Magny Cours, October 2nd, 2011 – A start from the front row was not enough to take Leon Camier to the podium in the Magny Cours Superbike races. The English rider, who shot out of the fourth spot on the grid, just grazed a result on the podium in Race 1 after battling among the best. In the back-and-forth overtaking which was the battle for third place, in the end Leon was forced to settle for fourth place behind Checa, Melandri and Haslam.
In a gamble on the feeling with his RSV4 and the French asphalt, Camier opted for a change of rear tyre before Race 2. The choice seemed like the right one for the first part of the race, but as the laps went by there was a decrease in performance. Despite Leon's tenacity, first Checa and then Melandri got the better of him. After a couple laps even Haslam had taken advantage of the English Aprilia Alitalia rider's difficulties, moving into fourth place. With a fifth place finale in sight, Guintoli overtook him in the last lap to make Leon Camier's final result a sixth place finish.
His disappointment was understandable: "We knew we had taken a gamble with our choice of tyre in the second race, but we needed more grip in order to keep up with the best and try for a podium. I tried to manage the wear as best as possible to get to the last laps with something left, but it just wasn't enough: in the end I didn't have any more grip and I had no choice but to give up positions. It's a shame because it was really important to stay ahead of Haslam from a championship point of view. We'll try to end this season well at Portimao".
RACE 1
1- C.Checa (Ducati)
2- M.Melandri (Yamaha)
3- L.Haslam (BMW)
4- L.Camier (Aprilia)
5- E.Laverty (Yamaha)
6- S.Guintoli (Ducati)
7- N.Haga (Aprilia)
8- J.Lascorz (Kawasaki)
9- T.Corser (BMW)
10- T.Sykes (Kawasaki)
RACE 2
1- C.Checa (Ducati)
2- M.Melandri (Yamaha)
3- E.Laverty (Yamaha)
4- L.Haslam (BMW)
5- S.Guintoli (Ducati)
6- L.Camier (Aprilia)
7- J.Lascorz (Kawasaki)
8- A.Badovini (BMW)
9- T.Corser (BMW)
10- N.Haga (Aprilia)