Total Race Time 34:29.197, Best Lap Time 1:38.185
2. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -2.091 seconds, 1:37.883
3. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -2.586, 1:37.864
4. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta 1000 F4), -9.154, 1:38.357
5. Michael VAN DER MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -11.020, 1:38.357
6. Lorenzo SAVADORI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -16.062, 1:38.613
7. Jordi TORRES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), -18.242, 1:38.866
8. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Yam YZF-R1), -18.951, 1:39.052
9. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -19.099, 1:38.832
10. Xavi FORÉS, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), -24.627, 1:39.018
11. Josh BROOKES, Australia (BMW S1000RR), -31.514, 1:39.030
12. Markus REITERBERGER, Germany (BMW S1000RR), -35.664, 1:39.482
13. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -51.053, 1:40.101
14. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -54.239, 1:40.140
15. Matthieu LAGRIVE, France (Kaw ZX-10R), -59.954, 1:40.873
16. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (BMW S1000RR), -72.959, 1:40.956
17. Gianluca VIZZIELLO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -78.008, 1:41.045
18. Peter SEBESTYEN, Hungary (Yamaha YZF-R1), -79.245, 1:41.614
19. Alex LOWES, UK (Yamaha YZF-R1), -87.462, crash, 1:38.845
20. Alex PLANCASSAGNE, France (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap, 1:43.068
21. Imre TOTH, Hungary (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap, 1:45.377
22. Saeed AL SULAITI, Qatar (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -8 laps, DNF, retired, 1:42.533
23. Matthieu LUSSIANA, France (BMW S1000RR), -11 laps, DNF, retired, 1:41.669
24. Luca SCASSA, Italy (Duc Panigale R), -21 laps, DNF, crash, no lap time recorded
25. Dominic SCHMITTER, Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX-10R), DNS
26. Davide GIUGLIANO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), DNS
World Championship Point Standings (after 22 of 26 races):
1. Rea, 426 points
2. Sykes, 378
3. Davies, 345
4. Van Der Mark, 234
5. Hayden, 202
6. Giugliano, 194
7. Torres, 179
8. Camier, 156
9. Fores, 133
10. Savadori, 131
11. Lowes, 107
12. Guintoli, 91
13. De Angelis, 88
14. Brookes, 78
15. Ramos, 76
16. Reiterberger, 72
17. West, 55
18. Abraham, 33
19. Niccolo Canepa, 30
20. Matteo Baiocco, 12
21. Lagrive, 11
22. Scassa, 10
23. Lucas Mahias, 9
24. Cameron Beaubier, 6
25. TIE, Raffaele De Rosa/Schmitter, 5
27. TIE, Vizziello/Szkopek, 3
29. TIE, Mike Jones/Josh Hook/Sylvain Barrier, 2
32. TIE, Al Sulaiti/Lussiana, 1
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
Davies Does The Double
– The Welshman paints Magny-Cours Red –
Race 2 of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship got underway at Magny-Cours on Sunday with almost perfect conditions setting the scene for a magnificent day of racing. Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Chaz Davies stole the show once again to take the double for a fifth time in his career. Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes put on an incredible show battling for the podium to finish in second and third.
The opening lap saw pole man Jonathan Rea rush ahead to lead into the first corner, with Chaz Davies right behind. Tom Sykes swooped around on the second corner to steal the lead and pull away while Davies took second. With a three way English fight out the front, MV Agusta Reparto Corse rider Leon Camier and Honda World Superbike Team’s Michael van der Mark were left behind to fight it out for fourth.
Sykes was unbeatable setting a new lap record early on as he took his Kawasaki to its limit, putting seconds between Davies and teammate Rea. But it wasn’t long before Rea slipped passed Davies to begin the hunt for Sykes.
The last five laps of the race saw an intense battle break out between the two Kawasakis as the lead alternated between Rea and Sykes, with many tight overtaking moves keeping French fans on the edge of their seats. An almost impossible overtake attempt by Sykes on Rea saw Davies take advantage of the opening and shoot ahead with a couple of laps to go. Once in front the Welshman didn’t look back until the chequered flag saw him secure his second win at the Fassi French Round.
Leon Camier eventually beat van der Mark to fourth with the Dutchman taking fifth ahead of IodaRacing Team’s Lorenzo Savadori. While further down the order PATA Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team’s Sylvain Guintoli tried to hold off Honda World Superbike Team’s Nicky Hayden, Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) and Althea BMW Racing Team’s Jordi Torres in a battle of their own, but eventually lost the fight and finished in eighth. Torres finished ahead of the Frenchman in seventh. Hayden ended the battle in ninth with Fores rounding out the top ten.
