This is the seventh race of the season for the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup. Raffaele De Rosa is trying to take the cup away from Leandro Mercado, the man who currently holds the lead in the Cup standings. We are set for the latest 15 lap dash for cash in Stock 1000, the penultimate race of the cup season. It's time for Superstock 1000, just past 2PM local time here in France, as we've already seen an awesome double victory for Chaz Davies in World Superbike. Will we see more Ducati success in Stock 1000? Stay tuned to find out. It's a little breezy. Let's have a look at the weather. 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature. 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature. This is the 25th, the silver anniversary of Superbike in France.
Folks, there's been some drama. Luca Mahias has pole for today's race. Raffaele De Rosa wants to go for the win and just hope that Leandro Mercado has problems. Mercado is aware he could win the cup, here in France, but does not want to think about it, wanting to be realistic. Leandro Mercado has a 14 point lead over second place, and Ducati leads BMW in the manufacturer's cup by 27 points. Don't rule out Kevin Calia on the Aprilia. He of course, rides the #74 Aprilia RSV4 RF for Nuova M2 Racing. Calia could win the title, too. He starts at the back, though. It's realistically Mercado vs. De Rosa. We've seen De Rosa and Mercado take each other out. There is no unassailable lead in this series.
If De Rosa gets away at the front when this race starts, the key deal for him is, he has to keep the lead. That way, we can go to the finale of the cup, and have a humdinger of a title fight on our hands. A very relaxed run for these boys up to the grid, unlike in some races. We saw in Germany with Stock 1000, there were people falling off their motorcycles in the wet at the Lausitzring. Five minutes for warmup laps and adjustments as the bikes roll off pit lane, before forming up on the grid. It looks like a cavalry charge. I know what you are thinking. Race start... stampede! No. Not now. In Stock 1000, you can change tires up until the time the three minute board is shown.
However, Stock 1000 riders use road legal tires, not racing tires. Let's clarify something while we have time. That is about this new series setting up for next year, the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship. Lucas Mahias is on pole, and he replaces Florian Marino who is still recovering from having a broken leg. Supersport 300 is a subject we have brought up in the blog entries of WSBk from France, a few times. It will be a launchpad for younger riders to get into the big leagues. We have had great racing in Stock 1000 this season and after we're done here, at Magny-Cours, we have one more race as these blokes will contest the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain, two weeks from now.
Imola and Misano had some dramas. Raffaele De Rosa has finally exited the pit lane. Who are you supporting? Is it Argentinian Leandro Mercado and Ducati, or, Italian, Raffaele De Rosa, and BMW? Lucas Mahias is pole man. He came into World Supersport late in 2015, and has won one race. He got pole and a lap record. He's hit the ground running. Raffaele De Rosa has had superb rids earlier in the season. But, he has had trouble, too. Roberto Tamburini topped the morning warmup and starts fourth. But he has not shown anything this year. Jeremy Guarnoni on the Pedercini Kawasaki ZX10R is another man on the front row of this grid.
Guarnoni is the defending champ in Stock 1000 here in France. He won this race, last year, aboard a Yamaha YZF R1, and took that motorcycle's first win in Stock 1000. Raffaele De Rosa is second. The BMW struggles in the wet. So, thankfully we have dry conditions. We've seen De Rosa have issues in the wet, just as we've seen it in World Superbike for Markus Reiterberger and Jordi Torres. Roberto Tamburini starts fourth on the Aprilia. He won the first race of 2015, at Motorland Aragon in Spain. Tamburini could have won the cup in 2015, but lost out to current World Superbike racer, Lorenzo Savadori. He threw it down the road at the opening race at Motorland Aragon on the last lap of that one, too, if you remember.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi rolls off fifth. Poor old Tamburini, has speed. But it is tough to be off your game and you find yourself in the danger zone. Leandro Mercado is sixth. Alessandro Nocco is seventh. British rider Jack Kennedy has said the stock bikes, with the street tires and the different electronics, are more difficult to ride, in some cases, than a racing spec Superbike. Kennedy was a front running rider in World Supersport and has been a fixture in British Superbike the last few seasons. Jack Kennedy has actually taken over from American veteran Bobby Fong, who has had harder times trying to fund traveling to Europe and doing these races.
