James Toseland takes 29 point advantage into final round nex week

Long-term championship leader James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) had a contrasting weekend of results once more, scoring third after a tough first race and then falling in race two, remounting to finish a battling 11th.

Despite his misfortune he still enters the final round of the championship with a 29-point advantage over his nearest rival - now Max Biaggi, after the Roman rider scored a win and a second at his home circuit. Troy Bayliss took the second race win, with Noriyuki Haga, Toseland's only other championship rival, fourth and then third today.

At the top of the championship standings Toseland now has 396 points, Biaggi has 367 and Haga 363. Bayliss, despite his seventh win of the year, is now finally out of the championship contest, 55 points shy of Toseland, with only a maximum of 50 points remaining.

Biaggi won the first race from pole man Bayliss, but the battling qualities of Toseland ensured that the Honda rider would beat his main championship rival, Noriyuki Haga into fourth. Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) had the misfortune of retiring early when another rider struck the rear of his machine, broke his wheel rim and punctured his tyre. The next best Honda rider behind Toseland was local man Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR), fifth and good value for it after a less than perfect start.

Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) was 13th, his team-mate Yoann Tiberio (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) 15th after a good ride in only his second over SBK race. These two riders would go on to repeat their race one fortunes exactly in race two. Luca Morelli (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) was 16th in the opener, 17th in the second 24-lap race.

The second race went to Bayliss, from Biaggi and Haga, and the top placed Honda rider was Rolfo, fifth. Fabrizio was forced to retire, while Toseland crashed out of fourth place at the slowest corner of the track - his second fall of the weekend, after he crashed out of Superpole and thus started each race from eighth place on the grid.

In the Manufacturers' Championship, Honda leads by three points, setting up a dramatic finale at Magny-Cours next week.

Toseland was bitterly disappointed to crash in the second race, but indicated that it was a tough weekend all round.

"I was stronger than most other riders in the first section in race one and I made the most of that," said Toseland. "It was hard in fourth place to be going as fast as possible and still only fourth until near the end, while losing the front and the back end. We've gone from a really dominant and strong position on Saturday to really struggling today. The guys made a great job of rebuilding my number one bike after the Superpole crash and I chose to ride it. This was my decision and maybe it wasn't the best decision because we struggled to get the traction control working. There was no improvement from race one to race two and race one was bad enough - definitely the hardest of the season so far. Having said all that, we've come out of today with a 29-point advantage. If someone had told me at the start of the season that that would the case I'd have been happy with that, so it's not that bad."

Rolfo was disappointed with his race one misfortune, but knew there was little he could do about it. He had qualified ninth in Superpole, and now sits eighth overall in the series, on 177 points.

"Race one was not so good for me," said a philosophical Rolfo after his third home race of the year. "I got a good start but I got caught up in Corser's crash and somebody went into the back of me. This made a hole in my wheel and I had to retire. The second race went much better - I found a good rhythm and kept in the top five for most of the race. I am going to Magny-Cours with a good feeling and I'm looking forward to the race."

Fabrizio was in combative form with factory Ducati rider Lorenzo Lanzi in race one, but in race two his machine stopped after the battery was drained by an electrical problem. He is now tenth in the title chase, after qualifying seventh for his home race.

"The set-up for race one was only 50/50, so we changed it for race two," said Fabrizio. "We were going OK then but the bike stopped after a faulty regular drained the battery. It was good to fight with and beat Lanzi in race one, and really enjoyed riding in front of my home crowd."

Muggeridge knew that after failing to qualify in the top 16 riders that go forward to Superpole by one place, his job on raceday would be tough, but he worked his way through well, and now sits 16th overall, on 53 points.

"We were very consistent today but not at a pace I wanted to be at," said Muggeridge. "We were spinning a lot because of the lack of electronics on our bike and at this kind of circuit, you are dead in the water. I can't make up for that, not for all 24 laps of each race. I worked hard for it and we got points both times. We came away in one piece. We need grip, and some help keeping it. It will make a big difference."

Morelli, 21st in qualifying, took better fortune in race one than in race two.

"It was good to fight with Tiberio in the opener," said Morelli, "but not so good in race two. I heard a loud noise, which I thought came from my machine, and I looked down to check. There didn't seem any thing wrong so I carried on, but by then I had been passed by some other riders."

