Photography by Gold & Goose
Davide Giugliano looked strong at Magny-Cours on Friday in the penultimate round of the 2014 eni FIM Superbike World Championship. Giugliano raced his factory Ducati 1199 Panigale R to the fastest time of Friday’s FP2 session, turning a 1:37.866 on the French road course. Giugliano ended the day the only rider to dip into the 1:37 bracket. Coming in behind the speedy Italian was Suzuki’s Eugene Laverty (1:38138), fresh off the announcement of his MotoGP ride in 2015. France’s own Sylvain Guintoli rounded out the top three in the practice session with a time of 1:38.152 on his factory Aprilia.
In his four previous WSBK races in Magny-Cours, Giugliano finished between fourth and eighth. Last year his best results: two fourth places from third in grid. Two years ago, in race two, he scored his maiden fastest race lap.
“Magny-Cours is a great track that’s been pretty favorable to me in the past,” Guigliano said. “I enjoy racing there. There is a technical section where we should be able to make the most of the Panigale’s potential and then even though there is a long straight, thanks to all our hard work I hope that the gap is a manageable one. The test team worked hard on some new set-ups at Mugello, so it will be interesting to see if there’s something that we can use this weekend. The only question mark is, as usual, the weather, but that’s standard at this time of year so we just have to prepare as well as we can.”
The stakes are high for this year’s title as series leader Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) comes to this event with a 31 point advantage over Guintoli. Based on history Sykes is the man to beat in Magny-Cours, having won the last three races run here and having scored pole in the last two editions. Only Noriyuki Haga won more than Sykes at the circuit, with five wins from 2004 to 2009. Last year Sykes dominated both races by pulling away early and reaching the flag in race two with more than ten seconds over his rivals, posting also the two fastest race laps. Sykes adds to these wins a third in race one 2012: before these, he had never climbed on the podium in the six races run here from 2009 to 2011.
“A big weekend coming up and it is potentially getting down towards crunch time,” Sykes said. “I am very relaxed and yet also excited to go to Magny-Cours. It is a circuit we have done very well at in the past so I am looking forward to getting back on my Ninja ZX-10R. Despite scoring a podium in race two at Jerez we had a few issues at the previous round, especially in race one, so I am hoping we can be a lot stronger this time out. At this present time we are in a good championship position with the biggest margin for error. Hopefully we can stretch it a bit more this weekend.”
In recent seasons Guintoli has posted excellent results in his home track: winner in race one, 2012, in his last four races there he always stood on the podium. Last year he was second behind Sykes and third behind Sykes and Laverty. He qualified twice second here (2010 and last year) and twice fifth (2011 and 2012) and he was never beaten in qualifying by a teammate. When he finished the races, seven times out of eight, Guintoli was never classified below sixth here (he was disqualified in 2010 in race one because he didn’t serve a ride-through penalty after cutting a chicane).
The Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, located in the Burgundy region of central France, has been a regular fixture on the SBK calendar each year since 2003 but due to the fact that the event traditionally takes place late in the season, the French race weekend is often conditioned by inclement weather. With only one round remaining after this weekend, riders will be aiming to collect as many championship points as possible before the season’s end.
World Superbike FP2 Results from Magny-Cours – Oct. 3, 2014
1 34 D. GIUGLIANO Ducati 1199 Panigale R 1’37.866
2 58 E. LAVERTY Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’38.138
3 50 S. GUINTOLI Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’38.152
4 65 J. REA Honda CBR1000RR 1’38.157
5 33 M. MELANDRI Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’38.451
6 1 T. SYKES Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’38.518
7 76 L. BAZ Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’38.647
8 7 C. DAVIES Ducati 1199 Panigale R 1’38.747
9 22 A. LOWES Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’38.88
10 91 L. HASLAM Honda CBR1000RR 1’39.040
