FSBK – Rain, falls and twists and turns! –

Posted on by admin

Rain, falls and twists and turns !

FSBK - Rain, falls and twists and turns! -

It seems that the 2008 SBK French Championship is under the sign of rain: in Albi, the tenors of French speed still had to deal with red flags and showers … Reports and tour of the circuit with Fabrice Auger.

Built in 1928, the Albigensian track hosted the fifth round of the French Superbike Championship last weekend. Filling up with distinguished guests like Matthieu Lagrive, David Perret (who unfortunately suffered a wrist injury on Saturday), Julian Mazuecos and Sylvain Barrier in the race, the organization was very proud to be able to also announce the arrival of Mike di Meglio (current leader of the 125 world championship) as a "guest star" !

Tour of the circuit with Fabrice Auger

With a well-prepared Yamaha R6, what does a tour of the Albi circuit give, Fabrice Auger ?
"You come out of the last straight (Karting bend) full second to approach the pit straight, where you go up to 4th. At the" 100 m "sign, you take the brakes and you enter 3rd in Les Esses François Flad. It’s a technical sequence and you have to dive very quickly on the rope at the exit to let yourself be deported to the outside in the next parabolic. At this moment, you must tighten the bike, because whatever the trajectory you adopt, the track is really bumpy! Then, you shift three gears before braking and downshifting to 2nd near the Sequestre chicane: this is very wide, especially at the exit, and it is possible in 600cc to get out of 3rd before quickly climbing to 4th. The straight line of the Rajol allows you to pass 5th, before braking at the "100 m" sign for the double straight where you fall again in two gears: this bend presents the particularity of passing over the aerodrome runway, so there is a fairly significant compression between the two rights. It is then advisable to straighten the motorcycle slightly, before approaching the second turn to the right at the bottom of 3rd. You then pass the three upper gears on the next straight line, but it too is so bumpy that it is nothing relaxing! The penultimate braking is negotiated at the sign "200 m", because the turn of the Park is very tight and you come out in 3rd before braking under the footbridge to approach the last right "…

All these beautiful people had therefore made an appointment in an arena with a questionable coating: Albi indeed suffers from a reputation of "bumpy fields" and should theoretically have a facelift in 2010, thanks to a series of important work. In the meantime, the 3.573 km of the Tarn track once again put a strain on the nerves of all those involved….

The owner’s tour by a pro !

"Albi is a circuit whose condition worsens year after year", Supersport driver Fabrice Auger explains to Site (read and box opposite):"tuning up the machine is not made any easier, because you have to accept that the bike moves a lot on bumps and it is difficult to find a good compromise … Finally, Albi is a circuit of motors with long stretches of straights which require good restarts, but this weekend we had some problems with my engine", indicates the Reims, twice twelfth this weekend: results considered satisfactory despite everything, given the very high level of the category.

Juggling with delicate weather conditions (mixed weather Friday, hot and sunny Saturday but delicate Sunday with a track reduced from 45 to 25 °, plus a few showers before the 125 and the first SBK round!), The pilots had a lot to do on a circuit that requires a big heart and self-sacrifice to go quickly !

125

The first to compete on this famous track, the 125 drivers pulled out all the stops from the first practice sessions! Steven le Coquen, Valentin Debise, Clement Dunikowski and Jimmy Petit make up the first row after a bitter struggle in both practice and qualifying! Unfortunately, the pilots had to endure a sudden downpour shortly before the start of the race, which would upset all the strategies and especially the machine settings….

From the warm-up lap, several pilots thus started to make mistakes, delaying the start of the race. This one will be given on a drying track, before being renewed after another fall of Ornella Ongaro requiring an evacuation by the emergency services. Under pressure, the leading drivers watched each other, aware that the race was going to be played out over just a few laps: wheel to wheel from the first lap, Debise, the Coquen and Dunikowski gave everything to shine in front of the one who should represent a model for them. : Mike di Meglio! After a race of all attacks, Steven le Coquen wins in front of Valentin Debise and Clement Dunikowski.

Good operation for the Coquen who comes back to five points behind the leader, Valentin Debise, while the FFM driver, Cyril Carrillo (read the interview), climbs to third place overall.

