The 2005 World Superbike
Championship draws to a close at the Magny-Cours circuit in central France
this weekend. Following last weekend's washout at Imola, which handed the
title automatically to Troy Corser (Suzuki) and the runner-up slot to Chris
Vermeulen (Honda), Ducati Xerox Team riders James Toseland and Régis Laconi
have Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) in their sights as they aim to make up the gap
to third place.
Ducati Corse Superbike technical director Ernesto Marinelli explains
the sort of set-up required for the 4.411 km circuit. "Magny-Cours is the
sort of track where you may need fog lights on the bike during the morning
practice sessions!" joked Marinelli.
"Seriously speaking though, we shouldn't have any particular problems
here. You need a neutral set-up because the track is normal and doesn't have
any major set-up difficulties like Imola or Laguna Seca. There are several
short radius curves and quick curves. The baseline set-up always goes well
here, the only problem could be the gear ratios. Due to the layout of the
track and the distances between one curve and the next one, the ratios are
never quite exact and you have to work to get the best compromise. Either
the first gear is too long or second gear is too short. The track also tends
to be damp and covered with fog in the morning so this could create a few
grip problems".
James Toseland, whose 25th birthday was on Wednesday, lies 27 points
adrift of Haga in the race for third place but lost some points to his
Japanese rival at Imola. "I have some good memories from this track from
last year so I'll be looking to go well again" declared Toseland.
"I'm a bit disappointed we didn't do the second race at Imola because
I could have gained some points on Haga and made it easier for myself to get
the third place. Now I just want to finish the season on a high really, it's
been a long hard struggle back to form and despite the results I feel I've
been riding well recently. I never used to like the Magny-Cours track but as
soon as I started going well, I've always looked forward to coming here. You
've got such tight corners and such heavy braking for that hairpin that you
need a compromise with the feeling for the corners and also with the support
on the suspension for the braking".
Régis Laconi returns to France for the final round of the year with
one aim only, to finish the 2005 championship with further wins to add to
his three this season. "My arm feels a bit better than at Imola but I think
I'll need at least a couple more weeks before it's back to normal", said
Laconi.
"It didn't bother me too much last weekend, let's hope it's the same
here because there are more right-hand curves at this track. I want to
finish the championship with two good results at my home circuit. I like it
a lot but unfortunately I just haven't had many good results here. The most
difficult part are the hairpins, but me and my engineers have been working
on the right ratios so we should go well. It's going to be difficult to get
third place, so the most important thing for me is to win the races, the
rest doesn't count anymore. For sure I won three races this year but I also
scored zero points on numerous occasions; that's the story of my season and
that's why I want to finish off the championship with a couple of wins".