We'll watch Jack Kennedy and see how he does. Eighth, next to Alessandro Nocco is Riccardo Russo. Ninth, Toprak Razgatlioglu. Razgatlioglu had two nasty injuries earlier in the year. Marco Facani is next on the grid. Michael Ruben Rinaldi has had his motorcycle rebuilt. He hit oil that was laid down in the warmup, and crashed at Grand Courbe, the first corner. Gregg Black rolls off 11th. Black has done well this year and is a good motorcycle endurance racer, too. Next to Gregg Black is Alessandro Andreaozzi, and on the outside, Sebastien Suchet. Suchet ran real well in Germany.
His best finishes were two seventh place efforts at Imola in May, and at the Nurburgring, last time out. Five minutes to the start, as the Alfa 4C safety car moves away. We've had a big crowd here in France for the races. Andrea Mantovani is 14th on the grid. We have the potential of another French rider being in contention to win. Lucas Mahias is that rider. Mantovani had a wreck in the warmup and has a contusion to his right hand and right elbow. He'll have to ride through that, as we get set to roll off for 15 laps of action, at Circuit de Nevers.
Will Leandro Mercado claim the cup title this afternoon? Raffaele De Rosa, is set to try and stop that force. Can Lucas Mahias win his home race? It is the penultimate race for Superstock 1000 2016, here in France. Grab a favorite beverage, settle back, and check this one out. Many French wildcards are in this race, and we've got 34 motorcycles, ready for a start. Kevin Calia, will be caboose on the field, having not set a time in qualifying. They move away on the warmup lap. On the warmup lap, you can do what you wish and you don't have to stay in your grid spot, getting ready for a start.
The top three in points mathematically have a chance for the cup win. Mercado leads on 102 points, with Raffaele De Rosa, 14 markers behind on 88 points. Kevin Calia is a further 24 points back, on 77. Michael Ruben Rinaldi, with 53 points, is 49 points behind, and is virtually eliminated from contention. No change in the weather conditions from when we prepared for the start. Same temperatures for both ambient, and track temp. Kevin Calia might have a shot, if he makes a good start and can be dicing with Mercado and De Rosa. A high percentage of these races have red flags if riders make a mistake. Let's hope this one does not turn into a demolition derby. In Germany, we had a few wrecks, but nothing like the pileups we saw earlier in the year, especially in the opener of the season at Imola.
Kevin Calia basically must beat the two top men in the cup, to have any hope of gaining on them before we head to the finale. We have had just five riders lead races this year. De Rosa, Mercado, Rinaldi, Mahias, and Russo. Mahias won the race at Misano, leading the most important last 1/3rd of a lap he's ever led. Now there's a statistic for you. Dear me. One rider will start from pit lane, and we will have 33 on the grid. Mercado wins the title, if he wins the race, and De Rosa finishes fourth or worse. So, let's go racing, in Superstock 1000, for the penultimate time, this year!
Red lights on. Red lights, out! They are away at Magny-Cours! De Rosa gets a great start as Jeremy Guarnoni and Leandro Mercado also are fighting for the lead headed for Grand Courbe. Roberto Tamburini on the Aprilia also gets a great start as bikes go three wide in the midfield. Gregg Black runs wide. So far so good. 34 bikes and riders might actually get through the first corners unscathed here. It is a clean start up through Estoril for the title contenders. Raffaele De Rosa holds the lead. There are some yellow flags on course.
Someone, may have gone down. It looks like Alessandro Andreaozzi has wrecked, and this wouldn't be the first opening lap shunt that has been experienced by the the rider of the #121 machine. The SK Racing Team by Barni Ducati Panigale R, may be headed for the house. One of the Triple M Ducati's may have had a slight touch through 180, but no harm no foul. Andreozzi rejoins the fray, immediately. So, no worries. We may have seen another fallen rider, though. Dutchman Rob Hartog ditched his #47 Team Hartog - Jenik - Against Cancer Kawasaki ZX10R. Andreozzi was the one who went into the lane at the end of the warmup lap.
Luca Mahias leads this race. Toprak Razgatlioglu on the Kawasaki is up to fourth spot. Gregg Black tries an inside move. Not this time. Razgatlioglu has not performed the way everyone has expected him to in Stock 1000 this year. Two Kawasaki's battle for third. No, you aren't seeing a Sykes/Rea battle here. Razgatlioglu passes Jeremy Guarnoni. Two Italian teams, that are different, run each bike. Guarnoni for Team Pedercini, and Razgatlioglu, for Puccetti Racing Team. Mahias has a close call under braking. This race is really close so far. We are just on the second lap. Jack Kennedy, the Irishman, is up from 15th on the grid, to 11th. Kennedy is right behind Gregg Black at the present time.
