FINAL ROUND IN FRANCE Magny-Cours will welcome this weekend the final race of the 2006 Superbike World Championship. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) got the title last Sunday at Imola, but the second position will be decided here between James Toseland (Honda) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) only 2 points apart. For the Team Yamaha Motor France-Ipone, Norick Abe still can hope to finish better than his actual 13th position, as he is only 12 points behind Michel Fabrizio (Honda) and 8 behind Karl Muggeridge (Honda). But he will have to watch Ruben Xaus (Ducati) only 2 points behind him. Shinichi Nakatomi is very much alone in 17th position, as he is 25 points behind the rider in 16th and 20 points in front of the rider in 18th position. The situation is very different for Sebastien Gimbert who is in 21st place, only 1 single point behind Steve Martin (Foggy Petronas) and Fabien Foret. This Magny-Cours race will be the last one in the Superbike World Championship for the legendary rider Pierfrancesco Chili and also for the very original Foggy Petronas motorcycle. “This will be also the last race with our team for Sebastien Gimbert, says team manager Martial Garcia. In 2004 in Magny-Cours, Sebastien was entered as a wild card. He qualified 4th on the starting grid and finished both races in 4th position. So we hope that the end will be as good as the beginning. Shinichi Nakatomi goes very well and continues his progression.” THE MAGNY-COURS CIRCUIT In 1959, Jean Bernigaud, mayor of Magny-Cours, created a kart track which became quickly the Circuit Jean Behra (named after the French driver 4th of the 1956 F1 championship). In 1971 was inaugurated the longer (3.850 km) new track. On July 7, 1991 was organized for the first time at Magny-Cours a F1 Grand Prix, with the President of the Republic and 100 000 spectators. There was only one motorcycle Grand Prix held at Magny-Cours and it was on July 19, 1992. Pierfrancesco Chili was on the pole position of the 250cc race. September 18 and 19 tests: Muggeridge (Honda) 1:41.1 with race tyres / 1:40.5 with qualifying tyres, Toseland (Honda) 1:40.4 / 1:40.8, Corser (Suzuki) 1:40.4 / 1:39.7, Kagayama(Suzuki) 1’40.4, Neurkirchner (Suzuki) 1:42.6 World Championship standings: 1- Bayliss (Ducati) 393 points, 2- Toseland (Honda) 295, 3- Haga (Yamaha) 293, 4- Pitt (Yamaha) 239, 5- Barros (Honda) 231… 13- Abe (Yamaha) 105, 17-Nakatomi (Yamaha) 42, 21-Gimbert (Yamaha) 18 MAGNY-COURS STATS Practice record (2005): 1:39.836 Chris Vermeulen (Honda) 159.060 kph 2005 Yamaha Motor France practice times: Norifumi Abe: 1:41.743 / 19th and Sebastien Gimbert: 1:41.695 / 17th Race 1 results 2005: 1-Vermeulen (Honda) 2-Kagayama (Suzuki) 3-Toseland (Ducati) 4-Muggeridge (Honda) 5-Corser (Suzuki) 2005 Yamaha Motor France race 1 results: Norifumi Abe: 10th and Sebastien Gimbert: 15th Race 2 results 2005: 1-Lanzi (Ducati) 2-Kagayama (Suzuki), 3-Haga (Yamaha) 4-Corser (Suzuki), 5-Walker (Kawasaki) 2005 Yamaha Motor France race 2 results: Norifumi Abe: 9th and Sebastien Gimbert: DNF (retired lap 12) Lap record (best race time 2005): 1:40.985 Chris Vermeulen (Honda) 157.250 kph More, from a press release issued by Millet Racing Yamaha Junior Team: THE SPRINT IS LAUNCHED This is the last race of the season and therefore the last possibility for the riders Michael Savary and Franck Millet to upgrade their positions in the championship standings. Michael Savary has a total of 41 points, exactly like the other rider in 9th position, the Polish Andrzej Chmielewski. So the fight will be very interesting this coming Saturday, also because Michael is only 7 points behind Renato Costantini and Daniele Beretta. Behind, the Swiss rider Gregory Junod needs only 2 points to catch Savary. Franck Millet is in 14th place with 31 points and he too can hope for a better position. He is 4 points behind the Dutch Roy Ten Napel and 5 points in front of Eddi La Marra. Remember that last year at Magny-Cours Franck, as a wild card, ended up 6th in the qualifying practice and finished 6th of the race. Partner of the Nevers Magny-Cours Circuit managed by M. Gerard Dumas, the Millet Racing Yamaha Junior Team is getting ready for a nice party this weekend: “This is a great occasion for us to organise a party with our friends and partners, says team manager Jean-Louis Millet. We will welcome about 100 guests.” More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: CHARPENTIER READY FOR LAST GREAT CHALLENGE Sebastien Charpentier and the Winston Ten Kate Honda team now look to Magny Cours, the last round of the Supersport World Championship, for their latest great challenge – to secure the Supersport world title for the fifth time in a row. Charpentier is some way behind Curtain, the championship leader at this moment, but with the Charpentier everyone saw in Imola, nothing is impossible. That performance was also possible thanks to the Honda CBR600RR and Charpentier’s team-mate, Kenan Sofuoglu, who will once more be trying to help the title fight by scoring another podium. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “After the great results achieved at Imola, we are hoping to have another important result in France, and see where Sebastien’s rival Kevin Curtain will finish the race. I am very happy about how the team is working before this important final race of the season and I am sure, however it turns out, that everybody will give their best. Sebastien has demonstrated that he is back to great form again. Also, Kenan is living up to his great potential, he has found the right direction to work in, and he now totally understands the Honda CBR600RR. We are looking forward to Magny Cours.” Sebastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “In Imola we had a fantastic race. It was good to run away from the rest of the riders with my team-mate. In Magny Cours it will be another race, difficult of course, but we will give our best, as usual. I feel good again and this is very important: it has been a hard time for me after the injury and trying to get back in shape. Now I can say I am back. And this is thanks to the support of everyone, my family and my team. Magny Cours will be my home race and I am hoping to have many supporters cheering for me. I will try not to disappoint them.” Kenan Sofuoglu Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “These last few races have been fantastic for me. I am really enjoying riding for the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team. It is a big family; everybody is always ready to help each other. The race at Imola went well, I am happy Sebastien has reduced his gap to Curtain and he still has another opportunity in Magny Cours next weekend. My goal is, as always, to reach the podium and this is what I will aim for in the French race. I am feeling good and I am only sad that the season is about to finish so soon.” OBJECTIVE SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR TOSELAND Now that the champion has been crowned, the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team hopes to be able to finish the season overall second in the world standings, courtesy of James Toseland. At the Magny Cours circuit, the English rider will have the opportunity to secure the runner-up spot, rounding out a season that always featured the Dutch team and James battling for the positions that really count. James will have to defend and extend the two-point advantage he has over Noriyuki Haga, but it is not his intention to make too many calculations. His objective is to achieve more victories. He has already taken two race wins, one in Qatar and one in Germany. It is the last chance of the season for Karl Muggeridge, on the other side of the Ten Kate garage, to step on the podium. The Australian has been riding well in the last few races and he is determined to score an important result for his team. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “In Imola, to be honest, it didn’t go as we expected. Of course, second position from James in race one was quite good, but if he didn’t have that electronics problem, I think he could have finished in front of everyone. But we have to look forward. We now enter the last weekend of racing of the year and we want to get the best out of it. James is determined to finish his first season on a Honda CBR1000RR well, and to be runner-up would be a good way. Karl wasn’t too far from the fastest in the Imola races, I hope he will find the good form which should help secure a positive result for him and the team.” James Toseland Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “Not the luckiest weekend in Imola, but as everyone knows, luck turns around. We have to be positive; we finished both races in front of my end-of-season rival Haga, and this put me in second position in the world standings. This position is still not safe, but I will do my best to maintain it in the two Magny Cours races. I feel good and I’m looking forward to starting another weekend of racing.” Karl Muggeridge Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “I really want to get on the podium before the end of the season. The past weekend wasn’t too good overall; our times weren’t the fastest from Friday on. We hope to start much better in Magny Cours to finish in better positions in Sunday’s races. The team is ready and I’m ready.” More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: ROUND 12 MAGNY COURS, FRANCE 5th OCTOBER 2006 RACE PREVIEW October 2006, Magny-Cours (France) The last round of the season approaches – now traditionally held in France at the Magny-Cours circuit. WSBK has already found its champion, with Bayliss celebrating his second World Title at Imola, adding to his 2001 crown. The Supersport class has still to find its champion, with Kevin Curtain trying to give Australia its second overall trophy this season, while Charpentier trying to defend his number one plate on home tarmac. Magny-Cours, almost every season, presents a difficult situation as quite cold temperatures and frequent mist and fog around the circuit make the track very slippery. The tarmac is quite old, and the F1 activity makes it very polished. It has also created some small undulations that present a difficult task to the bike tyres. In order to offer the best performance to all, Pirelli has brought four different front solutions for the Superbikes: A, B, D are standard tyres available on the market under the name of Pirelli DIABLO SUPERBIKE SC0, SC1, SC2, while the “C” is made with a different compound, and has already been used at some other tracks this year. At the rear there are three solutions in the standard fitment (190/65) and a fourth (which we can refer to as the C1 for our purposes) with the same compound as the C, but in a 200mm-wide fitment. For the 16 riders who will participate in Superpole, Pirelli has also brought, as always, a qualifier, which will be given out only after the 2nd qualifying practice, and only to the top 16. As this racetrack offers relatively poor grip, Pirelli technicians needed to bring a range of solutions – soft, but still able to last the whole race distance. The qualifier is a single lap tyre, so it can be really soft for this race, as the mechanical wear of the tyre is not so great. The qualifying tyre used here is the same one the riders used at Brands Hatch. Supersport riders will choose between two different front solutions and three different rears, in the standard fitments of 120/70 for the front and 180/55 for the rear, each running on 17″ rims. After its debut in Misano the new DIABLO SUPERCORSA has been the preference of the riders when compared to the DRAGON SUPERCORSA PRO, which is itself a tyre still giving Pirelli many National Titles and is still brought to the World Championship, on occasion. Here, for instance, it is the soft solution for the rear. The Pirelli DRAGON SUPERCORSA PRO, in the SC2 compound, is well known to the market as a racetrack tyre homologated for the road, and in the Superbike paddock it is always present easy to recognize because its tread pattern is so familiar because it is the official tyre for the Superstock 1000 FIM CUP. Last but not least, the Superstock 600 European Championship is racing with the Pirelli DIABLO CORSA III three zones compound, a road tyre able to offer great performance for the young riders who have delivered very exciting races in every round. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Xerox: WSBK CHAMPION TROY BAYLISS (DUCATI XEROX) MAKES MAGNY-COURS DEBUT Magny-Cours (France), Thursday 5th October: The final act of the 2006 World Superbike Championship takes place this weekend at the Magny-Cours circuit, near Nevers in central France. After Troy Bayliss’s splendid triumph last weekend at Imola for the Ducati Xerox Team, the Manufacturers’ title now remains to be assigned. A fifth place (11 points) is all that is required for Ducati to clinch title number 14 in this particular category. Troy Bayliss arrives at Magny-Cours directly from Paris, where together with team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi he took part in a promotional event for Oakley and Ducati France, which included a photo-session beneath the Arc de Trionfe. “I feel really good, we’ve achieved what we set out to achieve” declared Troy. “It’s not over yet though because when you win the championship you’ve got to back it up and prove you are the number 1 and also we want to win the manufacturers’ championship so it’ll be lovely to finish that off this weekend and we’ll all be very happy. I’ve never been to Magny-Cours before and just rode the scooter round for a couple of laps. Davide Tardozzi took me around and showed me where we were good last year. The layout didn’t do a lot for me but I think we can find our way around here pretty good and you never know when I actually ride the real bike I might take a liking to it”. Lorenzo Lanzi won his second race here last year on a factory Ducati 999 machine run in Scuderia Caracchi colours. This year he aims to finish off the season with a similar performance for the Ducati Xerox squad. “Last year I won race 2 here after a great battle with Chris (Vermeulen) so I hope to be able to repeat that feat this year. I really like the track, and I’ve always gone well here since 2003 and Superstock days. The weather conditions are not very promising, with the possibility of some rain, but we will try and go well in practice and qualifying to get the best set-up for the races”. THE CIRCUIT Name: Magny-Cours Length: 4.250 km Pole Position: right Finish line length: 250 metres Race distance: 2 x 23 laps/101.453 km CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after 11 of 12 rounds): Riders – 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 393 (2006 World Champion); 2. Toseland (Honda) 295; 3. Haga (Yamaha) 293; 4. Pitt (Yamaha) 239; 5. Barros (Honda) 231; 6. Corser (Suzuki) 218; 7. Kagayama (Suzuki) 193; 8. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 152. Manufacturers – 1. Ducati 412; 2. Honda 373; 3. Yamaha 368; 4. Suzuki 336; 5. Kawasaki 211; 6. Petronas 19. STATISTICS: Best lap: Vermeulen (Honda), 1m39.836s (2005). Lap record: Lanzi (Ducati), 1m40.601s (2005). Superpole: Vermeulen (Honda), 1m39.836s (2005). 2005 RESULTS: Race 1 – 1. Vermeulen (Honda); 2. Kagayama (Suzuki); 3. Toseland (Ducati). Race 2 – 1. Lanzi (Ducati); 2. Kagayama; 3. Haga (Yamaha)