In a final free practice held in chilly conditions at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans, it was Repsol Honda Team’s Casey Stoner who set the pace ahead of Cal Crutchlow.

The Power Electronics Aspar Team continued their dominance of the CRT era on the opening day of the fourth round of the season at Le Mans, where Randy de Puniet was the fastest rider on the new machines.

After announcing yesterday in the official press conference his plans to retire at the end of this season, Casey Stoner got back on track and set the fastest time (1'33.740) in the first day of practice at the Le Mans circuit.

NGM Mobile Forward Racing Team was hard at work on the first practice day at Le Mans to provide Chris Vermeulen with the best possible bike for this Sunday’s race.

Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies took to the Le Mans circuit today for the first two practice sessions of the French Grand Prix.

At the first day of the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, the Ducati Team duo of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden were hampered in their efforts by a lack of grip.

On the opening day of the French Grand Prix, Team San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista found crucial confidence on board the Honda RC213V and lapped fourth fastest by the end of the two sessions today.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team's home race at the legendary Le Mans circuit in France kicked off in positive fashion today, with Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow posting competitive times on the opening day of MotoGP practice.

Pramac Ducati Team´s sole rider, Héctor Barberá spent the morning and afternoon free practice sessions working through different set-up changes and tyre options in preparation for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Repsol Honda Team’s Casey Stoner set the tone for this weekend’s Monster Energy Grand Prix de France in Le Mans, after setting the fastest time of the day in the second MotoGP practice session.

FIXI Crescent Suzuki racer John Hopkins will return to the team for the next round at Miller Motorsports Park in America after being forced to miss last weekend's races through injury. Hopkins suffered a broken bone in his right foot and damage to his left hip following a high-side at Monza in Italy earlier this month. It was initially hoped that he would be fit for the Donington Park round last weekend, but the hip injury restricted his movement too much and tests proved inconclusive.

On his return to California, Hopkins visited specialists to have further scans and to diagnose the severity of the injury. After an entire day of tests it was revealed that no significant long term damage had occurred in the hip joint and he will be able to return to race action at Miller. Hopkins will still need to undergo a series of painkilling injections to combat the discomfort in both his hip and his foot, but he is fully committed to racing and determined to get back on the FIXI Crescent Suzuki GSX-R and do everything in his power to get a good result on home-soil.

John Hopkins: "I was so disappointed to miss Donington Park, where I'm sure I could have been in that crazy fight for the win! It's been a really rough ride physically over recent times, and there were some real worries over the hip condition, but I know I have a lot more to give and that my luck has to change for the better. The team, my family and close friends have been really supportive and I just want to get back into what I know I can do best.

"I am fully committed to racing at Miller and I will be doing everything possible from now and up to the race weekend, to ensure that I do whatever I can to get the best result possible for FIXI Crescent Suzuki, me and everyone involved. It won't be easy, so I plan to take it step-by-step, enjoy the riding and build back into it."

Infront Sports & Media has reached a three-year agreement (2013-2014-2015, with an option for the following three years) with the Mediaset Group for the exclusive broadcasting of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship in Italy. The world championship rounds will be broadcast free-to-air on the Italia 1 channel starting from 2013.

The agreement reached with Mediaset, Italy's largest private media and communications company, will give the leading production-based bike racing championship massive visibility in Italy, and will further contribute to its development, at the same time offering a prestigious shop window for the numerous manufacturers, teams, riders, sponsors and partners - both Italian and International - who are present in Superbike.

"I am extremely satisfied with the agreement reached", declared the CEO of Infront Motor Sports, Paolo Flammini. "The decision by Mediaset to join us is evidence of the high level reached by our championship. We are sure that this partnership will help to bring about a further crucial growth for the eni Superbike World Championship. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Italian TV broadcaster La7 for the excellent work it has carried out over the last few years, which has without a doubt helped to increase the coverage and the growth of the championship in Italy".

Stephan Herth, Infront Sports & Media Executive Director Summer Sports, said: "The agreement with Mediaset, as a major network in Italy, reflects the significant growth in relevance and strength that World Superbike has achieved in recent years. In Italy, it is among the most popular sports competitions and attracts high public interest - even more as 7 out of the 24 riders fly the Italian flag. The extensive live broadcast and in-depth coverage provided by Mediaset will be of strong benefit for the enthusiastic motorcycle fans as well as all commercial brands involved".

Giorgio Giovetti, Head of Sports Rights Purchasing for Mediaset, added: "We have decided to switch our target to a very competitive and spectacular championship, with bikes that enhance the battles between great riders and render the outcome of each race uncertain right until the very end. Superbike is a sporting contest whose value will be enhanced considerably thanks to the visibility guaranteed by Italia 1 and by the technical and journalistic commentary of Mediaset's sports editorial team".

