eni FIM Superbike World Championship

Circuit de Nevers, Magny-Cours, France

October 4, 2015

Race Two Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 21 laps, total race time 34:40.147, best lap time 1:38.500

2. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), -2.848 seconds, 1:38.585

3. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -6.551, 1:38.667

4. Michael van der MARK, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -10.202, 1:38.807

5. Leon HASLAM, UK (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -12.921, 1:38.895

6. Sylvain GUINTOLI, France (Honda CBR1000RR SP), -19.885, 1:39.613

7. Niccolo CANEPA, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -24.248, 1:39.630

8. Jordi TORRES, Spain (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -27.248, 1:39.403

9. Luca SCASSA, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -29.220, 1:39.738

10. Alex LOWES, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -32.799, 1:39.622

11. Matteo BAIOCCO, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -37.183, 1:40.025

12. Leandro MERCADO, Argentina (Ducati Panigale R), -37.347, 1:40.044

13. Markus REITERBERGER, Germany (BMW S1000RR), -43.676, 1:39.953

14. David SALOM, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -45.943, 1:40.247

15. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4 RR), -47.982, 1:39.859, ran off track

16. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -59.663, 1:40.867

17. Gianluca VIZZIELLO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -75.160, 1:41.655

18. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), -75.533, 1:41.184, ran off track

19. Christophe PONSSON, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -95.502, 1:42.554

20. Gabor RIZMAYER, Hungary (BMW S1000RR), -1 lap, 1:43.124

21. Imre TOTH, Hungary (BMW S1000RR), -1 lap, 1:44.279

22. Alex PHILLIS, Australia (Kawasaki ZX-10R), -2 laps, 1:42.999, crash

23. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -11 laps, DNF, 1:39.747, crash

24. Pawel SZKOPEK, Poland (Yamaha YZF-R1), -12 laps, DNF, 1:42.917, crash

World Championship Point Standings (after 24 of 26 races):

1. Rea, 528 points (clinches World Championship)

2. Davies, 383

3. Sykes, 367

4. Haslam, 297

5. Torres, 222

6. Guintoli, 201

7. VD Mark, 170

8. Baiocco, 139

9. Lowes, 135

10. Mercado, 125

11. Davide Giugliano, 119

12. Badovini, 92

13. Camier, 89

14. Ramos, 71

15. Salom, 68

16. Nico Terol, 54

17. Canepa, 47

18. De Puniet, 39

19. Xavi Fores, 38

20. Max Biaggi, 36

More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:

Rea ends Fassi French Round with the double

Davies and Sykes complete Magny-Cours Race 2 podium.

The second race at Magny-Cours was won by Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), the World Champion doing the double for the fifth time this year after a three-rider battle raged from the start. His podium tally of 22 puts him equal with Troy Bayliss who achieved the feat in 2002, and is the second highest number of podiums in a season in the all-time list.

At the flag at the end of 21-adrenalin-filled laps the remaining podium places were taken by Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) meaning the fight for the runner-up spot in the series will continue to the season finale under floodlights in Qatar in a fortnight.

Behind the top three, Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) had their own private duel with the Dutchman taking fourth with a few laps to go from his English rival.

Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) had another solid day pleasing the many fans trackside with sixth in dry conditions.

Seventh was Niccolò Canepa (Althea Racing) ahead of the duelling Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) and Luca Scassa (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team), who were eighth and ninth respectively, with Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) rounding out the top 10.?

The remaining points-scoring positions were claimed by Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing), Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing), Markus Reiterberger (VanZon Rehema BMW), David Salom (Team Pedercini) and Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse).

Jonathan Rea #65 – Kawasaki Racing Team

Race 1 1st Race 2 1st

Twitter: @jonathanrea

Instagram: @jonathan_rea

Facebook: JonathanReaOfficial

“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 #66 – Kawasaki Racing Team

Race 1 2nd Race 2 3rd

Twitter: @TheRealTomSykes

Facebook page: 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.”

