WSBK – James Toseland is crowned … narrowly! –

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James Toseland is crowned … narrowly !

WSBK - James Toseland is crowned ... narrowly! -

Definitely, Magny-Cours offers races that are all more extraordinary than the others. After the incredible title of Charpentier in 2006 and the unleashed Bol d’Or of GMT94 a month ago, the 2007 Superbike final has kept all its promises !

It all started with a cool October morning … Prisoners of the mist, the pilots were fighting against the elements on Friday morning to get their lap times down. And neither the lack of visibility nor the relatively low temperature of the track seems to slow them down, so that from the first day, the aces of the handlebars post very good times..

Of course, you have to wait until the next afternoon to see Max Biaggi beat the track record during the Superpole event: 1 ‘38.982 against 1’ 39.147 for Corser last year … Everyone holds their breath : large customers remain to parade on the Nivernaise track !

And finally, it was James Toseland who took pole position with a brilliant time of 1 ‘38.501! Just behind him, Kagayama’s replacement, Max Neukirchner, signed a breathtaking 1 ‘38.524. The Yamaha of Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga are beaten, but the latter still reach the 1st row.

Lorenzo Lanzi, constant and fast during practice, also climbs ahead of Max Biaggi. The two Italians are at the head of the second row, ahead of Troy Bayliss and Regis Laconi, "disappointed but not defeated" by his performance. Then follow Fonsi Nieto, Ruben Xaus, Roberto Rolfo and Michel Fabrizio.

We note the good performance of Yoann Tiberio, 14th in the Superpole event and 18th place for driver Guillaume Dietrich who finally rolls on the Suz de Neukirchner.

First Superbike race

The weather is foggy, the track wet but the trajectories are dry and three drivers are determined to do battle: James Toseland, who then has 29 points ahead of Max Biaggi and 33 over Noriyuki Haga! The two Troys can no longer claim the world crown, Max Neukirchner discovers the Suz K7, Ruben Xaus rides on an "old" 999 but all these little people are also very motivated !

Corser does the Holeshot in front of Haga! Behind them, Toseland steps outside and grabs Lanzi’s wheel. Unfortunately – for Italian but also for English – Lanzi goes highside and flies away. To avoid it, Toseland is forced to make a big loop in the gravel! The n ° 52 does not fall but starts again last … In the confusion Biaggi and Bayliss are embarrassed and lose places.

The order therefore becomes the following: Corser leads ahead of Haga, Neukirchner, Bayliss, Laconi, Nieto, etc. Max Biaggi tries to attack Fonsi Nieto, but has to withdraw. Toseland is 18th: from the start the championship is completely revived … Admittedly with 29 points in advance, "Djiti" can afford an average performance, but he must all the same earn some small points when his opponents can pocket some bigger !

But ahead, Haga tries an outside in Adelaide and ends up passing his team-mate from Yamaha. Neukirchner tried to take advantage of it, passed Corser in his turn but had to let him pass again at the end of the turn … Haga widened a gap before the second lap arrived. Nitro Nori is launched! Biaggi meanwhile is in 13th place.

In the 2nd lap, Max Neukirchner climbs back on Troy Corser but it is Nieto who signs the fastest lap in the race (1 ‘40.596). But as if the race was not intense enough, Biaggi missed a corner, picked up his machine and lost a few places. This benefits Toseland who is now only two pilots from the Roman Emperor !

Going back to Haga will be difficult for Toseland, but what matters for the moment is to finish as close as possible to Biaggi so as not to lose too many points against this enemy n ° 1. But in the next three laps, Toseland will get closer to Biaggi…

In the 5th lap, Nieto overtook Bayliss, but the Australian released the big attack and passed the Spaniard again! The fastest man on the track is Neukirchner: the young German sets a new track record in 1.39.844. At the same time, Jacob Smrz falls and gives up.

