Results World Superbike-Supersport, Magny Course, France
. By Bikeland Staff
SOFUOGLU DEMOLISHES YET ANOTHER RECORD WITH WIN NUMBER EIGHT
Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) scored the win by 2.7 seconds at Magny-Cours, in a race delayed because of early morning fog at the 4.411km circuit in the centre of France. In taking his eighth victory in 13 attempts, Sofuoglu became the first rider ever to win eight WSS races in a single season, and ended the year with an extended record haul of 276 points.
In qualifying, the Turkish rider scored his fifth
pole of the year, and he has now started every
2007 race from the front row of the grid. Just to
underline Sofuoglu's weekend of glory, he also
set a new lap record of 1'42.740, on lap four, to
go with his new absolute Supersport best lap from qualifying, 1'42.057.
Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR)
had only qualified 12th for the race but in
earning an eighth place finish in France he held
on for fourth place in the championship, with a
total of 101 points. Craig Jones (Honda CBR600RR)
was third in the Magny-Cours race, behind Broc
Parkes, and in doing so Jones has now secured
fifth place in the title fight, with 94 points in total.
Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
CBR600RR) had qualified third and was as high as
fifth in the race, but pulled in to retire after
slowing once more in the middle of the 22-lap
run. He ends an unhappy year with 51 points, in 11th place.
Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) had
to start from 27th place on the grid after a
crash affected his final qualifying push, and he
ended his last race of 2007 in 17th place. His
championship position of 15th, was not helped by three no-scores.
In the Manufacturers' Championship Honda ended a
successful season with a total of 296 points, 68 clear of second place.
Sofuoglu's win was not without risk at some
points, but the champion had it all under control at the end of 22 laps.
"I lost the front half way through and just a
managed to hold on to the bike, but it was very
close!" said Sofuoglu. "I didn't push too hard in
the first few laps because I know that I can be
strong at the end of the race. I followed Broc
and waited for the right time to pass. After I
nearly crashed I thought I had better take it
easy so I waited a few more laps before trying to
overtake again. It was a big ambition of mine to
win here and to get the record for the most
Supersport wins in a season. I am really happy to
end this season on top before I go into World Superbikes next year."
Charpentier ended yet another race sliding down
the order as the laps clicked by, leaving him
disappointed after such a strong qualifying showing.
"It has been an unlucky season overall," said the
2005 and 2006 World Champion. "I really wanted to
end things on a good note. Unfortunately it
wasn't meant to be. I tried my best and I want to
thank the team for the support they have given me
this year and throughout my career."
Fujiwara battled hard for his top ten race
finish, especially as he is still in pain from a
previous injury to his left foot and ankle.
"I made a good start, but after only three laps
the pain really started in my left leg," said
Fujiwara. "I realised then that I just had to
ride to get to the finish at a good pace and keep
fourth position in the championship. The last
five laps were very hard but we kept fourth
overall, and that was important for both the team and myself."
Alfonsi knew that the race would be hard after
his qualification near the back of the grid, but fought hard all the same.
"I tried my best to get into the points," said
Alfonsi, "but I missed out. It was difficult with
so many riders in front to pass but I made up
nearly nine places. The group in front was too
far to catch on the last few laps. Over the
season I am reasonably satisfied, and if we had
finished all the races we would have got a lot
better points score, enough to put me in the top ten."
World Superbike Round 13 of 13
TOSELAND WINS THE TITLE BY TWO POINTS AFTER TENSE FINALE IN FRANCE
Long-term championship leader James Toseland
(Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) had to wait
until the final race of the 2007 season to secure
the title in a championship class he has led
since the very first race meeting of the year -
and after a dramatic first corner incident in
race one put him off track. He restarted
absolutely last but made it back through the
field to secure seventh in the opener, and in
finishing a very safe and secure sixth in race
two, he beat Magny Cours double race winner
Noriyuki Haga to the title by only two points.
The final championship positions in SBK read
Toseland 415 points (and 8 wins), Haga 413 (6
wins), Max Biaggi 397 (3 wins) and Troy Bayliss 372 (7 wins).
This is Honda's first win in the Riders'
Championship since Colin Edwards scored the
season victory on a Honda VTR1000SP in 2002, and
the sixth Honda victory in the Riders'
Championship since the championship's inception
in 1988. In the Manufacturers' Championship,
Honda is joint second, on 439 points.
Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR)
went tenth and seventh in the Magny Cours races,
after qualifying 11th, to finish his first Honda
season in SBK racing on 192 points, This puts him
eighth in the rankings, but on the same points as
Lorenzo Lanzi, the rider who tangled with Toseland in the first race.
Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) just
missed out on a top ten place in the overall
championship standings, after scoring a 14th
place and a ninth at Magny-Cours. He had
qualified 12th in Superpole, and finished his
season 11th overall, on 132 points.
Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR)
rode two characteristically gritty races to
record a 12th and an 11th place on raceday, and
end his season 16th, on 62 points.
Luca Morelli (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) finished
his season 22nd in the ranking, on 11 points,
after retiring in race one today, and then scoring 14th place.
Yoann Tiberio (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR)
carried on his steep learning process with two
solid and ever-improving performances, running
out 13th and 12th in his home races. He was only
a tenth of a second behind Muggeridge in race one.
Toseland was understandably as relieved as he was
happy to secure his second championship, having
enjoyed such an expansive championship lead at
one time, only to see bad luck and small errors
punished harshly in the last few races.
"It's about time!" said Toseland from the same
venue he wrapped up his first world title at in
2004. "I have led the championship from Qatar and
what an incredible championship it has been. I
think this has been the best World Supervise
season I have ever experienced and I have been
riding in the series for seven years now. The
standard of riding has been incredible and I have
enjoyed battling with all of them - Bayliss,
Corser, Biaggi, Haga - the list goes on. I have
been pushed to the absolute limit and to win the
championship by just two points is unbelievable."
Toseland was also happy to show that his fighting
spirit has been unbowed by his recent
misfortunes, and he went all out in Superpole to
show he was the fastest rider on track, and unafraid to take risks.
"To get pole position and the title at my last
Superbike round is great," said Toseland who set
a new track best in Superpole of 1'38.501. "This
is what I live for, it's what really matters to
me and I wanted it so much. This is my way of
saying thank you to everyone who has supported me
through my Superbike career. I can leave for
MotoGP with my head held high and the knowledge
that I gave this championship my all until the very last race."
Hannspree Ten Kate Racing Team Owner Gerrit Ten
Kate was understandably emotional about his team
winning both Supersport and Superbike
championships in 2007, and praised all involved.
"I am of course very proud of all my guys,
without my team I cannot do anything," said Ten
Kate, who earlier in the year watched Kenan
Sofuoglu win Honda and Ten Kate their sixth
consecutive championships. "It shows again that a
private team, with good support from a
manufacturer, can win. You do not always need to
have full factory support behind you. Of course
we have good support from Honda and we are very
grateful for it. I never thought that when we
started in Thunderbike and Supersport racing all
those years ago we would win two championships in
one season. We are simple guys, with our feet on
the ground. We tried our best, we will celebrate
tonight, but then we will be focused on next
year. Next year we will still be strong."
Rolfo praised all involved in his side of the
Hannspree Ten Kate Honda garage, but knew things
were going to be difficult from the very first laps.
"Today's races were tough," said the Turin rider.
"I tried my best to get up to the front but
everyone was fighting so hard for the last race.
Anyway, I have had a good season with Hannspree
Ten Kate Honda and I have learned so much. I am
happy for James and Kenan and it is great to see
the team on top in both championships. They certainly deserve it."
Fabrizio encountered chatter from his machine in
the second race, but a bad start in race one was his main problem.
"In the first race I kicked the bike into gear
and the clutch grabbed so my start was not so
good," said Fabrizio "In race two the tyre was
starting to go off after a few laps and I had the
back end chattering and sliding."
Muggeridge rode his heart out but with so many
slow corner exits to deal with, the lack of
electronic controls on his machine finally
determined his finishes outside the top ten.
"We invented a setting this morning that didn't
work that well but we improved it this
afternoon," said Muggeridge. "It was still not
quite there. Today was a lot better than the rest
of the weekend, but it would have been nice to
have this setting on Friday or Saturday. With the
lack of electronics and grip on the bike, we have
no real chance, but I rode as fast and safe as I
could. We finished sunny side up both races."
Morelli was forced out of race one, but recovered
to score points in the second, despite suffering some problems.
"In the first race my rear tyre was just finished
before the end of the race so I decided to come
in and stop and not risk carrying on," said
Morelli, "In race two I had a lot of chatter and
had to work hard to keep going fast."
Tiberio had two good races in front of his home
crowd, and after only three rounds in the SBK
championship, has scored ten points.
"The second race felt worse for tyres, but my
choice," said Tiberio. "The first race felt like
it was better, and I wanted to fight with Karl in
race two. He made a small gap and it was
impossible to keep with him. We got good points
and made an improvement at this race, which I have to be happy about."
