Courtesy of Aprilia

SUPERPOLE: BIAGGI IN THE FIRST ROW

A beautiful sunny day was the backdrop for the Superpole of the French round of the SBK. And it was Ben Spies, on his Yamaha Factory, who captured the Superpole with a time of 1:37:709, just 0:482 ahead of Rea's Honda and 0:487 ahead of Fabrizio's Ducati.
It was fourth place for Max Biaggi with a time of 1:38:235, 0:526 behind the pole position. The Roman driver passed the first stage in fourth position with his racing tyres, while in Superpole 2, he finished in fourth place once again after mounting the first qualifying tyre. He used the second qualifying tyre during the last minutes of the final eight, moving into third place, which was then snatched away by Fabrizio, however, who left Biaggi behind by just 39 thousandths of a second.

It was sixteenth place for Leon Camier, who had his Superpole debut with the RSV4. The English driver passed the first stage in thirteenth place with the first qualifying tyre. In Superpole 2, he lost too much time because of a slower driver in front of him and he wasn’t able to get back to the box in time to mount the racing tyre, so he’ll have to make due with a spot in the fourth row.

"It went well, the first row is a good result,” declared Biaggi, “plus, we made some progress with both the suspension and the transmission. As often happens, this year we had to start from zero and so it took a bit more time to get things ready, even though we’re still losing a lot of time at the slowest part of the track where the management of a four-cylinder bike is more difficult. Tomorrow’s race will be very difficult, my competitors are all very fast, but I’ll give it my all, like I always do, and I’m sure that we’ll have a good result.”

"From certain standpoints, it didn’t go very well,” said Camier. “In the Superpole I made some errors in judgment and I wasn’t able to mount the second racing tyre. Everything else is going well, the feeling with the RSV4 is growing and we found a good alignment. I hope I’ll have a good race, even though I know it won't be easy."

RACE 1: BIAGGI IS THIRD

Wins Spies, on his Yamaha Factory, raced to the finish line, 0:181 ahead of Haga and 5:009 ahead of Max Biaggi’s RSV4 which finished in third place.
Spies started off well from the pole position followed by Biaggi, Rea and Haga, breaking away immediately from all of the others. The American pushed the pace trying to break away but the others would not give up, even though Rea was forced to pull out during the sixth lap. Then it was Biaggi who became the star of the race. Stuck between a rock and a hard place midway through the race he managed to gain ground on Spies, but he closed off any possible entryway to Haga. The race continued that way, at a record-setting pace, up until the sixteenth lap when Max made a mistake and was passed by the Japanese driver. The Roman driver tried to fight back at the first curve, but he took it long and lost ground, so during last five laps, he controlled third place allowing him to conquer his sixth podium of the season after last week’s win at Imola.

During his first SBK race with the RSV4, Leon Camier was forced to pull out just three laps before the end of the race due to a technical problem. The Brit, after failing to start off well, struggled to set the pace during the first laps, and was also slowed down by Sykes’ spectacular fall, but halfway through the race he began to achieve some excellent times, managing to catch up to the group that was battling it out for sixth position, until he had to abandon the race in eleventh position.

“It was a very exciting race,” said Biaggi, “I started off well, but Spies was pushing hard. During the second part of the race I had a good rhythm and the tyres were working well, so I tried to catch up with him. Just five laps from the end, however, I made a mistake so Haga passed me, and during the next bend I tried to pass him, but I went long and lost a lot of ground. I’m happy, the team did a great job and we found an excellent foundation for Race 2.”

The sun was shining at Magny Cours for Race 2 of the French round of the SBK. The 81,000 spectators present watched a race that was extremely hard fought, right up until the final moments, and concluded with Haga’s victory just ahead of Max Biaggi’s RSV4 and Rea’s Honda.