In the next loop, Corser remains glued to Haga and we can feel him incisive. Max Neukirchner is hanging on and continues to impress: this is only his first race with the official K7 and he is perfectly on pace! In fact, there are rumors in the paddock that he would have won his ticket to join Alstare next year … To be watched closely !

Meanwhile, Biaggi climbs back to 10th but Toseland is in his wheel: it is the championship that is played between the two men! Xaus is 7th, Rolfo 8th, Nakatomi 9th, Muggeridge 12th, Tiberio 13th and Dietrich 14th !

On the 7th lap Laconi was taken down by Nieto, while Bayliss was about 3 seconds from Neukirchner. Yet we can tell that the Aussie is starting to pick up the pace and his times are in line with the leaders … Biaggi is 8th, Rolfo has passed his team-mate Toseland.

The classification remains the same at the head of the race. On the other hand, Xaus passed Laconi who found himself 7th, just ahead of Biaggi and Rolfo. Toseland then chooses to make an incredible attack on "El Lupo" and passes him, the bike sideways under Adelaide braking! Obviously, there are no racing instructions at Ten Kate !

Due to their incidents at the start of the race, Biaggi and Toseland are now 12 seconds behind Haga, who seems to be flying to victory. Bayliss is only 1.860 seconds behind Max Neukirchner. Will the German be deprived of the podium ?

As usual, Biaggi clocked the same times as the leaders, but his poor start to the race relegated him too far to hope for a podium or a victory. Toseland is in his wheel but seems unable to attack him.

The following lap, Haga increased his gap of 0.2 seconds on Corser who nevertheless gave everything to stay in contact! Behind, Toseland also seems to have trouble following Max Biaggi…

On lap 12 Max – Biaggi – attacked our Regis National and passed him on a superb inter ’! Max Neukirchner passes Corser at the cost of a virile attack: Corser is packed on the outside and must capitulate to the resentment of the simply unleashed German! Toseland also passed Laconi in stride and is still 8th behind Biaggi. Corser manages to recover his second place and Bayliss takes the opportunity to come back in contact with Neukirchner.

In the next loop, Biaggi and Toseland overtake Xaus who was 6th, but if the n ° 3 passes in a neat way, Toseland does not make him in the lace: Ruben is passed with authority by the n ° 52 who throws all his forces in the battle. It is at this moment that the sun begins to flood the Nivernaise track and the spectators (75,000 or 14,000 more than last year, but Mr Flamini – promoter of the WSBK – is probably talking about the whole week- end?), take advantage of this incredible final, in the best possible conditions.

On lap 14, Haga was 1.2 seconds behind Corser who now seems to have made up his mind: the Australian has adopted a defensive drive to protect his team-mate who is playing for the title. Thus, Max Neukirchner tries to pass it, but the "Croco" takes great care to brake in the middle of the track and to close all the doors. !

On the next lap, Haga was 1.7 seconds ahead and Neukirchner struggled to get past Corser. It’s a waste of time, the n ° 11 shares his experience and when the German brakes, the Australian accelerates again! Biaggi is 15 sec from the leader, the rest of the ranking is frozen.

In the 16th lap, Haga was 2 seconds ahead of the group, Bayliss overtook Neukirchner in force: the n ° 21 went through a mouse hole, under the fairing of Kagayama’s replacement. It’s madness in the stands! Neukirchner is forced to recover and wastes a lot of time: welcome to the big leagues, Max !

In the 17th lap, Bayliss is now back on Corser and we feel that there is going to be a good fight between the double world champions of the category! It does not drag on: Bayliss tries the same overtaking as earlier, but wants to do too much … Its front wheel is at the edge of the grass and goes on the vibrator! Bayliss is on a rampage, the correctional didn’t go far…

Behind that does not change, Neukirchner seems to have difficulty recovering from the attack of n ° 21, unless in the fight, his machine was damaged … Tiberio is in an honorable 13th place and Dietrich is 15th . Nothing particular in the 18th lap nor in the following lap: we “only” see Bayliss looking for all possible openings on Corser !

