Superstock 1000 braced for nail-biting French climax
Stand by for drama. It’s Sava versus Tambu. Let battle commence.
Lorenzo Savadori has garnered a reputation as a rider who attracts pure excitement and drama. Last year, he was leading at Magny-Cours and just half a lap away from the Superstock 1000 title when he crashed at the Nurburgring chicane. The ultimate honour went to Argentina’s Leandro Mercado, who has since stepped up to the World Superbike class.
Heading into France 2015, Savadori (Nuova M2 Racing – Aprilia) leads fellow Italian and season-long rival Roberto Tamburini (Team MotoxRacing – BMW) by 25 points. The maths are therefore simple. One single point for 15th position would guarantee the title for Savadori, while Tamburini needs to win the race and hope that his opponent fails to score. Sensationally, should the latter possibility come to fruition, Tamburini would beat Savadori by the slimmest of margins: they would be drawn level for points, race wins, second and third places, meaning Tamburini would win the Cup by virtue of being the latest race winner.
Coupling the overall situation with Magny-Cours’ tendency to deliver inclement weather conditions, one would not want to predict how events could unfold this weekend. Thickening the plot even further, the situation in the Manufactures’ standings is exactly the same, with Italy’s Aprilia enjoying a 25-point advantage over Germany’s BMW.
A trio of One Events entries make up the 37-rider grid. Alessandro Andreozzi again joins Italian compatriots Savadori and Kev Calia on a Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia, while Switzerland’s Bryan Leu will be piloting a Yamaha R1 for the Badan Yamaha IXS Racing Team. Last but not least, South African Andre Calvet rides for BWG Racing Kawasaki.
The showdown is here. Who will be crowned Superstock 1000 winner of 2015? The red lights go out on Sunday at 2:15pm local time (GMT +2).
