SBK, Davies' bet pays off at Magny-Cours

Finally a great SBK race, conditioned by the changeable weather conditions, with all of the riders discussing their options on the starting grid with the Pirelli technicians, on hand to advise them as to the best tyre solutions depending on individual needs.

Needs or risks, as demonstrated by Welshman Chaz Davies, the clear winner, having mounted two intermediate tyres before the start of the race, a seemingly crazy choice but one that paid off, particularly from mid-race on, when Ducati Aruba's #7 rider began to increase his pace and count the many passes that took him to the head of the pack, and victory.

This is Chaz's sixth win of the season, in which he demonstrated both his courage and significant riding talent: “I took a big risk today, but it paid off; I'm really pleased, because this win makes up for the error made at Assen and winning here has a really sweet taste”.

Second place for Dutchman Michael Van Der Mark, in a race that saw him return to the garage for a tyre change, from rain to slick, before making a great recovery to reach the podium.

Tom Sykes rounds out the podium with the Kawasaki… it's not the result that #66 hoped for but, having made the wrong tyre choice, Tom had the bright idea of replacing them with two slicks, a solution that proved to be very effective.

Fourth for Johnny Rea, not at all happy with his result, but the current world champ still has a significant lead in the championship; fifth for Lorenzo Savadori with the Aprilia RSV4 who, for a large part of the race, was on course for the podium. A great sixth place finish for Magny-Cours expert Mathieu Lagrive with the ZX10R of team Pedercini, seventh for Camier with the MV; the Brit also opted for two rain tyres but they were unable to hold up until the end of the race.

Local hero Sylvain Guintoli closed in ninth place, between Spaniard Forés and De Angelis with the other RSV4 Iodaracing.

The rest of the field had to deal with being lapped by the race leader, as a result of incorrect tyre choices or differences in levels of bravery and speed.

CLASSIFICATION: Rea 406, Sykes 362, Davies 320