In the 20th lap, Bayliss finally passes Corser … who immediately passes it again! At the cost of exceptional braking in Adelaide, Bayliss imposed himself and turned around to check that he had not embarrassed his compatriot too much. On the next lap, Bayliss turns 1 tenth faster than Haga and widens a gap on Corser. But there are only 2 laps left and Haga has more than 2 seconds in advance … Behind, the gap between Nieto and Biaggi is stable: the emperor will no longer be able to grab the points for fifth place, behind Toseland is stalled almost 1 sec.

During the last two laps, the ranking does not change. Haga manages his lead over Bayliss and wins the first round! Follow Corser, Neukirchner, Biaggi (over 13 seconds), Toseland, Xaus, Laconi, Rolfo, Nakatomi, Muggeridge, Tiberio Fabrizio and Dietrich.

With his victory and the Englishman’s underperformance, Haga comes back to 17 points behind Toseland! The championship is completely revived in favor of the Japanese who nobody imagined at such a party! When in Biaggi, with 28 points behind, the title is now out of reach: a hard blow for the Roman…

Especially since as incredible as it may seem, the famous n ° 3 is not sure of being able to try his luck again next year: the Italian has indeed asked for a 30% increase from his employers (we are talking about of 3 million dollars!), gold Corona having withdrawn, Alstare is for the moment without a big sponsor and certainly unable to pay such a price… What is more, this attitude on the part of the Roman would not have liked too much. to Suzuki who does not hide his interest in Nieto and Neukirchner …

They explain themselves

Haga 1st: "I was looking at the giant screen to see the gap I widened and thus manage my race"
I didn’t see what happened at the start, but as soon as I passed Adelaide I looked at the giant screen to see the gap I widened to manage my race. I am very happy with my result and I thank all my team and my mechanics who were able to adjust the machine as well as possible.

Bayliss 2nd: "I picked up my pace gradually"
I was very fast in Estoril and that gave me good top speed. So I didn’t worry too much that I was in a bad position at the start and gradually picked up my pace. But Haga was setting a really high pace and I couldn’t get him. I am satisfied with my final place.

Bayliss took the opportunity to show his support for Lanzi – stunned by his heavy fall – and declared that he did not want to change his settings for the second round, except to look with his technicians at his grip problem at the start of the race..

Corser 3rd: "I didn’t insist and let it go"
I rubbed it with my team-mate early in the race, but given the stakes for the title, I didn’t insist and let it go. Then when Bayliss arrived I tried to hold up as long as possible, but my front tire was deteriorating lap after lap and I couldn’t fight for long. Despite everything, I am satisfied with this third place.

When asked if the (now sunny) weather will be a game-changer, Corser says no, because the temperature shouldn’t change too much and he’s just going to change the front tire for the second run … , Haga asks the "double Troy" to block Toseland in the second round! To joke…

SBK Magny-Cours results first round:

Pilot Team Time Tours
1 Haga N. Yamaha Motor Italia 38 ‘33.762 23
2 Bayliss T. Ducati Xerox 38 ‘36.532 23
3 Corser T. Yamaha Motor Italia 38 ‘37.497 23
4 Neukirchner M. Suzuki Alstare Corona 38 ‘42.332 23
5 Nieto F. Kawasaki PSG-1 Corsica 38 ‘46.687 23
6 Biaggi M. Suzuki Alstare Corona 38 ‘47.045 23
7 Toseland J. Honda hannspree 38 ‘50.157 23
8 Xaus R. Ducati Sterilgarda 38 ‘56.343 23
9 Laconi R. Kawasaki PSG-1 38 ‘56.590 23
10 Rolfo R. Honda hannspree 39 ‘06.491 23
11 Nakatomi S. Yamaha YZF 39 ‘12.067 23
12 Muggeridge K. Honda Alto Evolution 39 ‘27.447 23
13 Tiberio Y. Honda Alto Evolution 39 ‘27.561 23
14 Fabrizio M. Honda DFX Corsica 39 ‘27.677 23
15 Dietrich G. Suzuki Alstare Corona 39 ‘30.236 23

Best round of the round: 1 ‘39.844 – Neukirchner (4th round)
Best lap in previous race: 1 ‘40.370 – Bayliss (2006)

Second Superbike race

Noriyuki Haga takes the lead and seems to announce his strategy from the start: he wants to start quickly and manage his race as in the first round, hoping that Toseland will finish beyond 8th place … Behind the Yamaha rider are Corser, Biaggi , Bayliss and Toseland.