The eni FIM Superbike World Championship features a high number of riders, teams and manufacturers (Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki), racing with high-performance bikes that are similar to those available on the market for normal everyday road use. The championship's well-tried formula of two races at each round, Pirelli's one-make tyre supply, as well as stable technical regulations over the years, have helped World Superbike become a truly exciting spectacle for millions of TV spectators and fans around the world.

Media coverage of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship is firmly established worldwide and is helping to align the strength of the series across the scale. Overall, under Infront's tenure, live coverage has increased steadily since 2007 and the number of broadcast partners has grown by 40 per cent. In 2011, the series reached a cumulative audience of 460 million viewers with 3,300 broadcast hours worldwide.

WorldSBK.com provides a quick round-up of the facts and figures from the fifth eni Superbike World Championship round at the Donington Park circuit in the UK.

QUALIFYING
• Sixth career pole position for Tom Sykes, who equalled John Kocinski and Cal Crutchlow in the sixteenth all-time spot. It's the 25th pole for Kawasaki, which hadn't recorded four in a single season since 1994. Tom once again didn't manage to turn poles into wins: he has never won from the pole spot;
• After exactly one year Leon Haslam managed to qualify second again, scoring his thirteenth front row start. Melandri was alongside him: for the first time in BMW history two bikes were present on the front row;
• 30th front row start for Max Biaggi;
• For the first time in history a Ducati was not present on the front row in Donington;
• Worst grid spot since Monza 2011 for Carlos Checa (ninth);

RACES
• BMW became the eighth manufacturer in Superbike history to win a race, with Melandri's victory in race one. Melandri had also given BMW their best result (second) in the opening race in Phillip Island. BMW is the first new manufacturer to post a win since Aprilia, back in 2000, in Phillip Island. With a second place for Haslam, BMW scored their first double: all the manufacturers to win in Superbike have posted at least one double in their history, Ducati leads the way with 85;
• Marco Melandri scored his fifth win, in the same track where he posted his maiden one last year. The accident in race two put an end to a streak of 22 races in the points (since Aragon 2011);
• 27th career podium in race one for Leon Haslam: he equalled Rob Phillis at the 22nd all-time place. In race two Leon missed out on a possible win: two years ago he scored his last one, in Kyalami, 2010 (16th May) ;
• Double podium for Tom Sykes: amazing performances for him recently. Six of his eight career podiums have come since the start of this season and Kawasaki wasn't able to finish on the podium in both races in Donington since 1996 (Anthony Gobert and Simon Crafar in race one, Gobert in race two);
• Jonathan Rea is the 23rd rider in history to clinch the milestone of ten wins, with his success in race two. He equals Fabrizio Pirovano and Chris Vermeulen;
• Thanks to Rea's win, Great Britain equalled Australia and United States at the top of the all-time chart: these three countries have won 118 races each, more than half of the run of 599;
• For the second time in history after 2007, Ducati wasn't able to climb on the podium in one of the two races run in Donington;
• Best career result for Chaz Davies, seventh in race two, for the first time inside the top-10;
• Four straight races without podiums for Carlos Checa: it didn't happen since 2010 (Misano race two-Silverstone race two, for a total of five);
• Ayrton Badovini, sixth in race two, scored his best result since last July, when he twice finished in the same spot in Brno;
• Fourth place for Leon Camier in race two is the best result for Suzuki since Brno last year, when Michel Fabrizio was fourth twice;
• Loris Baz, Superstock 600 champion in 2008, scored his maiden points and first finish inside the top-10 on his debut weekend;
• In the Supersport class, Sam Lowes won his maiden race at 21 years and 7 months: he is seventh in the age chart, led by Yoann Tibertio (19 years and 5 months in Monza, 2006).

Compiled by Michele Merlino

Giorgio Barbier (Racing Director Pirelli Moto) analyzes the fifth round of the year, held at Donington Park (UK), from the point of view of the championship's official one-make tyre supplier.

"This weekend on English soil provided truly great and heated races for both Superbike and Supersport. The work done during the tests at Imola proved to be very important: in Superbike the R302 solution for the rear, developed from this year's standard SC1, designed to work at lower temperatures and to prevent cold tearing, was quite popular with pretty much all the riders. In Supersport as well, the R303, also a development of the SC1, was chosen by various riders. For this reason, given the excellent feedback received, we will definitely see these two solutions again in some of the future championship races. The Superbike Championship competition is very tight every year, and this year is no exception: in race two six different manufacturers crossed the finish line in the top six places, which shows just how much Pirelli's work contributes to placing all the teams in optimum conditions to be able to realistically aspire to the world title. In addition to congratulations to Marco Melandri and Jonathan Rea, respectively the winners of race 1 and race 2, my compliments go to Max Biaggi who had the best lap in both races as well as Sam Lowes, current ranking leader of the Pirelli Supersport Best Lap Awards"

Pirelli BEST LAP Awards:

SBK Race 1 - Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) 1'28.992 (Lap 6)
SBK Race 2 - Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) 1'28.995 (Lap 4)
Total BEST LAP (SBK): Checa C. (Althea Racing) 3, Biaggi M. (Aprilia Racing Team) 3, Sykes T. (Kawasaki Racing Team) 2, Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) 1

WSS - Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) 1'31.097 (Lap 21)
Total BEST LAP (WSS): Lowes S. (Bogdanka PTR Honda) 2, Foret F. (Kawasaki Intermoto Step) 1, Parkes B. (Ten Kate Racing Products) 1, Lanzi L. (Prorace) 1.

The BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team celebrated its first win in the production-based World Superbike championship on Sunday, when Marco Melandri triumphed in the team's 88th race, crossing the line in Donington ahead of team-mate Leon Haslam, who completed the one-two for BMW. The milestone win follows on from Troy Corser claiming the team's first pole position and podium finish in 2010, Marco Melandri finishing runner-up in his very first race for BMW Motorrad this year and Leon Haslam scoring two podium finishes at Imola weekend.

"Congratulations to Marco and the team on this important maiden victory," said Hendrik von Kuenheim, General Director of BMW Motorrad. "We never expected to see BMW Motorrad leave Donington with a one-two. It is a shame our riders were unable to finish the second race, otherwise Leon would have picked up his first win for BMW Motorrad. The whole team worked really hard to convert the full potential of the BMW S 1000 RR into success on the track. I would like to thank all those involved in the various departments for their tireless efforts. Our goal for this season is to continue to move forward, feature regularly on the podium and celebrate more victories. I am particularly pleased that we were able to win under our own steam. I am also confident that this is just the start of things to come, and that we will see a BMW rider on the top step of the podium more often this season."

"This one-two is the reward for the hard work put in by everyone involved in this project in recent weeks and months," added BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Bernhard Gobmeier. "All the departments are working hand in hand, and the success belongs not only to the racing team, but to all of BMW Motorrad. After reaching this important milestone, our goal is now to back it up and produce the same strong performance in coming races as we have done in Donington."

Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) took his second race win of the season after an incident-strewn race at Donington. On the first corner Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) touched and Checa went down, taking out Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati) and Checa's team-mate Davide Giugliano.

Then Laverty crashed down Craner Curves, as up front eventual third place man Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) led for most of the race distance. He was finally mugged by a warring faction which included eventual second place man Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) and both BMW Motorrad Motorsport Riders, Leon Haslam and Marco Melandri. After a multitude of overtakes and riders running off track on occasion, Haslam looked to have it won until both he and Melandri ran wide at the very last corner and Rea pushed inside. They collided and Haslam fell, knocking off Melandri as he slid on the track. Rea held on to win by just over half a second from Biaggi, with Sykes two second back. Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) was an impressive fourth.

In the championship, the final dramas mean that Biaggi has 128.5 points, Sykes 123.5, Rea 108, Checa 105.5 and Melandri 97.5.

In winning his first ever WSS race British rider Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) became the fifth different winner in five races this season and the third in a row on a Honda machine. Having struggled on with a stomach bug of some kind since Friday, and suffering a serious finger injury in a fall on Saturday, Lowes had to work hard to resist a late push from eventual second place finisher, Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini).

The English rider came within 0.003 seconds of setting a new lap record in his efforts to keep the Turkish rider behind him on the penultimate lap. Lowes is now only six points from Sofuoglu in the championship. Third place today was taken by third ranked rider overall, Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda).

A truly historic 1-2 for the BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team saw Marco Melandri win a 23-lap opening race at Donington with his team-mate Leon Haslam only 0.728 seconds behind.

An eventual five rider fight for the podium places provided overtaking manoeuvres and personal duels aplenty as the race order changed multiple times. Tissot-Superpole winner Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) won a tense battle to go third, with Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) making up places in the final laps to overhaul Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) and take fourth place. The leading five were covered by 2.102 seconds at the end of the race.

World Champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) was sixth, four seconds from the win. He made it five different manufacturers in the top six at the flag.

Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) posted the fastest time in the second qualifying session to head the combined time sheets and take his first ever WSS pole with a 1 minute 30.931 seconds lap. This is the new best lap time in this class.

Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) fell early in the session and was unable to improve on his first day best and thus he finishes second in the overall rankings. Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda) made it a 1-2-3 for Honda riders, with Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) going fourth. Wildcard Glen Richards (Smiths Gloucester Triumph) was a strong top five rider, while Sheridan Morais (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) posted a top six place.

In Superpole 3 Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) went over 0.3 seconds faster than the existing track best with a 1 minute 27.716 seconds lap that gave him his fourth Tissot-Superpole win of 2012. Close behind was his fellow Englishman Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport), the only other rider inside the 1'27 bracket. Haslam's team-mate Marco Melandri was third and the front row for tomorrow's races was completed by Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing), who came good after some challenging times in earlier practice sessions.

Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) earned a top five place on the grid, with Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) sixth. Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) scored seventh and will be joined on the second row by Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati). 2011 World champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) will start Sunday's race from the third row of the grid, in ninth place.

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