Tiberio enjoyed the challenge of Magny Cours, and despite finding it hard work, the Frenchman, who had qualified only one place behind Muggeridge in 18th, took two single-point scores away to France in readiness for the final round.

"I think this was a good weekend for me, and I made good progress in comparison with Lausitz," said Tiberio. "I am closer to the times now so things are coming better, and I'm really enjoying the bike now."

Next week Magny-Cours (7 October) hosts the final championship races of the year for all classes.

Results 

SUPERBIKE
Race 1 : (Laps 24 = 98,640 Km)
Pos / Rider / Nat. / Team / Time / Gap
1 / M.BIAGGI / ITA / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 39'24.967 /
2 / T. BAYLISS / AUS / Ducati Xerox Team / 39'30.605 / 5.638
3 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 39'32.419 / 7.452
4 / N.HAGA / JPN / Yamaha Motor Italia / 39'35.046 / 10.079
5 / M.FABRIZIO / ITA / D.F.X. Corse / 39'47.224 / 22.257
6 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati Xerox Team / 39'50.629 / 25.662
7 / R. LACONI / FRA / Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse / 39'59.778 / 34.811
8 / F. NIETO / ESP / Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse / 40'03.042 / 38.075
9 / S. NAKATOMI / JPN / Yamaha YZF / 40'04.037 / 39.070
10 / V. IANNUZZO / ITA / Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse / 40'12.669 / 47.702
11 / J. SMRZ / CZE / Team Caracchi Ducati SC / 40'12.773 / 47.806
12 / M.BORCIANI / ITA / Team Sterilgarda / 40'18.455 / 53.488
13 / K. MUGGERIDGE / AUS / Alto Evolution Honda / 40'19.476 / 54.509
14 / S. MARTIN / AUS / Celani Team Suzuki Italia / 40'26.934 / 1'01.967
15 / Y. TIBERIO / FRA / Alto Evolution Honda / 40'33.258 / 1'08.291

Fastest Lap 4° Noriyuki Haga 1'37.419 151,880 Km/hh

Race 2: (Laps 24 = 98,640 Km)
1 / T. BAYLISS / AUS / Ducati Xerox Team / 39'30.861 /
2 / M.BIAGGI / ITA / Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra / 39'32.292 / 1.431
3 / N.HAGA / JPN / Yamaha Motor Italia / 39'35.327 / 4.466
4 / T. CORSER / AUS / Yamaha Motor Italia / 39'44.627 / 13.766
5 / R. ROLFO / ITA / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 39'51.709 / 20.848
6 / R. XAUS / ESP / Team Sterilgarda / 39'52.791 / 21.930
7 / L. LANZI / ITA / Ducati Xerox Team / 40'00.708 / 29.847
8 / F. NIETO / ESP / Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse / 40'00.847 / 29.986
9 / S. NAKATOMI / JPN / Yamaha YZF / 40'10.987 / 40.126
10 / M.NEUKIRCHNER / GER / Suzuki Germany / 40'11.594 / 40.733
11 / J. TOSELAND / GBR / Hannspree Ten Kate Honda / 40'13.405 / 42.544
12 / V. IANNUZZO / ITA / Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse / 40'25.365 / 54.504
13 / K. MUGGERIDGE / AUS / Alto Evolution Honda / 40'25.885 / 55.024
14 / S. MARTIN / AUS / Celani Team Suzuki Italia / 40'26.165 / 55.304
15 / Y. TIBERIO / FRA / Alto Evolution Honda / 40'30.642 / 59.781

Fastest Lap 9° Max Biaggi 1'37.727 151,401 Km/h
Lap record: 2007 N. Haga 1'37.419 151,880 Km/h
Best Lap: 2007 T.Bayliss 1'35.890 154,300 Km/h

Riders Championship Standings:
1 TOSELAND 391, 2 HAGA 347, 3 BIAGGI 347, 4 BAYLISS 316, 5 CORSER 254, 6 LANZI 183, 7 XAUS 177, 8 ROLFO 166, 9 NEUKIRCHNER 130, 10 FABRIZIO 123, 11 LACONI 122, 12 KAGAYAMA 116, 13 NIETO 90, 14 SMRZ 66, 15 NAKATOMI 54