The Englishman passed n ° 21, immediately imitated by the surprising Fonsi Nieto who found himself 4th very soon after! On the 1st pass, the order is as follows: Haga, Corser, Biaggi, Nieto, Toseland, Bayliss, Neukirchner, Laconi, Xaus, Muggeridge, Tiberio is 14th and Dietrich is 16th.

In the second lap, Bayliss sounded the charge and overtook Toseland, but the n ° 52 managed to accelerate again. Will it be the same next year, when Fabrizio and Bayliss will pilot the 1198 ?!

In the next lap, the fastest lap in the race is signed by Haga – who else? – which consolidates its leadership position. Nieto pushes ahead and returns to Max Biaggi while Max Neukirchner passes Bayliss. Behind them are Regis Laconi, in ambush.

In the 4th lap, Neukirchner is already in the backsplash of n ° 52 and tries an outside on the "virtual" 2007 world champion! Biaggi sets the best time, which allows him to get closer to Corser who seems to let go of Haga, a solid leader. Then Neukirchner takes another chance, this time indoors, but it still doesn’t go through !

In the 5th lap, Biaggi returns to Corser and the double! But the Australian replied and resumed his place. Ultimately, it does business for Nieto who can hope to get back on the two men. Max Neukirchner ends up finding the fault on the official Ten Kate and forges a small gap on the n ° 52.

Biaggi manages to pass Corser, while James Toseland seems to be struggling to master the grip of his CBR: the machine slips a lot from the rear !

On the 6th lap, while the order remains unchanged at the head of the race, Tiberio is 13th and Dietrich 14th! Nakatomi falls, the YZF team rider cannot start again. Laconi passed Bayliss and found himself 7th, Xaus was 9th, Fabrizio in 10 then Rolfo and Muggeridge.

On the 7th lap: Biaggi loses the front of his machine and miraculously recovers! The emperor gathered all his willpower so as not to lose focus and waste time. Ironically, his team-mate of the day loses control of his machine in the same hairpin bend and the German’s hopes crash with him in the gravel. Thanks to this fall, Toseland finds himself 5th: the title is getting closer !

On lap 9, Haga was still the fastest on the track and we couldn’t see what could prevent the Yamaha Motor Italy rider from signing a double. Corser has put Biaggi back together and tries an attack: n ° 3 resists, but widens at the next turn, Corser passes 2nd! Nieto 4th is 2.5 seconds from Haga.

On the 10th lap, Haga leads ahead of Corser, Biaggi, Nieto, Toseland, Laconi and Bayliss. Biaggi double Corser, which takes it again under Adelaide’s braking: the public is standing! Corser badly placed to re-accelerate must let the Roman pass. Hot !

At the same time, Bayliss is trying to snatch his 6th position from Regis Laconi, but he is forced to expand and the Frenchman keeps his place! The show is intense, anything can still happen !

In the 11th lap, Biaggi widened a small gap on Corser, but that seemed insufficient to hope to catch up with Haga who was spinning like clockwork. Nieto is still 4th, lonely between Corser and Toseland. Tiberio and Dietrich are 12th and 13th.

Then Bayliss manages to get the best of Laconi and rushes towards Toseland. Will the Ducati rider play the game of Haga or Toseland? Nieto meanwhile goes back to Corser.

On the 14th lap, Haga continued on his way with the best times. Unfortunately for him, there is no offensive bonus in Superbike: the 12 seconds he has over Toseland will not be converted into points and Toseland for the moment 5th is heading towards his second title … Behind , Biaggi can’t seem to pick up the pace, as Bayliss continues to pounce on Toseland !

