World SuperSport 2003 - Round 11 - Magny Cours

October 19, 2003
Circuit: Magny Cours
Country: France
Track length: 4411m
Opened: 1961

Magny Cours – a new venue for World Supersport Circuit Nevers Magny Cours is a new location on the World Supersport calendar, but the French venue is no stranger to top class motorcycle racing.

Indeed, the circuit has hosted a World Superbike round in the past – although only previous event was held in 1991, before Supersport was a world championship. It also hosts the annual Bol d’Or 24-hour race, the classic endurance event previously held at Paul Ricard. Magny Cours is more commonly known as a car racing venue, thanks to its hosting of the French Formula One Grand Prix, and the facilities for teams and spectators alike should make it a popular addition to the Supersport circuit.

YZF-R6 set-up report – a new challenge

Normally teams use past experiences of a circuit to arrive with a good base setting which requires only a small amount of adjustment throughout the weekend, even with a new motorcycle like the 2003 YZF-R6.

But Magny Cours is a new circuit for the teams in the World Supersport and Superbike championships and that brings a new set of variables. Some teams, including the Yamaha supported Yamaha Motor Germany and Yamaha Motor France, have already tested at the circuit, which provides an interesting mix of long straights, fast corners and slow hairpins with hard braking zones. Supersport rules allow the use of different camshafts, air intakes and fuel injection mappings to boost power over the stock bike. The many slow corners means that the top-power specification used at some of the faster tracks will be replaced by a more conservative motor tuned to deliver strong mid-range power between 8,000 and 12,000rpm.

Those braking zones will put a premium on front-end feel and provide a good opportunity to outbrake rivals, making stability and feedback vital. The smooth surface of the circuit will allow firm suspension settings to be used to cope with the high forces generated through the faster corners.

Tyre selection is another make-or-break part of bikes set-up and this circuit has several constant radius turns that will test the rubber. The amount of grip offer by the tyre when the bike is leaned over, often referred to as side grip, will be crucial as the riders aim to get on the gas as early as possible on the exit of turns like 180 and the long sweeping Estoril corner.

Season so far – second at stake

With the championship decided in favour of Chris Vermeulen (Honda) at the last round, the race is now on to see who will finish runner-up in the final standings.

There are currently just seven points separating second-placed Stephane Chambon (Suzuki) and his team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara in fourth. In between lies Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Belgarda Team) who is six points behind Chambon.

Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany) will look to add to his Sugo win earlier this year and consolidate his sixth place in the championship. Alessio Corradi (Yamaha Team Italia Spadaro) missed the last round at Imola after breaking his kneecap in a qualifying crash but is still just one place behind Kellner in the championship standings.

Yamaha Motor France were newcomers to the championship this year with two relatively inexperienced riders. Matthieu Lagrive has improved race by race, while team-mate Thierry van den Bosch, the reigning Supermoto World Champion, has shown flashes of his undoubted speed in an injury plagued season – most notably in his fine fourth at Silverstone. They’ll relish the chance to race at their nominated test track and show the home fans how much progress they have made in their learning year.