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Magny-Cours – the post-race statistics

Monday, 13 October 2014 08:40 GMT

All the relevant numbers of the French Round.

 

WorldSBK.com takes a look at the fact and figures that emerged from the eleventh round of the 2014 eni FIM Superbike World Championship, which took place at Magny-Cours, France, on October 3-5.

Seventh career win for Sylvain Guintoli, which equalled his best season, 2012, when he won three times. In race two he was second, for his fourteenth podium of the season, as many as last year: his best two championships podium-wise.

The two wins by Guintoli in Magny-Cours in race one this year and two years ago, mark the 50 races winning drought by Ducati, the longest of the team. In 2012, race one, Sylvain won here by Ducati for the last time to date. Since then, the Italian manufacturer racked up eight podium finishes.

Sylvain Guintoli is the second rider to post six straight podiums in Magny-Cours after Noriyuki Haga did the same in the 2007, 2008 and 2009 races.

Marco Melandri won in race two, going up to nineteen wins, only two shy of the best Italian rider, Max Biaggi (21). He was second in race one, for a double podium finish: Marco counts now 49 podiums like 2011 world champion Carlos Checa.

Aprilia recorded the double in both races, taking the season total to seven. Race one was the only one in this set of seven with Guintoli ahead of Melandri, with Marco easing up to let his team-mate through.

Aprilia is the first team other than Ducati to score seven doubles in a season: Ducati posted ten in 1995 and 2003, nine in 1992, and eight in 1991 and 1999. Kawasaki follows close, as this season they recorded six doubles (always with Sykes in front of Baz). With thirteen, this has been the season with the highest number of double wins in Superbike history, up from the tenth recorded in 1995, 1999 and 2003.

Having scored the double also in both Jerez races, Aprilia became the first team to record four in a row in eleven years, as the last string of four was set by Ducati in both Valencia and Phillip Island races in 2003.

Jonathan Rea in race one recorded his 41st podium, reaching at the 16th all-time spot 2003 world champion Neil Hodgson.

Tom Sykes, fourth in both races, for the first time this season left a circuit without a podium finish in at least one of the two races.

Leon Haslam was third in race two, recording his 29th podium: he had waited for that since the second race in Misano, 2012, when he was third for BMW. Leon now has as many podiums as 1997 world champion John Kocinski.

The one by Haslam was the first podium for Honda not signed by Jonathan Rea since Carlos Checa finished third in the second Nurburgring race in 2009 (eventually won by Rea). Since then, only Jonathan had climbed on the podium for Honda, 36 times.

For the first time in his Superbike career, Toni Elias didn't score points in a race weekend.

First weekend without points for Suzuki since the 2011 Imola races.

QUALIFYING
Tom Sykes recorded his 24th pole, the 45th for Kawasaki, which joined Honda at the second all-time spot for poles, behind Ducati (164).

Sykes is the only rider who scored three poles in Magny-Cours, doing it in the last three years. He leaves at two Troy Corser (2004 and 2006) and James Toseland (2003, 2007).