France Magny-Cours. Preview. 30th September 2nd October 2011 12 of 13 race weekends Munich/Stephanskirchen, 27th September 2011. The action is relentless as the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship enters its final stage. Just one week after the Italian job in Imola, Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport heads to Magny-Cours (FRA) this weekend (30th September to 2nd October) for the penultimate round of the season. After eleven race weekends, BMW Motorrad factory rider Leon Haslam (GBR) is fifth in the Rider’s Championship with 187 points. His team mate Troy Corser (AUS) is 15th with 71 points. In total, the two have scored 258 points for Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport this season. In the Constructors’ Championship, BMW currently lies fourth with 232 points. Only the manufacturer’s best result from each race counts towards this competition. Leon Haslam: “Magny-Cours has always been a pretty good circuit for me. Last year, I rode my very first laps on the BMW S 1000 RR there. It is always a little bit cold when we get there, but it is the same for everybody. We have two races to go, and we definitely want to get back on the podium. These last couple of races are very important. Magny-Cours is a circuit that should suit the RR. You have a lot of heavy downhill braking and corners that require you to switch down from sixth gear to fourth gear. As a result, the stability of the bike is once again very important for this circuit. It is also crucial to have the right set-up for the conditions.” Troy Corser: “Magny-Cours is quite a special circuit. It has lots of hairpins and some pretty fast chicanes. The grip there is normally pretty good. However, when we race there it can be quite cold, especially in the mornings. And then you have the possibility of rain. This can influence the grip level. We’ll have to wait and see what the weather is like. I really enjoy the circuit. I had a few good results there, including some pole positions. It was also one of the first places where I actually tested the RR. So it will be nice to go back there, as I have some good memories. Important factors at Magny-Cours are the top speed of the bike and the braking. You brake from very high speeds down to the slowest corners that we have on the calendar. This is especially the case on the end of the back straight, where you brake from over 280 km/h down to under 50 km/h. So you need good stability on the brakes and a smooth connection, as the corners are quite tight. I think our RR will work well there.” Bernhard Gobmeier, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We have a score to settle with Magny-Cours after last year. We want to reproduce the fine performances we have shown in recent races, but convert these into results that reflect the level of performance. We made more important findings in Imola last weekend, and are now looking to put these into practice in Magny-Cours. We hope the temperatures there are not so high. That would help us in terms of tyres and grip. In that case, we would have every reason to be confident. Our goal is to put on another excellent show and enjoy a successful penultimate race weekend. Magny-Cours has already proven to be a successful stomping ground for the RR this season. The BMW Motorrad France 99 team finished on the podium there at the iconic Bol d’Or, the first race in the Endurance World Championship, in which the team still maintains hopes of winning the title.” Background: The “Circuit de Nevers” is located 250 kilometres south of Paris in the town of Magny-Cours, in the French departement of Nièvre. Work on constructing a racetrack began here in 1959. The circuit was opened in 1961 and modified for the first time ten years later. Since then it has been the subject of further modifications on several occasions. Magny-Cours has a long tradition in motorsport and has hosted the iconic endurance classic, the “Bol d’Or”, since 2000. The FIM Superbike World Championship made its debut at the French circuit back in 1991. However, it was 2003 before it returned to Magny-Cours. Since then, the series has held its races there every year. The circuit poses particular challenges for the teams and riders. The tarmac is extremely flat and offers little grip in some places. The frequently fluctuating weather conditions and gusty winds that sometimes blow through this region in the autumn can also make life tricky. The smooth surface soon becomes slippery when it rains. Three hairpin bends give the circuit a unique stop-and-go feel. The track boasts a mixture of fast and slow sections. The first corner, which is taken in fourth gear, requires the bikes to be extremely stable. Good acceleration is important in the long “Estoril” bend, in order to hit the following straight at speed. The riders must then brake hard for the “Adelaide” hairpin. This is the slowest spot on the entire Superbike World Championship calendar. The bikes tend to pull wheelies upon exiting the bend. Over the remainder of the circuit, the bike must steer well into corners and accelerate powerfully out of tight hairpins and chicanes. BMW factory rider Troy Corser has already achieved several pole positions and podium finishes at Magny-Cours. And the Australian celebrated his second world title there in 2005. His team mate Leon Haslam also claimed a podium finish there last year.