In the following passage, n ° 21 is in contact with the future Tech 3 pilot! Regis clings to Fabrizio who has just passed the Kawa n ° 55! Rolfo is 9th ahead of Ruben Xaus. Nieto infiltrates Adelaide’s braking and despite Corser’s best efforts, the Spaniard wins: he climbs on the podium !

In the 16th lap, Biaggi is 4.29 seconds behind Haga, decidedly untouchable today! Bayliss is always threatening and tortures Toseland. This one does not seem to be able to resist long, and must calculate the number of points that it cannot lose … If the Aussie passes, the English will only have 2 points ahead of Haga !

Rolfo passes Laconi to Adelaide, while Toseland turns slower and slower. Is it a technical problem or a strategic choice on the part of the 2004 world champion? Troy Bayliss does not ask himself the question: in difficulty or not Toseland is an opponent to be overtaken and the Ducati rider does not deprive himself of it !

For two laps, Haga continued to increase his lead over Biaggi alone in 2nd place. Nieto is at 7.7s, Corser at 8.4s, Bayliss at 13.9s and Toseland at 15.2s. The fight will be intense until the end, even for the podium !

Rolfo is behind Toseland and the question now is whether he will dare to pass his leader … and thus risk losing the world title! The following lap, the positions are unchanged and Toseland is more than 16 seconds from Haga: "Giacomo" limits the risks.

In the 20th lap, the n ° 55 passed Fabrizio and found himself 8th behind Rolfo: the public was delighted to see his Ninja fight to the end! Corser passes Nieto and finds himself outside at the end of the curve: Fonsi, who has kept his initial trajectory, hits him violently, unbalancing the "Australian crocodile" who manages to stay on his wheels! Nieto turns around to check that n ° 11 is not on the ground: it is a final of all contacts !

With 2 laps to go, Laconi seems able to take 7th place from Rolfo. Toseland is now 19 seconds away, but his 6th place is enough for the title. Too bad for the show, but with his 14 podiums and his 8 victories in 13 races, we cannot say that the Englishman has been the "grocer" this season !

Corser can still dream of the podium and Haga seems to be slowing down a bit for the next finish. It was then that Biaggi decided to increase the pace and achieved the best lap: he was the only one to turn below 1 ’41! This situation must make Francis Batta angry his manager who sharply criticizes his pilot for not getting into the rhythm quickly enough…

The last lap goes smoothly and without glare. Even Laconi is too far away to attack Rolfo. Haga wheelies past the finish line, while Toseland lifts his arm under the checkered flag: he is 2007 Superbike World Champion! He can now focus on the biggest challenge of his career: MotoGP … and follow in the footsteps of Barry Sheene !

After being on the podium six times in the last seven races, Haga ended his season on a high note by signing a masterful double in France. He only failed 3 points from the title: with 2 points he would have been tied with James but would still have lost in the number of wins, 6 against 8…

Biaggi finished the year in 3rd position. The Roman Emperor will therefore have to wait a little longer before sewing a fifth star on his leather. On the other hand, he will be able to keep his number 3 fetish. It remains to be seen in which discipline !

Note that Xaus won his "duel" against Lanzi: the Spaniard finished 6th in the championship – behind Bayliss 4th and Corser 5th – riding his private Ducati Sterilgarda. Laconi also climbs a place in the championship and finishes 10th.

In the constructors’ standings, on the other hand, Yamaha won against Honda, 467 points against 439. Ducati finished 3rd with the same score as the "world n ° 1" – in terms of sales -, the same number of victories but a 2nd place in less … Suzuki is 4th with 419 pts, Kawasaki 5th with 192 and MV Agusta last with his point registered at home in Misano.

