SUZUKI RACING:

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama enjoyed his best World Superbike race weekend this season today at Magny Cours in France since the opening round in Australia in March and is looking forward to further improvement in the next round in Portimao in three weeks time.

His team mate Karl Muggeridge had a slow-speed tumble in race one, but then made amends by posting a solid eighth position in race two.

Ben Spies (Yamaha) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) took a win apiece to leave Haga leading the championship by just 10 points. Spies won today’s first race, with Haga second and Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third. Haga got his revenge in race two with Biaggi second and Jonathan Rea (Honda) third.

Yukio Kagayama – Race 1: 7th, Race 2: 6th:

“Today my results were the best they have been for a long time, but I want more. The progress the bike has made on its new suspension has been good, but again, I want more. There have been some not so fun times this season, but at Imola last week and here in Magny-Cours, I am enjoying being a racer again. The settings we used on the bike today were the best they have been this weekend, so a big thank you to my team for doing a good job. There were still some problems with rear grip, but I hope that we can solve this problem in Portimao. I am looking forward to continuing the good progress there and ending the season on a high.”

Karl Muggeridge – Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 8th:

“I suppose the crash in race one was probably my mistake: It was early in the race and the fuel tank was full and I must have got in a bit too hot and lost the front. Maybe because of this, I rode a bit tentatively at the beginning of race two and it took me a bit of time to get going properly. My bike was OK on the fast sweepers, but it struggled for grip on the slow, small corners and I reckon that cost me about four-to-five-tenths-of-a-second each lap. I am getting more used to the bike every time out and feel we are making good progress with it and the new suspension. Hopefully, I will have another chance in the next round, but I’ll wait and see on that.”