Kennedy is aboard the Agro On-Benjan Kawasaki ZX10R today, replacing American Bobby Fong. Leandro Mercado is eighth while Raffaele De Rosa runs second. If it stays this way, it would be a two man race for the title, with two points between Mercado and De Rosa, headed to the closing race of the year in Spain. Kevin Calia and Michael Ruben Rinaldi would be too far behind to make inroads on the championship. Calia is in the pit lane at the end of lap one. Having your bike in the lane, running for a championship, is not a good sign. It is a two man race. Game over for Calia. Will we see team orders from the aruba.it Ducati junior squad?
The Ducati's are on the back foot here this weekend in Stock 1000. Mahias runs fastest lap of the race so far, turning a 1:40.130. For the manufacturer's cup, we will see a three way fight, between Ducati, BMW, and Yamaha. Mahias' fastest lap is a new record. We see a battle now, between Jeremy Guarnoni, and Ricardo Russo. Guarnoni doesn't see Russo, and they nearly touch! Russo moves to fourth, but maybe Jeremy Guarnoni has something to say and wants to pass him back. Russo uses all the curbs into the chicane on the back straightaway before Lycee.
Jack Kennedy may have been off the road, losing four places. There is also a ride through penalty assessed by the stewards to Italian Federico Sanchioni, aboard the #13 Punto Moto Corse by Clasitaly Kawasaki ZX10R. Sanchioni has made his way through the lane, but he's probably cut corners and gained an unfair advantage on his competitors. He has cut the Nurburgring chicane, and if you do that, you must rejoin through the access road, instead of going across the runoff area, and thus, Sanchioni is penalized. Leandro Mercado runs right behind Michael Ruben Rinaldi. Toprak Razgatlioglu has reset fastest lap and he's gaining on Mercado and De Rosa.
Razgatlioglu resets fast lap at 1:39.923. Toprak Razgatlioglu dives in on the brakes and wants to move Raffaele De Rosa out of the way. De Rosa has to have the championship in mind. Don't do anything silly. Razgatlioglu is second and now, he wants to go for the lead and get around Lucas Mahias. Leandro Mercado has gotten around Michael Ruben Rinaldi and has gone up to seventh place. Lucas Mahias continues to lead. Let's have a quick look at the complete top ten running order.
1. Lucas Mahias
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu
3. Raffaele De Rosa
4. Ricardo Russo
5. Roberto Tamburini
6. Jeremy Guarnoni
7. Leandro Mercado
8. Michael Ruben Rinaldi
9. Gregg Black
10. Sebastien Suchet
Tamburini is still sandwiched between Russo and Guarnoni. He passes Guarnoni and moves into fifth as the standings above, indicate. "Tambu" is recovering from a bad start. Sanchioni has a penalty for jumping the start, and must serve it within three laps. Let's hope he hits pit lane or if not, he will be disqualified from the race. Sanchioni runs 28th overall at the moment. Raffaele De Rosa is losing time to the leaders. He needs to be in this scrum, in order to have any hope of continuing to be in championship contention. We are working lap six of 15. Next lap is halfway. Jack Kennedy has fallen to 15th, running behind Andrea Mantovani, Alessandro Nocco, Marco Facani, and Luca Vitale.
As we look farther down the running order we find Marco Faccani, Luca Vitale, Wayne Tessels, Bryan Staring (who had that awesome second place in Germany last time out), Fabio Massei, Marc Moser, and Eric Vionnet, completing the top 20. Julian Puffe from Germany runs right behind Luca Salvadori at the moment. Then comes Andrea Tucci, French wildcard Romain Maitre, and Switzerland's Bryan Leu, completing the top 25. We see a huge battle developing for fourth, fifth and sxith between Russo, Tamburini, and Guarnoni.
Jeremy Guarnoni won this race last year, from pole. Poor old Kevin Calia has indeed retired from this race. Game over for rider #74. Calia will not win the title. Ten laps now remain. His Aprilia team mate Roberto Tamburini is applying the blowtorch to Ricardo Russo though. The fluidity of this race track makes it hard to make a bold move. If it stays this way, Mercado would lead De Rosa in the cup by seven points with one race left at Jerez in Spain. Wayne Tessels is now plummeting down the running order. Game over. Tessels is out of this one. He has just crashed out going through the final chicane after Lycee.
