Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) took a race win and a second place at the Magny-Cours races to go second in the championship with one round remaining.
Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) recovered from sixth in race one to finish third in race two and now sits third overall, nine points behind his team-mate Haga.
Haga was imperious in race one after his strong qualifying performances and Superpole win, taking the lead from fast-starting Troy Bayliss before blasting away to record a margin of victory of six seconds. Fonsi Nieto was second, with Bayliss third. Corser was sixth after crash in Superpole saw him start 12th on the grid.
In race two, Haga led for most of the 23-laps, but could not hold onto the fleeing Bayliss in the last sector, and had to settle for second, one place up on a resurgent and determined Corser.
Bayliss had already won the championship outright after his first race podium, leaving Haga and Corser to fight out the overall second place in the championship rankings at the final round in one month's time. Bayliss now has 410 points, Haga 325, and Corser 316.
Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) went 13th in the opening race at his home circuit, but retired in the pits in race two. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) did not finish either race, retiring in race one and crashing out of race two.
Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) went 14th and scored two points in race one, but just missed out on a points scoring finish in race two, by one place and less than one second.
Noriyuki Haga (1st and 2nd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"The weather conditions have been not so good this weekend but the team gave me a good bike and I could compete well all weekend. I was riding comfortably at the front in race one to win so thanks to Yamaha and congratulations to Troy Bayliss, the champion of the world.
Troy Corser (6th and 3rd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"Starting from the third row was always going to be tough for these races. I got a good start in race two and got though quickly but I had a little bit of a tussle with Rolfo and Checa. When the rain started to come I could see the guys in front had started to slow down, and I knew I had a chance to make up some time. I really didn't care if I crashed or not I just went as hard as I could. I caught those guys but once I had I really couldn't go much further.
The lap times came down again to mid 1'40s. The bike was pretty consistent but I just couldn't push any harder on the front tyre because the right-hand side was almost finished. I nearly took Troy out down the hill at one time so I had to let the brake off or I would have taken both of us out. Lucky enough there was enough room to get through. But race two was good and we go to the next race to see if I can win one there."
Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)
"We won the first race and were nearly there in race two. It was a really good race for both riders in the second race. In the last few laps our tyres started to drop off and it was impossible for our guys to get back to Tory at the end. Over the weekend as a whole we got pole, a win in race one and then two podiums in race two, so it's been positive. The next race will be a challenge for everyone on a new circuit. Today's results are thanks to a lot of hard work from the team so a thank you to them as well."
Shinichi Nakatomi (14th and 16th - Team YZF Yamaha
"In race 1, I had some chattering problem after 10 laps. It was difficult to push. For race 2, we changed the set up but the chattering problem came back. I crossed the front a few times. It was a difficult race.. Magny-Cours was not so good, Portimao will be better."
Circuit Length: 4411
Crowd: 78000
Weather: Overcast
2008 WSB France - Magny-Cours 05/10/2008 Race 1
1 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 38'33.367
2 Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 0'6..223
3 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'6.875
4 Max Biaggi Ducati ITA 0'7.237
5 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'8.925
6 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 0'10.714
7 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'16.176
8 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'22.661
9 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'27.224
10 Gregorio Lavilla Honda ESP 0'31.300
11 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'35.558
12 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'35.774
13 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'36.078
14 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'36.289
15 Chris Walker Honda GBR 0'40.472
Race 2
1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 38'33.579
2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'0.909
3 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 0'2.966
4 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'2.966
5 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'12.822
6 Max Biaggi Ducati ITA 0'13.004
7 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'18.876
8 Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 0'19.512
9 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'19.627
10 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 0'21.425
11 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'25.133
12 Gregorio Lavilla Honda ESP 0'30.538
13 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'35.334
14 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'38.453
15 Chris Walker Honda GBR 0'40.008
16 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'40.802
Best Lap Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'38.444
Rider Standings 05/10/2008
1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 410
2. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 325
3. Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 316
4. Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 298
5. Carlos Checa Honda ESP 284
6. Max Biaggi Ducati ITA 235
7.. Fonsi Nieto Suzuki ESP 234
8. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 203
9. Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda JPN 193
10. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 171
11. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 153
12. Gregorio Lavilla Honda ESP 117
13. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 113
14. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 109
15. Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 75
19. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 48
26. David Checa Yamaha ESP 12
27. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 12
Manufacturer Standings 05/10/2008
1. Ducati 520
2. Yamaha 461
3. Suzuki 384
4. Honda 379
5. Kawasaki 82
- Yamaha -
