1st Qualifying

Weather: sunny, 20°C Track: dry, 26°C

 MAKING PROGRESS

Suzuki Alstare rider Karl Muggeridge finished 12th fastest in today first qualifying session here at round 13 of the World Superbike Championship at Magny Cours.

The Australian feels like they made a big step forward today with the new Oehlins suspension and lernt a lot about the behaviour of the bike.

Karl comments: "The bike is getting better and better. On race tyres we were hovering around 6 to 8 place all afternoon but then when everybody put a soft one in we dropped a bit back. We should really have been able to keep around 7th but I'm just missing a bit of confidence at the moment after riding the last three years on average equipment. bit I will get there. I made my fastest time this afternoon on a tyre that was already 5 laps old. So there should definetly be a better position possible for tomorrow."

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2nd Qualifying & Superpole

Weather: sunny, morning 18°C, afternoon 20°C Track: dry mornin 20°C, afternoon 35°C

Rows three for Karl in Magny-Cours

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Karl Muggeridge ended final qualifying and Superpole with the eleventh fastest time and will line up on the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s pair of 23-lappers at Magny-Cours.

Muggeridge continued to work with his new Ohlins suspension and was happy with the feedback he is getting and the progress he is making. Ben Spies (Yamaha) once again won Superpole - his tenth of the season - with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second, Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) and Biaggi (Aprilia) fourth.

Karl comments:

Once again we began the day with the two bikes set up differently, so that we could do as much as possible in the shortest time. We had a small engine problem with one in the morning, but it didn’t affect what we were trying to do too much. What’s good at the moment is the fact that every time we make a change, it’s for the better. On race tyres, the bike feels pretty good and although there is a bit of a problem with rear grip on acceleration, it’s probably something we can sort out. We’re making progress and I think a good set of results are possible, even though I’m starting from the third row.

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2nd Qualifying Results
#	Name (Team)	Time
1.	Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R	1'38.349
2.	Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1	1'38.726
3.	Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R	1'38.726
4.	Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR	1'38.792
5.	Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR	1'39.149
6.	Nieto F. (ESP) Ducati 1098R	1'39.158
7.	Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR	1'39.317
8.	Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R	1'39.358
9.	Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR	1'39.379
10.	Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R	1'39.411
13.	Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1'39.524

Race Results

Weather: sunny, R1: 15°C, R2 20°C Track: dry R1 19°C, R2: 28°C

MUGGERIDGE TAKES A SOLID EIGHTH

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Karl Muggeridge enjoyed his best race weekend this season although  he had a slow speed tumble in race one, but then made amends by posting a solid eighth position in race two here at round 13 of the World Superbike Championship here at Magny Cours in France.  

Ben Spies (Yamaha) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) took a win apiece today, to leave Haga leading the championship by just ten points. Spies won today’s first race, with Haga second and Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third. Haga got his revenge in race two, with Biaggi second and Jonathan Rea (Honda) third.

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Karl comments:

I suppose the crash in race one was probably my mistake. It was early in the race and the fuel tank was full and I must have got in a bit too hot and lost the front. Maybe because of this, I rode a bit tentatively at the beginning of race two and it took me a bit of time to get going properly. My bike was OK on the fast sweepers, but it struggled for grip on the slow, small corners and I reckon that cost me about four to five tenths of a second each lap. I am getting more used to the bike every time out and feel we are making good progress with it and the new suspension. Hopefully, I will have another chance in the next round, but I’ll wait and see on that.

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Race 1 Results
#	Name (Team)	Time
1.	Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1	37'57.110
2.	Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R	+ 0.181
3.	Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory	+5.009
4.	Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R	+16.347
5.	Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR	+22.622
6.	Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR	+24.948
7.	Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	+ 27.144
8.	Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R	+ 27.578
9.	Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR	+ 28.486
10.	Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R	+ 28.716

Race 2 Results
#	Name (Team)	Time
1.	Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R	38'00.282
2.	Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory	+1.480
3.	Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR	+6.024
4.	Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1	+18.135
5.	Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR	+21.236
6.	Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	+23.647
7.	Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R	+23.701
8.	Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	+24.838
9.	Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR	+31.455
10.	Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR	+32.507

Championship Standings
#	Name (Team)	Points
1.	N. Haga (Ducati Xerox)	436
2.	B. Spies (Yamaha World Superbikes)	426
3.	M. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox)	346
4.	M. Biaggi (Aprilia)	293
5.	J. Rea (Ten Kate Honda Hannspree)	279
6.	L. Haslam (Stiggy Honda)	241
7.	C. Checa (Ten Kate Honda Hannspree)	200
8.	T. Sykes (Yamaha World Superbikes)	176
9.	S. Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati)	166
10.	J. Smrz (Guandelini Ducati)	161