Chaz Davies #7 – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team

Race 1 6th Race 2 2nd

Twitter: @chazdavies

Instagram: @chazdavies7

Facebook: chazdavies7

“In race 2 I chose not to take too many risks trying to catch Rea, so I decided to focus on scoring second position. In race 1 on the other hand we got the set-up wrong, not managing to change back to a wet set-up from a dry one in time. It was like riding on ice and I did all I could to bring it home in sixth. Anyway I’m pleased with the weekend, both for the fact that this is my first podium at Magny-Cours and also because we head to Qatar with an advantage of 16 points over Tom. He’s always been strong here in France and I actually thought I might lose more points here today; so it’s gone well and now we can focus on the final round.”

Sylvain Guintoli #1 – Pata Honda World Superbike

Race 1 3rd Race 2 6th

Twitter: SylvainGuintoli

Facebook: SylvainGuintoliOfficialPage

Instagram: sylvainguintoli

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. 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.

Kenan Sofuoglu #1 – Kawasaki Puccetti Racing

2015 FIM Supersport Champion

Twitter: kenan_sofuoglu

Facebook: sofuoglu

Instagram: kenansofuoglu

“We came here to get the title not to win the race. In the first race it was easy to go away out in front. In the second race it was different and I had a different tyre, but I had one goal – to go very fast at the beginning of the race, take second place and get the title. When we had a two second gap to the rider behind I just thought I had to stay on my bike, not crash and get the title. Our plan worked well. I think everybody did a great job. I have to say a big thanks to the Puccetti Racing teamand of course Kawasaki helped us a lot to win this title. In the end we got the championship.”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:

APRILIA RSV4 RF AND LORENZO SAVADORI CHAMPIONS IN STOCK 1000 FIM CUP

TWO UPHILL RACES IN WSBK FOR LEON HASLAM AND JORDI TORRES

Magny-Cours (France), 4 October 2015 – The last race of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup gave Aprilia and Lorenzo Savadori a well-deserved championship victory, earned after 4 first place finishes and three podiums out of the eight rounds of the season. The Team Nuova M2 rider showed a cool head and great control on the track, avoiding pointless risks on a treacherous track to be crowned champion with a 22 point advantage over his nearest rival.

Thanks in part to Kevin Calia’s second place finish today, Aprilia also dominated the brands, earning the Manufacturer title with 176 points: 34 ahead of BMW, 39 over Ducati, 64 in front of Yamaha and 118 more than Kawasaki.

The two Superbike races proved to be quite demanding for Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils. Leon Haslam finished Race 2 in fifth place and Race 1 in sixteenth after making a pit stop.

Race 1 started without any rain but with a very damp track, a condition that led all the riders on the grid to choosing wet tyres. Starting well from the first spot on the grid, Leon Haslam stayed in the leading group for a few laps before losing ground due to a poor feeling in the saddle. In Race 2, on the other hand, the English rider battled no holds barred, staying at the foot of the podium, finishing the race in fifth place. Jordi Torres’ comeback ride after starting from the fourth row stopped at eighth place in Race 2. In the wet in Race 1 the Spanish rider, in his rookie SBK year, suffered from his lack of experience in these conditions, finishing the race twelfth.

Leon Haslam: “Something just didn’t go right today. Between Race 1 and Race 2 the guys changed everything but we had the same problems. I’m disappointed because after practice and taking pole position I was sure that I could do well. In the first phases of the race I was even able to fight but lap after lap things got harder and harder. Fifth place is definitely not the result we deserved today.”

Jordi Torres: “In Race 2 I struggled a bit to regain my pace on the dry track after so many laps in the wet. In the first phase I wasn’t able to repeat yesterday morning’s times, but at the end I had the right pace and was able to make up a few positions. In Race 1 I simply lacked experience on a new track and in the wet. These are conditions where you need to take a few risks. The bike moves around a lot and you need to have utmost confidence.”

More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:

Davies and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team back on the podium at Magny-Cours

Magny-Cours (France), Sunday 4 October 2015 – The penultimate round of the 2015 World Superbike Championship concluded today at the French circuit of Magny-Cours with mixed results for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team. Chaz Davies continued the positive trend of recent rounds, riding his Panigale R into second position in race 2, after closing a complicated (wet) race 1 in sixth place. Luca Scassa crossed the line in thirteenth and ninth position.

