October 5, 2008

Foret takes an impressive eighth place on his return to World Supersport

Yamaha Racing
2008 WSS France
Magny-Cours 05/10/2008

Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) made a great return to World Supersport competition at his home race, finishing eighth after ending the first lap down in 15th place.

Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) was running with the leading group until he was knocked off by a crash between two other riders on lap ten. Parkes returned to the pits but his machine was too damaged to continue with any chance of scoring a point, and he retired from the race, losing his last chance of taking the world title this season. Andrew Pitt won the title today, by winning the 22-lap race.

Foret's result was remarkable on many levels, and even through he finished the race exhausted by his intense race experience, he finished higher in the order than he had dared dream after being out since the Brno race in July.

Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had a great ride to sixth, leading Nannelli home in tight midfield race. He was the top Yamaha finisher today.

David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) was 17th and just missed out on a point.

Fabien Foret (8th - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"Eighth place and I am really happy with that. One month ago I was at home with a neck brace on and feeling not so good, but today has made me glad I came back for this race. In the middle I had a lot of pain but I was fighting and I did not want to give up. I made some small mistakes because I am not so relaxed, a bit rigid on the bike and not so confident, but it was a good result. I can go home now and get ready, because we have one month until the next race."

Broc Parkes (DNF - Yamaha World Supersport Team)
"The crash was really not what we needed and there was nothing I could do to avoid it. I felt good and knew we were going to be competitive if we could have finished the race. We just have to look to the final race now and finish as well as we can."

Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team)
The bike was too badly damaged for Broc to carry on without repairs. He would not have scored points even if he started again. It is a shame. It was a bad move at a bad moment and the Championship has been decided by it. We are happy for Fabien; he really improved and he even did a 1'43.6 lap near the end, which is almost as fast as the leaders. Eighth is a great position when he was not sure if he could even finish the race. He will be mentally and physically stronger at Portimao. I think it was a pity to end our championship challenge this way because there could have been a good battle still with the other guys and Broc, but Andrew deserved it because he won even when Rea was well down."

Massimo Roccoli (6th - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni)
"That was a good result for us today and I was pleased to come out on top of the fight with Nannelli. I had a bit of a problem with some other riders on the first laps but after three or four laps I got a good rhythm going and ended up with the best result of the year."

Circuit Length: 4411
Temp: 15
Crowd: 78000
Weather: Overcast

2008 WSS France - Magny-Cours 05/10/2008
Race 1
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 37'57.929
2 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 0'1.250
3 Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 0'1.514
4 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 0'1.685
5 Didier Van Keymeulen Suzuki BEL 0'5.075
6 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'13.171
7 Gianluca Nannelli Honda ITA 0'13.386
8 Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 0'19.563
9 Josh Hayes Honda USA 0'19.677
10 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'21.686
11 Gianluca Vizziello Honda ITA 0'22.599
12 Katsuaki Fujiwara Kawasaki JPN 0'24.967
13 Patrick Vostarek Honda ITA 0'28.888
14 Ivan Clementi Triumph ITA 0'29.351
15 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 0'38.000
17 David Salom Yamaha ESP 0'43.876

Best Lap
Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'41.543

Rider Standings 05/10/2008

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 194
2. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 164
3. Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 157
4. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 139
5. Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 105
6. Joan Lascorz Honda ESP 105
7. Craig Jones Honda GBR 100
8. Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 92
9. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 71
10. Gianluca Nannelli Honda ITA 69
11. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 58
12. Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 56
13. Gianluca Vizziello Honda ITA 52
14. Didier Van Keymeulen Suzuki BEL 38
15. Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 36
28. David Salom Yamaha ESP 9