Josh Brookes (Milwaukee BMW) came home in P11 with Markus Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing Team) drastically improving his weekend to finish in P12. Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN) picked up important points in P13 with Alex De Angelis (IodaRacing Team) and Frenchman Matthieu Lagrive (Pedercini Racing) rounding out the points in P14 and P15 respectively.
With Sykes taking away important points from teammate Jonathan Rea, the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship fight goes to Round 12 in Jerez on the 14-16th of October, with only 48 points separating them.
Quotes from the top three riders:
1st place
C.Davies (Ducati): “That was one of the best wins of my career. Just to hang on from the start I really struggled. The pace was decent but I couldn’t make those few tenths to follow Tom. Then Jonny came by and I couldn’t see where I could make the time up. I was kind of relying on them dropping off which at the end they did. I stayed consistent. I was a little bit lucky with the mistake from both of them at the hairpin. I couldn’t see an opportunity to pass apart from forcing one. That opened the door for me and then I knew it was a case of hammer down for a few laps and make sure I have got a gap to give them no chance to come back at me. Incredible and definitely one of the sweetest wins of my career.”
2nd Place
J.Rea (Kawasaki): “Tom is riding at such a good level that it is so hard to pass somebody who is riding really well. I spent so much energy trying to get back into the group. I led going into T6 and Tom stopped me, then Chaz got back underneath and I lost a lot of momentum there and it took so much energy, physical energy and concentration to get back into the group. At that part of the race my pace was quite good, Tom was away and then I put myself in between Chaz and Tom, I caught Tom, but when I made the pass I left the door open for Chaz. So congratulations to Chaz, I had nothing for him in the end. But I did my best and I put everything I could into the race. I’m really happy with second place because it is the best I could do today.”
3rd Place
T.Sykes (Kawasaki): “The good thing is we have been consistent all weekend in all conditions, but it is a big shame to miss out and to be third today. I found it very difficult trying to get into the corners. I lost the front twice up in the top hairpin. That’s no excuse, the two guys in front had great speed. We need to learn from this. Ultimately I feel more comfortable on the bike this weekend in general and that’s a positive. It’s just a bit late in the season, at least we are getting there. We have still got a lot of points and four races to come.”
More, from a press release issued by Althea BMW Racing:
Torres and Althea BMW seventh at Magny-Cours; podium for De Rosa, who keeps his STK1000 title hopes alive
Nevers (France), Sunday 2 October 2016
Today’s Superbike race saw the Althea BMW Racing team playing catch-up at Magny-Cours, with riders Jordi Torres and Markus Reiterberger ultimately closing in seventh and twelfth place respectively. In the Superstock 1000 championship, Raffaele De Rosa keeps his title hopes alive, finishing today’s penultimate race of the season in third place and reducing the gap to Mercado to just seven points.
Superstock 1000 – Race – From second on the grid, De Rosa got away very well, maintaining his position behind Mahias. Having been passed by Razgatlioglu, the Italian pushed hard to move back into second on lap eight. Aware that he needed to score as many points as possible in order to close the gap to the championship leader, De Rosa did everything he could to fight off the Turkish rider, but, after a series of spectacular passes in the final laps, he had to settle for third place.
With only one race left to run at Jerez in two weeks’ time, De Rosa is just seven points behind championship leader Mercado, meaning that there’s everything to play for on Spanish soil on 16 October.
Superbike – Race 2 – today’s race took place in dry conditions. Torres was lapping tenth through the opening laps, while Reiti made up many positions at the start, going from 20th on the grid to thirteenth place. While Torres hunted down fellow countryman Forés, passing him mid-race thanks to a superior pace, Reiterberger also gained another position. Over the course of the next few laps, Torres reached Hayden, and then Guintoli on the last lap, to cross the line in final seventh place. Markus maintained his position through the final stages to finish twelfth.
In the general standings, Jordi Torres continues to hold seventh place with 179 points, Reiterberger lies 16th with 72 points. BMW is fourth in the manufacturer’s classification with 200 points, while Althea BMW also lies fourth in the team rankings (256 points).
Jordi Torres:
“Today went a lot better than yesterday. Firstly this morning’s warm-up was very important, as we wanted to find the right feeling in the dry after yesterday’s full wet conditions. We worked well and I was feeling ready for the race. In the race itself I gave 100%, and was able to maintain a fast and consistent pace for almost the full distance. It was just a pity that at the start I lost some time with Lowes, but I gradually made that back up, getting into my rhythm and doing my best. I’m pleased because I feel that the bike is finally transmitting what we’ve been looking for…”
Markus Reiterberger:
“Twelfth position after injury and some bad races and crashes is not too bad. I’m not really satisfied of course, but the position is not so bad. It was a long race but I tried to push as hard as I could from beginning to end. We were losing a little too much in all sections, so we need to analyse the data and work out how we can improve for next time. I know we can do better. Thanks to my team for their hard work this weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Podiums For KRT Riders As Rea Extends His Championship Lead
Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes (KRT) finished second and third respectively in the second 21-lap FIM Superbike World Championship race at Magny Cours, with Rea extending his championship lead over his team-mate to 48 points.