Race 1 – The first race was delayed by 15 minutes due to oil spilt on what was already a wet track after overnight rain. The race was declared ‘wet’ and shortened to 19 laps.

From fourth position on the grid, Davies moved straight into second place behind Rea but during the subsequent laps he had to battle with various rivals, Sykes, Haslam and Guintoli included. Struggling with rear grip issues that conditioned his race, the Welshman lost some ground during the 19 laps and concluded race 1 in final sixth position.

From sixth position, Scassa was lying tenth through the opening laps, fighting briefly with Baiocco and Lowes and finding himself in twelfth place at the mid-race point. Separated from the riders immediately ahead of him and also suffering due to a lack of grip, Luca crossed the line in thirteenth place.

Race 2 – Dry conditions for the second race, comprising 21 laps. Getting off the line well, Davies was straight up into second, fighting with the two Kawasakis and Haslam through the opening laps. After lap three the Aruba Ducati man took the lead, a position he was able to hold until the mid-race point. Lying second through the final stages, Chaz managed the situation well, maintaining a strong pace to ensure that he crossed the line in second place, scoring a further 20 championship points. This is Davies’ first podium result at the Magny-Cours circuit.

Scassa, despite not having made the quickest start, was quickly able to get into a good rhythm that allowed him to pass Badovini in the opening stages to position eighth. Despite his solid pace, which he was able to maintain for the duration of the race, Luca was unable to close the gap between himself and the riders positioned immediately ahead of him, thus crossing the line in final ninth place.

This means that after this penultimate round of the 2015 championship, Davies consolidates second position in the overall standings, with 383 points, while Scassa positions 26th having scored 10 points today. Ducati continues to hold second in the manufacturer’s standings with 438 points.

Quotes after the races:

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 6th, 2nd

“In race 2 I had decent pace but, also considering the general standings, I chose not to take too many risks trying to catch Rea. When I saw Sykes start to drop back a little, I decided to focus on scoring second position. In race 1 on the other hand we got the set-up wrong, not managing to change back to a wet set-up from a dry one in time. It was like riding on ice and I did all I could to bring it home in sixth. Anyway I’m pleased with the weekend, both for the fact that this is my first podium at Magny-Cours and also because we head to Qatar with an advantage of 16 points over Tom. He’s always been strong here in France and I actually thought I might lose more points here today; so it’s gone well and now we can focus on the final round.”

Luca Scassa (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #99) – 13th, 9th

“In race 1 I was suffering severe tyre issues already after a few laps and I couldn’t push at all on the straights. I was unsure as to whether to come back to the garage and change the tyre but in the end I decided to stay out and was able to cross the line inside the points zone… In race 2 I didn’t make the best start but I was able to keep a good pace. I couldn’t keep Torres behind me in the end, but I’m pleased with ninth and also with my speed, especially considering that I was suffering from pain in my knee in the final stages… Anyway, I go home happy because I was able to make continuous improvement throughout the weekend and that was my main goal. Thanks to the entire team who did a really good job this weekend.”

Ernesto Marinelli – Ducati SBK Project Director –

“It’s been quite a positive weekend all in all. Conditions in race 1 were particularly critical, because it takes a long time for this track to dry out after rain. Chaz did well to manage the lack of grip in that first race and then in race 2, on a dry track, he was able to complete a great race, riding the Panigale to the podium once again. Luca also did a good job, as to finish inside the top ten in Superbike is no easy task. In both yesterday’s qualifying and today’s race he showed real tenacity.”

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

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.

More, from a press release issued by Voltcom Crescent Suzuki:

Mixed Magny-Cours race-day 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-minute 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-ten 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 and 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 19th October.

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 tenth 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-ten 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.”

More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing:

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.

Niccolò 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. Niccolò, 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.”

Niccolò 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.”

More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda:

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.