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Superbike face-off at Magny-Cours for Biaggi, Sykes and Melandri

Monday, 1 October 2012 17:18 GMT
Superbike face-off at Magny-Cours for Biaggi, Sykes and Melandri
Three riders and three different manufacturers will be facing off on Sunday in the final showdown at Magny-Cours for the 2012 eni FIM Superbike World Championship titles. Not for the first time will the French circuit play host to the championship's grand finale, which this time sees two Italians, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) and Marco Melandri (BMW Motorad Motorsport) and a British rider, Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), currently second in the standings, mathematically still in with a chance of winning.


The last round in Portugal, which produced a number of surprises and upsets, saw Max Biaggi gain ground on his rivals and the 41-year-old from Rome now has 347 points, against 316.5 for Sykes and 308.5 for Melandri. The 30 year-old from Ravenna was involved in a crash that eliminated him from race 1 and he cracked a couple of ribs in the process, but since then he has embarked on an intensive recovery programme in order not to miss out on the final encounter.


The current standings show that Biaggi can easily win the sixth world title in his career, his second in Superbike, with just two sixth places. Even if Sykes takes a double win (50 points), Biaggi just needs 20 to take the title. Judging from his previous form there, the title is within easy reach: he has raced eight times at Magny-Cours and has always finished in the top 6, with four podiums to his name and a win in 2010 when he got the better of Cal Crutchlow in a ferocious duel after he had already clinched the title.


Tom Sykes on the other hand has never finished higher than eighth, with three crashes to his name. The Kawasaki has improved massively throughout the season however and Sykes has taken three of his four race victories in 2012. Marco Melandri only raced at Magny-Cours last season, twice finishing runner-up after two terrific recoveries.


In twenty-five editions of the Superbike World Championship this will be the 15th time the title is assigned at the final round. Magny-Cours has been decisive on three occasions: in 1991 Texan Doug Polen took his first title with three rounds remaining, while in both 2004 and 2007 the championship went right down to the wire, with Britain's James Toseland getting the nod on both occasions - the first when he beat home favourite Règis Laconi, the second against Noriyuki Haga.


The Manufacturers' battle is also at stake: Aprilia lead the way with 422.5 points, against BMW on 394 and reigning champions Ducati on 375. As well as Max Biaggi the Italian manufacturer can count on excellent support from Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) and Chaz Davies (ParkinGo MTC Racing Aprilia), two youngsters who have already celebrated their first win on the RSV4 in the last two rounds this year, respectively at Portimao and Nurburgring. If they manage to win this title, for Aprilia it would mean a 50th title conquered in Superbike, Grand Prix Road Racing and Off-Road.


At the final round of the 25th edition of the FIM Superbike World Championship, numerous other riders will be aiming to finish off the season with a podium place or a result that may modify the outcome of the title. These will undoubtedly include the outgoing champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) who began testing with Ducati's new 1199, which will be fielded in 2013, after the Portimao round. Team-mate Davide Giugliano, at 22 years of age one of the revelations of this year, also took part in the testing.


All eyes will also be on Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) following his double experience in MotoGP with Honda HRC. The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland has never really had much luck at Magny-Cours but one year ago he did manage to score the Tissot-Superpole.

 

Expectations are high for the FIXI Crescent Suzuki team following some great recent performances. The Japanese manufacturer has never won on this track, but it does have six second places to its name, so maybe Leon Camier, who went well at Portimao, will manage to buck this trend.


The final round will define the remaining top positions with Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Racing Ducati) currently holding onto the eighth place he has conquered with two wins and some other great races, while another Frenchman Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) is also looking to finish his debut season, with one win and three podiums to his name, on a high note: the 19-year-old is currently 12th overall and will be racing in front of his home fans. Two last-minute changes see the Effenbert Liberty team declare themselves absent from the final round completely, while one of the team's former riders Maxime Berger lines up for Red Devils Roma in place of the injured Niccolò Canepa.


Points (after 13 of 14 rounds): 1. Biaggi 347; 2. Sykes 316,5; 3. Melandri 308.5; 4. Checa 278.5; 5. Rea 255.5; 6. Laverty 241.5; 7. Haslam 189; 8. Guintoli 172.5; 9. Davies 156.5; 10. Fabrizio 133.5; etc.

Manufacturers: 1. Aprilia 422.5; 2. BMW 394; 3. Ducati 375; 4. Kawasaki 356.5; 5. Honda 270.5; 6. Suzuki 130.5.