JT HISTORY - supplied by team
James Toseland - profile and career history
At just 23 years old, James Toseland became the
youngest ever SBK World Champion in 2004.
Now 27, and having celebrated his birthday on the
Friday of first practice in France, the
Doncaster-born rider has more racing experience
under his leathers than some of the series' other
veterans. Early competition in trials and
motocross awarded him an impressive haul of
trophies and ultimately laid the foundations of a
promising career in road racing.
Toseland quickly worked his way up through the
ranks of 125cc racing and into British Supersport
and shone in the European Championship. However,
it was in 1998 at the tender age of 16 that he
was given his big break - a ride with Castrol
Honda in the World Supersport series.
Never one to turn down a challenge, over the next
two seasons Toseland finished 18th and 11th
overall before returning to Britain to ride in
the 2000 British Superbike Championship.
Despite missing almost half the season through
injury, the Yorkshireman finished 12th and was
quickly snapped-up by GSE Racing for its World
Superbike campaign. An impressive 13th place in
the 2001 series, including sixth at Brands Hatch,
was enough to confirm the rider as a clear World Superbike contender.
Since then, Toseland has emerged as a world-class
rider. In only his second year in the World
Superbike series in 2002, he made his name as a
regular top-six finisher and scored his
first-ever podium finish at Assen. In 2003, he
ended fellow Brit Hodgson's winning streak with
an impressive victory at Oschersleben and earned
his first pole position in the final round at Magny-Cours.
An extraordinary 2004 season followed, with
Toseland making the history books as the
youngest-ever World Superbike Champion. Despite a
relatively tough 2005 season with the
British-based team - when he finished fourth
overall - Toseland bounced back in 2006 to take
second position overall with Winston Ten Kate Honda.
2007 is his seventh consecutive year as a
permanent fixture on the Superbike grid - this
time with Hannspree Ten Kate Honda. He has led
the championship since round one at Qatar
including 8 race wins until the eve of Magny-Cours.
Career history:
Year Class/result
2006 World Superbike Championship - 2nd
2005 World Superbike Championship - 4th
2004 World Superbike Champion
2003 World Superbike Championship - 3rd
2002 World Superbike Championship - 7th
2001 World Superbike Championship - 13th
2000 British Superbike Championship - 12th
1999 World Supersport Championship - 11th
1998 World Supersport Championship - 18th
1997 British Supersport
Championship - 3rd British Honda CB500 Cup Champion
1996 Superteen Championship - 11th
1995 Junior Road Race Champion
1994 125cc Road Racing
1992 Inter100cc Youth Series Best Newcomer
1989-1993 Trials
Results
SUPERSPORT:
RACE : (Laps 22 = 97,042 Km)
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time /Gap
1 / K. SOFUOGLU / TUR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 37'55.892 /
2 / B. PARKES / AUS / Yamaha World SSP Racing / 37'58.686 / 2.794
3 / C. JONES / GBR / Revè Ekerold Honda Racing / 38'07.027 / 11.135
4 / G.VIZZIELLO / ITA / RG Team / 38'07.443 / 11.551
5 / T. HILL / GBR / Yamaha World SSP Racing / 38'08.251 / 12.359
6 / D. CHECA / ESP / Yamaha - GMT 94 / 38'12.365 / 16.473
7 / J. BROOKES / AUS / Stiggy Motorsport Honda / 38'13.753 / 17.861
8 / K. FUJIWARA / JPN / Althea Honda Team / 38'17.911 / 22.019
9 / G.LEBLANC / FRA / Vazy Racing Team / 38'18.432 / 22.540
10 / M.ROCCOLI / ITA / Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni / 38'18.532 / 22.640
11 / S. GIMBERT / FRA / Yamaha - GMT 94 / 38'19.426 / 23.534
12 / A. TODE / GER / Stiggy Motorsport Honda / 38'25.372 / 29.480
13 / S. SANNA / ITA / Racing Team Parkalgar / 38'35.990 / 40.098
14 / K. FORAY / FRA / Intermoto Czech / 38'36.175 / 40.283
15 / D. PERRET / FRA / Scratch Moto Racing Team / 38'38.774 / 42.882
Fastest Lap 4° Kenan Sofuoglu 1'42.740 154,561 Km/h
Lap record: 2006 K.Sofuoglu 1'43.429 153,530 Km/h
Best Lap: 2007 K.Sofuoglu 1'42.057 155,600 Km/h