WORLD SUPERBIKE
WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 11/OCTOBER 5, 2014
MAGNY-COURS CIRCUIT/MAGNY-COURS, FRANCE
P56
>>CLUZEL WINS AS SOFUOGLU CRASHES
As a reward for such an early start
at Magny-Cours this year (the first
World Superbike race went off at
10:30 a.m.) and for putting up with rain
and cold conditions on race day, the
French crowd got to sing along to their
national anthem not only after Sylvain
Guintoli's race one superbike win, but
also after Jules Cluzel won his third
World Supersport race of the year on
the MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV.
The race was shortened to 12 laps -
from an already rain-shortened 17 - after
a trackside air fence system had col-
lapsed when a rider-less bike had hit it
while still on its wheels and at speed.
Even though the full race distance
had not been completed, Cluzel de-
served his win, even if he inherited it,
as he was over 20 seconds clear of the
next rider - new World Champion Mi-
chael van der Mark and his Pata Honda.
"I was happy to win, but it was not an
easy race," Cluzel said. "Kenan [Sofuo-
glu] was pushing really hard and in these
conditions it is not easy to stay on the
bike if you are pushing like he was push-
ing. I have to work now to stay second in
the championship. I love Qatar and my
bike is working really great now; they did
a really good job this weekend. We fixed
one of our biggest problems and now
my bike is one of the best. We will try to
finish the last race well."
Van der Mark had crashed and got
back up to earn his podium place in
second, but the long time race leader
Sofuoglu had not been so lucky, as his
crash at the end of the back straight
broke his bike too badly.
"I am really happy to be on the po-
dium because that was a really difficult
race," van der Mark said. "I crashed
quite badly this morning so I had to get
some confidence back in the rain. The
conditions were really tricky. I crashed
out, but I did not do anything strange;
I just lost the rear as I went to open
Rea ended up on the podium in race one,
but crashed out of race two.
