XAVIER SIMEON WINS THE SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP 2009. DUCATI TAKES TITLE FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR. DANIELE BERETTA TENTH IN RACE Nevers Magny Cours Circuit (France), Sunday 4th October 2009 A second place finish in today’s race was enough for Xavier Simeon to take the 2009 title on board his Ducati 1198. The Ducati Xerox Junior Team thus lifts the Superstock 1000 FIM CUP championship trophy for the third consecutive year, following on from those achieved by Niccolò Canepa in 2007 and by Brendan Roberts in 2008. Daniele Beretta, after a good recovery, closed the race in tenth place. Xavier Simeon’s weekend finished in the best possible way for him and his team. Having made a good start from pole position, he left little room for Barrier to pass him during the second lap. He didn’t totally escape from the pack however as Berger, one of his strongest rivals in the championship, stuck with him throughout the race. For the new champion it was a only a small mistake in the penultimate lap that allowed French rider Berger to pass him. With the championship win only a breath away Xavier chose to close the race safely, in second position, in order to take the title. XAVIER SIMEON – “It’s a very emotional moment for me, a fantastic day at the end of a fairy-tale weekend. My 1198 was just perfect and I kept the situation under control even though Berger was tough competition. On the last but one lap I lost the front on the downhill and risked falling; at that point I thought about the title and realized that second place was good enough. Thanks to Ducati, to the team and to my family as it’s thanks to them that I can today celebrate being champion.” Daniele Beretta recovered from a difficult qualifying session with a fast race, which he concluded in tenth position. DANIELE BERETTA – “We paid dearly for the crash yesterday as we lost a lot of time in which to prepare the bike. After making changes for the warm-up, the bike was greatly improved e allowed me to hold a good race pace. This track is not among my favourites, and tenth place is not great, but I at least hold fifth position in the overall standings.” SERAFINO FOTI (Team Manager) – “This is the third consecutive title for the team, with three different riders, an exceptional result for Ducati and for the team members who have always given their all in every single race. This year, up until this penultimate round, Xavier has achieved four race wins, five second place finishes, five pole positions and three fastest laps. This gives us great satisfaction and we share this with all of our partners, with our sponsors and of course with Ducati. Thanks everybody.” Race result: 1.M.Berger (Honda) in 23:51.110 in an average of 155,344 km/h; 2.Xavier Simeon (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) 1:560; 3.S.Barrier (Yamaha) 3.449; 4.C.Corti (Suzuki) 6.677;…10.Daniele Beretta (Ducati Xerox Junior Team) 27.619. Classification: 1.Xavier Simeon 200 points (Campione 2009 Superstock 1000 FIM CUP); 2.C.Corti 148; 3.M.Berger 127; 4.J.Fores 116; 5.Daniele Beretta 85.