The Ten Kate men sprinted off the line well with Parkes close astern in third while Sofuoglu led Charpentier around the first turns while David Checa was holding down fourth place and Kevin Curtain fifth. 

Sofuoglu started to pull away from Charpentier who had Parkes right on his tail.  Kevin Curtain got the better of Checa for fourth place but was not in the hunt for the lead as the leading trio had pulled away from him.  Curtain of course considering his place in the championship and the fact that he only needs eighth place to wrap up the #1 plate even if Charpentier wins the race while his team-mate Broc Parkes was doing all he could to try to prevent Charpentier from winning the race as he hounded the Frenchman at every turn while Sofuoglu led the way up front.

Charpentier got through to the lead when a terrible fate befell Kevin Curtain. The Yamaha Germany man fell out of a safe fourth place but it was unclear exactly what happened as the cameras failed to capture the moment. The French crowd voiced their appreciation of the Australian's demise with cheers reverberating around the circuit when they realised Curtain would not be able to restart the race.

With Curtain out of the race Charpentier needed second place or better in order to secure the title and at the halfway point of the race the French man led the way and the Ten Kate pairing had managed to pull away from Broc Parkes. When Charpentier realised Curtain was down and out he backed the pace off a little. If ever Curtain needed his team-mate to pull one out of the bag this was it. Parkes was still very beaten up from a huge crash only weeks ago that put him in intensive care and as the laps wound on his injuries would not be making it easy on him but Curtain would be praying that Broc could get on terms with the Ten Kate men and at least give them something to think about.  But even if Broc could win the race it would still give Charpentier the title if he finished second, which would almost be assured as his young Turkish team-mate would certainly relinquish second place if it came to a run to the flag in order for his team-mate to clinch the title.

But as the laps wound down it was clear that no relinquishing of places would be needed as Parkes could not match the pace of the Ten Kate men and with six laps to run it was clear that he could mount no challenge to their dominance.

Charpentier done it in style and won the race fair and square on the track and with it took the title in style and ran hard all the way to the flag.  A disaster for Curtain but fair play to the Frenchman who had also had his fair share of bad luck this season and yet managed to come through in the end.  I won't tell a lie and say I was glad to see him do it, my weekend would have ended on a much brighter note if Curtain lifted the title but that is not the way the cookie crumbled.  The friendly bunch of guys that make up the Yamaha Germany squad will be devastated, as will Curtain, and I extend my commiserations to all concerned. Broc's third place will be cold comfort for the squad tonight as they come to terms with the #1 plate slipping through their fingers at the last moment.

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SBK Race 1 - SS Race - SBK Race 2 - Reports - Aussie - FG Sport - Ducati - FPR - Suzuki - HRC - Yamaha - Pirelli - Corser - Muggas - Brookes

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