The top three are right together and Guarnoni looks to challenge Russo. For Guarnoni, discretion is the better part of valor. Oops. Wayne Tessels is not out. He's rejoined this race. Guarnoni makes a pass on Russo into the 180 and makes it stick. Russo turned too deep into 180 and Guarnoni made the pass. Tamburini wobbles the Aprilia but stays in the saddle. The two Ducati's of Leandro Mercado and Michael Ruben Rinaldi are closing up on this battle we're watching. We are right at halfway, or thereabouts. Raffaele De Rosa is closing up on the top two of Lucas Mahias and Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Razgatlioglu is the 2015 Superstock 600 champion. The points right now, see just a seven point margin between Mercado and De Rosa. 111-104. Mahias is opening a 1.3 scond gap over Razgatlioglu and De Rosa. De Rosa has now passed the Kawasaki. De Rosa needed to pull off that move. Another point for De Rosa, means three points in the championship fight. 111-108. Mercado runs seventh. Razgatlioglu is not done with De Rosa yet. Toprak Razgatlioglu is not close enough into Imola to get around De Rosa's BMW. If these two blokes crash, Mercado could be promoted into a position where he'd have enough points to win the cup, not necessitating further speculation for the season finale.
This is another reason for De Rosa to really watch his step. Mercado is chasing Ricardo Russo through Golf corner. Just six laps left now. Mercado is relying on other people to hit problems so he can scavenge points. De Rosa must feel like he's skating on thin ice, because Razgatlioglu is right behind him. Lucas Mahias is 2.2 seconds ahead of these two. Roberto Tamburini still holds fourth spot. Lucas Mahias on the Yamaha YZF R1 leads this race by 2.7 seconds. He's whistled off into the distance. If he stays on the bike, he's got the French round of Superstock 1000, in the bag. Raffaele De Rosa continues to hold off Toprak Razgatlioglu.
In the midfield, we have two four way battles to talk about. One is between Sebastien Suchet, Gregg Black, Andrea Mantovani, and Alessandro Nocco for ninth spot. Then, for 13th spot, we have a battle brewing between Marco Facani, Luca Vitale, Jack Kennedy, and Bryan Staring. The major scrum is between De Rosa and Razgatlioglu, with just four laps left. This is the first time (despite having to recuperate from injuries earlier in the year), we have been able to see Toprak Razgatlioglu ride the Kawasaki the way he's wanted to. Razgatlioglu will be in Superstock 1000 next year.
Raffaele De Rosa has to be careful. He has to try and pick up points, and hope he can get a podium for Althea BMW. Again, if both of them hit the deck, then Leandro Mercado would place himself perfectly for a title win. Oh no. Poor old Jack Kennedy has just crashed out of this race, folks. He's collided with Marc Moser, at the Adelaide hairpin. It's a shame for Jack Kennedy. But, if a local yellow flag waves at one of the key overtaking spots, Raffaele De Rosa can use that to his advantage over Toprak Razgatlioglu. Luca Vitali has also wrecked at Adelaide. Marc Moser on the #32 Triple M Racing Ducati Panigale, is out of this race.
Leandro Mercado is seventh, not making inroads on the chaps at the front. Lucas Mahias will start the final lap. Toprak Razgatlioglu has passed Raffaele De Rosa. The lead for Mercado would still be seven points headed for the finale. Alessandro Nocco has just moved ahead of Andrea Mantovani. Can Raffaele De Rosa gain back four points to stay with Mercado in the fight for the cup? He's making a move on Toprak Razgatlioglu as yours truly writes this sentence! De Rosa passes Razgatlioglu. Razgatlioglu has better drive out of the Adelaide hairpin!
Razgatlioglu continues to hold De Rosa at bay. De Rosa is pushing and he's not done yet! De Rosa thought he was through and now, Razgatlioglu, gets him back! No dice. Marco Sbaiz, a lapped motorcycle, is ahead. Sbaiz, the Italian, on the #26 BWG Racing Kawasaki ZX10R. De Rosa won't give up. He's having a go into Lycee! He needs the points. He might have them. No! Razgatlioglu shuts the door, again! Lucas Mahias has won this race! But, De Rosa is third, with Razgatlioglu is second. Leandro Mercado goes into the finale at Jerez, with seven points in hand over De Rosa.
Superstock 1000 Race: #144 Lucas Mahias FRA. Yamaha YZF R1
One race now remains in Superstock 1000. The eighth and final round of the cup, at Jerez de la Frontera, in Spain, next weekend. Stay tuned, for all the action, here, on 2 Wheelin'.
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