Australian Kevin Curtain has finished an agonising second in the 2006 World Supersport title after crashing out of the final round in France.

Curtain (Yamaha YZF-R6) went into the Magny-Cours finale with a sizeable 18pt lead over Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier (Honda CBR600RR), and only had to finish eighth or better even if his French arch-rival claimed the chequered flag.

Everything appeared to be on target in the first part of the 22-lapper when Curtain settled into an effortless fourth place behind Charpentier, Kenan Sofuoglu (CBR600RR) and his teammate Broc Parkes (YZF-R6).

However, to the delight of a 61,000-strong French crowd, Curtain then inexplicably lost the front-end of his Yamaha on lap eight, and was unable to remount. It was just Curtain’s second DNF of the year, but the one that will stay with the Australian for a long time.


"I just don't know what to say,” said Curtain. “It all seemed too good to be true and we came back to reality with a bang. That's my first race crash of the year and I just can't believe that it had to happen today.

“I don't really know what happened; I was running with (David) Checa and was trying to pull a bit of a gap on him as we had almost touched a few times. I was going through the long left when I just lost the front and went down.

“I'm feeling down just now but I know that I'll be able to refocus and come back to challenge for the title next year."

Curtain was looking to join countrymen Andrew Pitt, Chris Vermeulen and Karl Muggeridge on the World Supersport honour board, in a championship which only began seven years ago.

Meanwhile, Charpentier, who broke his collarbone and pelvis during a test session at Brno in late June, powered to his sixth win of the year and retained the No. 1 plate. The dual champion is now eyeing a move up to the premier Superbike class in 2006.

“When I saw No. 11 (Curtain) was out I was not completely sure, because I know Kevin very well and he is a good rider,” said Charpentier. “Yamaha worked very hard this year and sometimes Curtain and Broc Parkes made it very hard for me.

“For me this is a fantastic day because there have been some very difficult moments this year -- after the Brno injury and the German race at Lausitz. Thank you so much to Honda, because they showed that the CBR600RR has a big possibility to win.”

Charpentier’s teammate Kenan Sofuoglu (CBR600RR) finished second at Magny-Cours, 3.779 seconds behind the winner, while Parkes was an easy third ahead of Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati 749R) and Spaniard David Checa (YZF-R6).

In Superbike, the last three world champions – James Toseland (2004), polesitter Troy Corser (2005) and Troy Bayliss (2006) – emerged with the big points after two superb races at Magny-Cours.

Toseland (Honda CBR1000RR) was the overall winner after just edging out Japan’s Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha YZF-R1) in race one, and then completed the season with a third place behind Bayliss and Corser.

The result guaranteed that Toseland finished second in the championship, 95pts (431 to 336) behind Bayliss and 10 in front of Haga (326).

Bayliss’ final flurry on the Ducati 999F06 brought this year’s winning tally to 12 races – a phenomenal 50 per cent strike rate. The 37-year-old recently signed a two-year deal to remain at Ducati until 2008, where he will be aiming to join the legendary Carl Fogarty on four world titles.

Corser finally brought his perennially strong qualifying form into Sunday, and was rewarded with a two-spot vault back up the championship table – helped out by Pitt’s crash in race one and the mediocre form of Brazil’s Alex Barros (CBR1000RR).

“What a fantastic day’s racing for fans everywhere and a tremendous advert for Superbikes,” said Corser. “Both races were action-packed and the pace never let up. It was great to be involved in both of them and, although I didn’t get a win, it was awesome being in contention right to the end.

“I’m very happy to take the two podiums, for myself and the whole Alstare team. They’ve supported me so well these past two years and, without their support… I could not have given them and Suzuki their first World Superbike title. I am now looking forward to my new challenge.”

Unless there is a major 11th hour turnaround, Corser’s tenure with Suzuki is now over, with former MotoGP rider Max Biaggi set to become the team’s marquee rider.

Corser, who’s now rumoured to be heading the way of Yamaha, completed the season on 254pts, ahead of Pitt (250) and Barros (246).

Meanwhile, Pitt (YZF-R1) remounted to finish out of the points (18th) in race one, before a gallant fifth on a recalcitrant front tyre in the finale, one spot ahead of another Australian, Karl Muggeridge (CBR1000RR).

Muggeridge, a past Supersport winner at Magny-Cours, also threw his bike down the road in race one while sitting well inside the top 10.

Steve Martin’s two-year tenure with Petronas ended with yet more heartache: mechanical problems. Martin will now ride a Honda in 2007, which should finally see the pugnacious 37-year-old a regular fixture at the sharp end of the World Superbike pack.

Finally, Josh Brookes (Kawasaki ZX-10R) ended his rookie season with 15-16 results, and will also switch to Honda for 2007, in a season which will begin at Philip Island from March 2-4.

FINAL WORLD SUPERBIKE STANDINGS (after 12 rounds):
1 Bayliss 431
2 Toseland 336
3 Haga 326
4 Corser 254
5 Pitt 250
6 Barros 246
7 Kagayama 211
8 Lanzi 169
9 Walker 158
10 Fonsi Nieto, Spain, Kawasaki 139
12 Muggeridge 123
21 Martin 19
28 Brookes 3

FINAL WORLD SUPERSPORT STANDINGS (after 12 rounds):
1 Sebastien Charpentier, France, Honda 194
2 Kevin Curtain, Australia, Yamaha 187
3 Kenan Sofuoglu, Turkey, Honda 157
4 Broc Parkes, Australia, Yamaha 145
5 Robbin Harms, Denmark, Honda 117