Biaggi started off very well from fourth position and immediately jumped into the lead, followed by Haga, Rea and Spies, but at the end of the first round, it was the Japanese driver who took over the first place position and set the pace of the selection. Max continued to stay attached to the Ducati with Rea right behind him and the native of Northern Ireland took over second position in the seventh lap. Halfway through the race, Haga seemed to be breaking away, but Biaggi passed quickly and Rea set off behind him, but the Honda didn’t give up until just five laps before the end when the Roman driver closed the gap with the Japanese driver to just a half second, while the Brit slipped back and had to make do with third place. Biaggi seemed to be getting closer and closer in the first two sections of the track, while the Ducati lengthened the gap in the third. In the end, Haga would be the first to cross under the chequered flag with a time of 1:480 on the RSV4.

Biaggi climbed atop the podium once again after his third place finish in Race 1, for the seventh time this season, in addition to his victory at Brno and this is the third double win this season after two third place finishes in Qatar, and the victory and second place finish in the Czech Republic.
Another dropout froze Leon Camier’s Superbike debut with the RSV4. This time the Brit started off well and for more than half the race he battled it out for sixth place with a group of competitors despite a few too many errors that forced him to remount each time. Unfortunately, during the fifteenth lap the Aprilia’s engine overheated and forced him to pull out while he was in ninth position.

“I’m very happy,” declared Biaggi. “It was a very difficult race; we were all quite fast and all at the same level, especially during the first part of the race. Haga had set an excellent pace but he wasn’t too far ahead, even though a stone broke my front fairing halfway through the race and I lost ground to check and make sure the radiator wasn’t broken. Then I managed to get back on and I tried to catch up to the Japanese driver during the final laps. It was a nice battle that we drove to the limit. We had an excellent race; we’ve grown a lot in these last few rounds, and after the first heat we made some small changes that worked quite well. I dedicate this second place finish to my team, which is truly fantastic.”

“I used a different approach with the RSV4,” said Camier, “which is quite different from the other bikes that I’ve driven up until now. These last few days I’ve managed to understand Aprilia’s potential; I changed my driving style and we worked a lot on the alignment, getting faster step by step, to the point that this morning during the warm-up I finished in fourth place with worn racing tyres that. I started off badly in Race 1, and during the initial laps I was slowed down by some falls. When I got my rhythm I caught up to the group that was fighting for sixth place, but then I had to stop because of a problem with the gas pump. I started off better in Race 2; I set a good pace and despite a few mistakes, I moved up to ninth place, but I had to pull out again due to an engine problem. It was a very positive debut for me, and I’m sure things will go better in Portimao.”

TIMES

SBK: BIAGGI TENTH, CAMIER DEBUTS

Just one week after the wonderful round held at Imola, the SBK returned to the track again, this time at the French circuit of Magny Cours. It was a cool, cloudy day and Michel Fabrizio turned in the best time at 1:38:770, ahead of Rea and his teammate Haga.
It was tenth place for Max Biaggi with a time of 1:39:834, finishing 1:064 behind the Ducati Factory. During his first experience on the French track, the Roman driver concentrated his work on the quest for the best set-up for his RSV4.

And Leon Camier, after Marco Simoncelli, is Shinya Nakano replacement, both at Magny Cours and in the next round at Portimao. The twenty-three year old English driver, fresh from his 2009 BSB National Championship victory, made the most of his two trial rounds in order to familiarize himself and gain confidence with the RSV4, which he had never driven before, as well as with the trans-Alpine track. In the end, he managed to place seventeenth with a time of 1:40:103, 1:333 behind Fabrizio.

"We still have a lot of work to do to in order to succeed in doing better," said Biaggi. "There’s a portion of the track where we're still losing a lot of time and this really penalizes us. We still have to adjust the suspension and the management of the electronics, obviously never having raced here complicates the work to be done, such as the tuning of the engine and the gears. We’ll need a little time. We'll see what happens tomorrow."

“I’m very happy," said Camier. "At the beginning of this experience, I didn't know what to expect, given that I had never driven this motorcycle, now I realize that the RSV4's potential is impressive. Now we're working to find the best alignment for my driving style and I still need some time to improve my feeling with the bike and with the track, but I’m sure I’ll be able to do well this weekend.”