2007 Corona Extra WorldSuperBike Championship Round 13, Magny-Cours, France, 7th October Race Report

  TOSELAND THE CHAMPION AFTER TENSE FINAL ROUND

Britains James Toseland was crowned World Superbike Champion for the second time, but only by two points after another luckless raceday threatened to rob him of his hard earned world championship at one stage. Early fog at the track took an age to clear and the first few races were delayed, jangling the nerves of all three potential championship winners, In the first race, a collision with Lorenzo Lanzi ( Xerox Ducati ) saw Toseland dead last after the first few corners, while one of his main rivals Nori Haga ( Yamaha Motor Italia ) scorched away to the first of two wins. Going into the second race Toseland rode sensibly behind the leading bunch to record a sixth place finish, and the ten points he gained for that position gave him a final season total of 415 points, to Haga's 413. Toseland thus gasped over the line to take his second title win, but with eight race victories to his credit in 2007, one more than any other rider this year, his strong early season work ensured he would get his final reward, and the accolades of the 75,000 strong crowd. Biaggi finished the season third on 397 points, Bayliss fourth on 372, and Corser fifth on 296.

Race One. A dramatic start to the first race, much delayed because of heavy fog, saw Toseland and Lanzi clash on the entry to turn one, Lanzi fell, Toseland pushed off track and Biaggi also being held up in the melee. Up front Haga made a clean start and every lap bar the first, with Troy Bayliss ( Xerox Ducati ) eventually 2.7 seconds down in second place. Troy Corser ( Yamaha Motor Italia ) was hot on his compatriot's heels after a sometimes - tactile battle between the former world champions. Max Neukirchner ( Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra ) scored a fantastic fourth and looked set for a podium much of the race. Fonsi Nieto's ( PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse ) top five finish was as unexpected as it was welcome by the neutrals, and made it four different bikes in the top five. Biaggi was sixth, Toseland seventh in the race.

Race Two. A much less busy race two was none the less a tense affair, with only Haga and Toseland able to win the title, but either was on course to lose it should they crash or break down. Haga was imperious at the front, once more, scoring his second double win of the season, to record six race victories in total. Biaggi was second, while Nieto showed his true credential to record his first podium of the year, scoring brilliant and highly combative third after a some-times harsh fight with Corser. Toseland fought with Bayliss for a short time, but decided to let the Ducati rider go and concentrate on doing well enough to win the title, of which he done to the cheers of the crowd and to take his second world superbike title.