Rea has scored nine race wins on the latest Ninja ZX-10R so far this season and Sykes five, but despite being joined in a battle out front for much of the 21 lap contest – held in fully dry conditions – the late pace of Saturday race winner Chaz Davies also gave him a win on Sunday.
With both official Kawasaki Racing Team riders keen to add to their race victory tallies, especially after Sykes had been third and Rea fourth in Saturday’s opener, the front-running action was close and competitive between the riders who still occupy first and second places in the championship.
The conditions of race two could not have been more different from the wet and drying track encountered on Saturday. The dry surface allowed Sykes to post a new lap record of 1m 37.864 seconds, on lap three, as he rode away out front to try and gap the field.
The undulations and heavy braking areas of the 4.411km Magny Cours circuit provided many passing opportunities for Rea after he had caught up with Sykes, but Tom proved determined to hold onto his lead. He only surrendered it on lap 16 – temporarily to Rea and then finally to Davies. Rea re-passed Sykes with four laps to go and set about trying to reel in Davies. Rea had lost too much ground by that stage but still scored his first podium of the weekend in second place.
The top three riders were covered by just over 2.5 seconds at the end, with Sykes half a second from Rea across the line. After race two in France Rea has now scored 84 podium places during his career and Sykes 81. In the current championship standings, Rea has 426 points, Sykes 378 and Davies 345.
The next races in the championship will take place on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th October, at Jerez in Spain. The last round will be held at the Losail Circuit in Qatar, between 28th and 30th October.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “I tried to plan my pass on Tom because he is strong right now and he is hard to pass at the best of times. When I overtook under braking, unfortunately it let Chaz come past us. Then I had to try to pass Tom again but already the gap to Chaz was too much. Maybe I spent too much time behind Tom but he is riding so well. I am happy with my race because, today, second place was the best I could do and I am happy with the way I rode. We need to improve the bike set-up in some areas but all things considered I am happy with the result. It is a 48-point gap now and it is nice to extend the championship lead, if by one point after Lausitzring last time and by another single point here! Championships can be won by a point so every one of them is important. If we can just have a clean end to the season hopefully we can do the job.”
Tom Sykes, stated: “When I started the race the bike felt really good and it was quite easy for me to manage 1m 37 second lap times. Unfortunately, for the first time all weekend, our pace dropped and I am confused about this. I then struggled to carry corner speed so that is something for us to look at. On Friday we were very fast and consistent but we had some issues in the second part of the race today. We were more consistent over the whole weekend this time, however, and we are making steps forward. Unfortunately it is quite late in the season now but at least we are able to fight at the front and be somewhere close for the race win.”
Behind the official KRT riders, Roman Ramos (Team GOELEVEN Kawasaki) was 13th today and stand-in rider Matthieu Lagrive (Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) 15th. Gianluca Vizziello (Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki) went 17th but Saeed Al Sulaiti (Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) no-scored after retiring.
More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:
CAMIER NARROWLY MISS THE PODIUM IN MAGNY-COURS
Leon Camier finished in 4th position Race 2 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Magny-Cours circuit, in France, and got for the fourth time his best seasonal score.
After the brilliant yesterday’s performance in Race 1, which saw Camier leading the race for seven consecutive laps and get closer to the first podium of the season for Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse in WorldSBK, the British rider today was focused on further improve his score.
When the lights went off, Camier started very well and he stepped up in 4th position, fighting into the top 5 of the race with the Honda rider Michael Van Der Mark, always riding with an impressive race pace, very close to the one of the first two riders.
At the end of the 21 laps of the French circuit, the British closed the race in 4th position, at 6,5s from the podium, earning + 13 points in Overall Standing.
Leon Camier #2 WorldSBK – I am really happy with this result. I didn’t expect to be so fast in dry condition but today I found a good feeling with the bike and I was able to always stay with the front riders. For the future I think it is possibile to get close to the podium again and bridge the gap to the leaders. I want to thank my team for the great job on my bike: every race we become stronger and stronger and we are now constantly fighting for the podium.
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
Chaz Davies takes the double at Magny-Cours, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team scores its 7th win in Race 2
Thanks to a double win by Chaz Davies, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team sealed a memorable weekend in Magny-Cours (France), home of the 11th round of the WorldSBK championship. The Welshman, who already took the top step of the podium in a hectic Race 1, crossed the finish line in first position once again in sunny conditions to secure his 7th win of the year.