600 Pirelli Junior

New to the Dark Dog Academy (read below), Dylan Chevalley distinguished himself by signing an astonishing fourth position on the grid after a year without driving! Unfortunately, the young driver hardly benefited from his performance since he was hit at the first corner by Franck Larrive and was forced to throw in the towel … Not something to be happy about either on the side of his teammate Jimmy Maccio , who finished the race in 17th position and fell back to 14th place in the provisional general classification: a regression that his team manager hardly tastes…

The race was therefore marked by crashes and two starting procedures, before seeing a superb fight between Bulle, Guitet, Loiseau, Horses and Masson! Bulle managed to get the best of Guitet’s Triumph, before the fall of Nans Chevaux on the 11th lap interrupted the race. Louis Bulle therefore wins this round with twists and turns ahead of Guitet and Masson. Overall, Etienne Masson leads the discussions with 21 points ahead of Anthony Loiseau, who precedes William Grarre and Louis Bulle.

Supersport

The second Supersport test session sees three Mathieu seize the leading positions on the grid: Mathieu Gines, Mathieu Andrieu and Matthieu Lagrive will indeed squat on the first row in the company of Olivier Four !

In the first round, Mathieu Andrieu succeeds in the best takeoff of his position and leads a group composed of Mathieu Gines, Laurent Brian and Matthieu Lagrive! A little farther on, Four, Enjolras and Denis are fighting each other. But Julien Enjolras will lose contact following a failed braking while in front, Mathieu Gines passes the leader and tries to escape. Accustomed to the fine strategies of the Mondial Supersport races, Matthieu Lagrive overtakes Andrieu and manages to better negotiate the end of the race: the experienced driver will indeed win at the finish ahead of Mathieu Andrieu and Mathieu Gines.

In the second round, the track is completely dry and it’s still a war of Mathieu looming! Matthieu Lagrive achieves the hole shot and immediately imposes a pace that his opponents can never match: we feel that the driver wants to show everyone the level of driving necessary to shine in the world championship! He will widen a gap of more than three seconds (!), Ahead of Four, Gines and Enjolras. Unfortunately the 2007 French Superbike vice champion, Olivier Four, made a mistake on the 14th lap and the race management decided to wave the red flag: the classification was then frozen on the preceding lap and it was therefore Matthieu Lagrive, Olivier Four and Julien Enjolras who will make up the final podium.

As for the Dark Dog Academy team, the two pilots alternated between hot and cold: after a good start in testing, Franck Millet (who replaces Hugo Marchand) and Kevin Denis encountered more difficulties in the race: "I am in 8th place overall, but there are only three points separating me from 5th. So nothing is lost and I fully intend to regain my place in the top 5 by fighting hard over the last two races. !", warns Kevin who finished 7th in the first heat and 8th in the second.

Turn over at Dark Dog Academy

Two new faces have appeared this weekend in Marc Fontan’s team: following the departure of Hugo Marchand, Franck Millet takes up the torch in SSP while Dylan Chevalley joins Jimmy Maccio in 600 Pirelli Junior. "Hugo’s departure was a choice made by both sides", explains the team manager:"hired by a tire manufacturer to test all over the world, his physical and mental availability was not sufficient for full commitment to our team. (…) However, all the time that Hugo devoted to the DDA, I must say that he truly fulfilled his role of "big brother" with our young pilots, even if, unfortunately, he played bad luck on a good part of the races and could not necessarily set an example in terms of results. As for Dylan Chevalley, the choice to integrate him into the team for the end of the season also allows us to really be able to judge the technical capacity of our machines, in the light of Jimmy’s inconclusive results. When we met him last November for the selections, we evaluated his talents but he was then pursuing studies in Terminale S and it seemed hardly compatible. Now that he has passed his baccalaureate, we can count on his participation and no doubt hope, through his first results of the weekend, that he performs very well in the last two races.", concludes Marc Fontan.

In the provisional, Olivier Four is at the top of the ranking with 6 points ahead of Julien Enjolras and 12 over Mathieu Gines.