They explain themselves

N. Haga (1st): "I am not bitter for the title"
I haven’t changed much in the settings of my bike: a few clicks of the suspension and a different front tire. But it allowed me to have a very comfortable race and I am very satisfied with this double victory. I’m not embittered for the title: congratulations to James and his team. "

F. Nieto (3rd): "this is what makes the charm of SBK"
I am very happy with this result which I dedicate to my whole team. Troy and I hung on, but it’s racing, that’s what makes SBK so charming. I think if Troy had been in my shoes he would have done the same and if he’s a little upset I’m sorry, but it’s racing. "

When asked if he can be called the best rookie in the class, Max simply answers "Yes". He does not seem very comfortable and gives the impression of not wanting to add more statements … Faced with this behavior, the speaker is surprised and finally Max explains that his mind is a little elsewhere, because the Last night, Massimo (the driver of his truck) died and it is not the conditions to party. This is why Max did not lead the champagne on the final podium: he and his team had decided to "mark the occasion" whatever the result of the Roman…

James Toseland (2007 World Champion): "I dedicate this title to the" board "of the SBK World Championship"
This title was more difficult than in 2004, because I made it more complicated: I made a mistake at Vallelunga. But I had a great season this year. Thanks to Honda Ten Kate, because they were the only ones to reach out to me two years ago when I got thanked from Ducati. They believed in me and I am proud to thank them for this confidence with the WSBK title. This title has a special flavor, because I had opponents like Haga, Biaggi, Corser and Bayliss and it was an honor to race against them. I spent 7 years of my life in SBK and now I go to MotoGP and I dedicate this title to the "plateau" of the SBK world championship.

See you next season to follow the 2008 Superbike World Championship in full and in detail on Site! But stay until then to follow the latest transfers and winter testing…

SBK Magny-Cours results second round:

Pilot Team Time Tours
1 Haga N. Yamaha Motor Italia 38 ‘35.353 23
2 Biaggi M. Suzuki Alstare Corona 38 ‘38.871 23
3 Nieto F. Kawasaki PSG-1 38 ‘44.495 23
4 Corser T. Yamaha Motor Italia 38 ‘44.610 23
5 Bayliss T. Ducati Xerox 38 ‘48.178 23
6 Toseland J. Honda hannspree 38 ‘54.669 23
7 Rolfo R. Honda hannspree 38 ‘56.347 23
8 Laconi R. Kawasaki PSG-1 38 ‘57.805 23
9 Fabrizio M. Honda DFX Corsica 38 ‘57.858 23
10 Xaus R. Ducati Sterilgarda 39 ‘03.705 23
11 Muggeridge K. Honda Alto Evolution 39 ‘19.686 23
12 Tiberio Y. Honda Alto Evolution 39 ‘23.430 23
13 Dietrich G. Suzuki Alstare Corona 39 ‘58.660 23
14 Morelli L. Honda DFX Corsica 39 ‘59.179 23
15 Ellison D. Ducati Pedercini 40 ‘12.984 23

Best round of the round: 1 ‘40.040 – Biaggi (3rd round)
Best lap in previous race: 1 ‘39.844 – Neukirchner (2007)

2007 World Superbike Ranking:

Pilot Team Points
1 Toseland J. Honda hannspree 415
2 Haga N. Yamaha Motor Italia 413
3 Biaggi M. Suzuki Alstare Corona 397
4 Bayliss T. Ducati Xerox 372
5 Corser T. Yamaha Motor Italia 296
6 Xaus R. Ducati Sterilgarda 201
7 Lanzi L. Ducati Xerox 192
8 Rolfo R. Honda hannspree 192
9 Neukirchner M. Suzuki Germany 149
10 Laconi R. Kawasaki PSG-1 137
11 Fabrizio M. Honda DFX Corsica 132
12 Nieto F. Kawasaki PSG-1 125
13 Kagayama Y. Suzuki Alstare Corona 116
14 Smrz J. Ducati SC Caracchi 66
15 Nakatomi S. Yamaha YZF 66

Alex "Mondial de Magny-Cours" BARDIN and Matthieu "Mondial de Paris" BRETILLE – Photos DR and A.B.

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