Starting in third place, Davies quickly pulled away from the field together with the Kawasaki riders Sykes and Rea. His gap from the front never exceeded two seconds and, thanks to a constant pace in the mid 1’38 mark, Davies cut the deficit with five laps to go. After passing both rivals at turn 5 during lap 17, the Welshman posted his fastest lap (1:38.185) to build a gap that allowed him to take the victory. With two rounds left, Davies is now 33 points away from 2nd position in the championship.
Davide Giugliano, who was declared unfit due to the worsening conditions of his right shoulder, did not race and is already back in Italy to undergo physiotherapy ahead of next round. The Italian rider currently sits in 6th position in the championship (194 points). The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action on October 14 in Jerez (Spain) for the penultimate round of the season.
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) 1st
“It wasn’t easy at all today. I took the opportunity when it came, but honestly I didn’t think it was going to happen. I was struggling early on, doing the same pace as on Friday in the mid 1’38 mark. I was also finding it hard to pass the Kawasakis, as I couldn’t see where to do it unless I took a big risk, so I had to let the race come to me a little bit. It did eventually, and as Jonathan and Tom pushed each other wide at the hairpin, I just took the opportunity and dropped the hammer to put some distance in between myself and them. It’s been one of the most important weekends of my career, because we won in very different conditions, reaping the fruits of a lot of hard work with the whole team.”
Ernesto Marinelli, Superbike Project Director
“It’s been undoubtedly a fantastic weekend for us. Chaz really made a difference in both races. Yesterday, he showed poise in very tricky conditions and today he managed the situation flawlessly early on, when we knew we had a small disadvantage. Seven wins are an important result, which repays the hard work of all the people on track and at Ducati, to all of which we owe a big thank you! We’ll try our best to score a few more in the four races left, with both our riders.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda WSBK Team:
Van der Mark takes fifth in closing race of French Round while Hayden is ninth at the flag
Round 11 – France
Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours, France
The Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours today witnessed the second race of the World Superbike French Round, with Honda WorldSBK Team’s Michael van der Mark and Nicky Hayden claiming fifth and ninth places on board their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machines.
Van der Mark spent the majority of his race fighting for fourth place with Leon Camier, who overtook him on lap 12. The Dutch rider did all he could not to lose touch but, after one last effort to bridge the gap to the tall Englishman, the 2014 World Supersport Champion crossed the finish line in fifth position, a result that allows him further to consolidate his fourth place in the Championship standings.
Hayden got a good start to the race and was running fifth, but he suddenly found himself in eighth place following an overtaking manoeuvre by Leon Camier at the tricky Adelaide hairpin. After dropping down to ninth, the American rider got up to speed again and managed to recover one place. As the race entered its final stretch, the ‘Kentucky Kid’ could not hold his position and once again slipped back to ninth place.
The penultimate round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship will be contested at ‘Circuito de Jerez’ in two weekends.
Michael van der Mark 60
5th
The settings we tried in warm up didn’t really work out so we used the ones from FP2, the only long session I had this weekend. My start and first lap were great; I had a consistent pace, just a little bit slower than I’d hoped. When I got in front of Camier I tried to pull away but it was not possible and, when he passed me, I simply couldn’t stay with him. In the end, fifth is not a bad result. We scored some more important points and now we have a solid fourth place in the Championship in our hands. Hopefully, in two weeks’ time at Jerez we will be able to challenge for honours again.
Nicky Hayden 69
9th
It hasn’t been the smoothest of weekends for us. I got a good start but lost some places at turn four, which I wasn’t able to get back. I had a little problem with engine braking and towards the end I picked up some vibration that hurt me in the battle for sixth, but the reality is that I got behind on Friday morning; also it would have been nice to do some laps in the dry yesterday in race one, but that didn’t happen. In the end, it was a combination of things and I was never able to catch up. If I really want to find a positive, today I set my fastest laps of the weekend, but that’s clearly not enough. It’s never nice to end the weekend with this feeling, but it is what it is. Now it’s time to look forward to Jerez, a track I really like.
Pieter Breddels
Technical Manager
This morning, we tried some changes to the bike setup with Michael but ultimately we decided to go back to the settings we found on Friday afternoon. Having missed the whole free practice 1 session really took its toll today, because there was only very little we could try before the race. Michael did a very good start and rode a great race, so fifth overall is a good result, especially if we look at the standings. Nicky also had a good start but he was pushed off-line at the beginning. He rode as hard as he could, but unfortunately his feeling with the bike wasn’t perfect. Friday was not an easy day for him and with how the weather was yesterday, he didn’t have enough time in the dry to improve. Now it’s time to look forward to Jerez, a track where we have tested already and that should suit our bike very well.