Superbike

Very clever the one who could have separated the headliners of the premier category on Saturday! After the qualifying sessions, the best eight meet in a single Superpole session: on this occasion, Stephane Duterne (read our) remembers everyone to remember by slamming an impressive 1’18.298 !

Less than a tenth, Erwan Nigon fails in second place on the grid, followed by Lucas de Carolis, Sylvain Barrier, Jerome and Cedric Tangre, Thomas Metro and Emeric Jonchière.

In the first round, the few drops which dot the track at the time of departure are enough to create discord: five falls will punctuate the first laps, forcing the marshals to – again! – wave the red flag…

And after a second start, rebelote: David Muscat, in delicacy with his Honda, crashed heavily and dragged the unfortunate Julian Mazuecos. Stunned, the multiple champion of France must be evacuated…

It was finally Erwan Nigon who had the best "third" start ahead of Sylvain Barrier and Lucas de Carolis. Applied, Nigon quickly gets out of reach of his opponents while the current leader of the championship rings the charge: fighting tooth and nail, Guillaume Dietrich makes a superb comeback and finally takes the best of Cedric Tangre and Sylvain Barrier who completes the podium.

In the second round, Sylvain Barrier takes the hole shot and tries to escape in front of Nigon, De Carolis and the pole man, Stephane Duterne. Multiplying the lap records, Erwan Nigon quickly passed Barrier and it was soon four drivers who broke the 2005 record! Nigon and Barrier explain themselves at the forefront and the pilot driving in the European Superstock puts everyone in agreement in terms of time with an incredible 1’17.723! However, it is Erwan Nigon’s Kawasaki that will cross the finish line as the winner in front of Barrier and De Carolis, who dearly defended his skin against the attacks of his teammate Guillaume Diectrich..

Unhappy with his results, the Suzuki rider wanted to improve his performance during testing so as not to waste too much time going up afterwards: "the positive aspect", he explains,"it’s that I keep my leadership position with always a good lead over my pursuers. And I’m still among the fastest in the race. But my problem is always the use of the qualifying tire … Fast in racing tires during practice, I did not manage to improve with my qualifying tire, something my opponents did with the consequence of credit with the 9th fastest time, out of qualifying for the superpole"…

And indeed, Guillaume Diectrich takes advantage of his consistency to keep the lead of the championship with 26 points ahead of Erwan Nigon and 38 over his teammate Lucas de Carolis..

Side car and Top Twin

For the harnesses, the two races are run identically: Dernoncourt and Romand take the asp from Ducouret and Herman, which they pass quickly before taking off to victory. The Ducouret / Herman crew therefore widened the gap on Le Bail and Chaigneau who finished 3rd.

In the general classification, Le Bail and Chaigneau regained the lead with 84.5 points ahead of Dernoncourt / Romand (77.5) and Ducouret / Herman (76.5). Their absence therefore costs Delannoy and Cluse three places: it promises a great revenge at the end of July !

On the twin-cylinder side, Louis Bulle rubs shoulders with excellence: brilliant winner in the first round ahead of Molinier, Yves Mounier and KTM driver Philippe Donischal, the driver dodges the podium ceremony to go on to win in the Junior 600 Pirelli !

But showing up too late for the start procedure of the second Top Twin round, the double winner of the day is forced to start from the pit lane: Mounier takes the opportunity to try to escape, but the tireless Louis Bulle starts a improbable recovery and returned in four laps to third place! Then taking the lead, the Ducati rider wins for the third time this weekend despite leaving the pits. !

Overall, Bulle is logically in the lead with 23 points ahead of Jean-Yves Mounier and 40 over Bruno Destoop.

To conclude this great racing weekend, we must of course remember the superb spectacle offered to the spectators. However, in the paddocks, some pilots regret the time when Christophe Guyot took care of the management of the event: not that the organization lends itself to criticism, far from it, but it is clear that the emblematic GMT team manager knew how to put the small dishes in the big ones to attract a larger crowd…

Next meeting on the Magny-cours route on July 19 and 20: stay tuned !

Alexandre BARDIN – Photos DR

Related articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *