French Grand Prix, Magny-Cours, 70 laps

1.  RAIKKONEN    Ferrari       1hm30m54.200s
2.  MASSA        Ferrari       +2.4s
3.  HAMILTON     McLaren       +29.7s

4.  KUBICA       BMW           +41.7s
5.  HEIDFELD     BMW           +48.8s
6.  FISICHELLA   Renault       +52.2s
7.  ALONSO       Mclaren       +56.5s
8.  BUTTON       Honda         +58.8s
9.  ROSBERG      Williams      +1m08.5s
10. SCHUMACHER   Toyota        +1 lap
11. BARRICHELLO  Honda         +1 lap
12. WEBBER       Red Bull      +1 lap
13. COULTHARD    Red Bull      +1 lap
14. WURZ         Williams      +1 lap
15. KOVALAINEN   Renault       +1 lap
16. SATO         Super Aguri   +2 laps
17. SUTIL        Spyker        +2 laps
R.  SPEED        Toro Rosso    +15 laps
R.  LIUZZI       Toro Rosso    +42 laps
R.  DAVIDSON     Super Aguri   +69 laps
R.  TRULLI       Toyota        +69 laps
R.  ALBERS       Spyker        +70 laps

Fastest lap: MASSA  1m16.099s

Ferrari joins Lotus in tyre tweak criticism

By inautonews on  From inautonews.com
May 17 (GMM/Inautonews.com) Ferrari has joined Lotus in criticising Pirelli’s mid-season tyre tweak. Following early-season criticism, culminating in the furore after Barcelona recently, Pirelli announced it is making key changes to its controversial 2013 tyres for next month’s Canadian grand prix and beyond. Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez was the first to react, likening the change to widening football goals because one team was always striking the post. Now, in the anonymous ‘Horse Whisperer...Read Full Story

Having Fun @ Magny-Cours

By Braman Bentley on  From flickr.com
Julien Ash has added a photo to the pool: While following the Rallye de Paris, we stumbled upon an event oranized by tha amazing guys at club911.net on the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. While we just wanted to take a look at what was going on, we ended up spending the whole afternoon there as had access to every part of the paddocks with some amazing cars to check ! So here, we have a beautiful Porsche 911 964 Cup which completed lap after lap with an impressive consistency. Sadly its...Read Full Story

Laffite doubts F1 return for Magny Cours

By inautonews on  From inautonews.com
May 2 (GMM/Inautonews.com) Former F1 driver Jacques Laffite has played down reports Magny Cours is still in the running for a return to the F1 calendar. Recently, Alain Prost – who was involved in the efforts to revive the French grand prix for 2013 – said he thinks there could now be “possible openings” on the 2014 calendar. But also involved in those efforts was Laffite, another former F1 winner from France. He told Le Journal du Centre newspaper: “I doubt formula one will return to Magny...Read Full Story

Kovalainen tests ‘vanity panel’ at Magny Cours

By inautonews on  From inautonews.com
May 2 (GMM/Inautonews.com) In between his Friday practice outings in Bahrain and Barcelona, Heikki Kovalainen has this week been back in action at the wheel of Caterham’s 2013 car. In heavy rain, the Finn – newly signed up to a reserve and development role with Tony Fernandes’ struggling team – drove at Magny Cours for a ‘filming day’. But Caterham may also have been testing new parts, as photos of the French test have revealed the CT03 with a new ‘vanity panel’ covering the usual stepped...Read Full Story

CASTROL HONDA TEAM AIMS TO MAINTAIN MOMENTUM IN MAGNY-COURS

By touco57 on  From motoringdreams.blogspot.com
Just a few days after an emotional and unexpected victory at Imola in Italy last Sunday, the Castrol Honda team heads to Magny-Cours in France for this weekend’s (1-2 October) twelfth round of the 2011 World Superbike championship. Jonathan Rea took victory in race one at Imola, marking not only his return to fitness after a three-month mid-season injury layoff, but also a step forward in the development of the Castrol Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade on which the team is testing a new electronics...Read Full Story

A Photographic Visit Of The Magny-Cours Circuit

By dirtyp on  From motorcycletrader.info
I realize that not many people get to visit the Magny-Cours circuit here in France, let alone visit the “special” and off-limit areas. So after my little visit to the circuit for the FIM e-Power race (which wasn’t much of a race), I’ve decided to show you a lot of photos of the circuit. Most of them were taken really early in the morning (Friday 13th). Magny-Cours, together with the Le Mans Bugatti circuit are the two main race circuits in France, hosting races for the MotoGP, World SuperBike...Read Full Story

Magny-Cours Facts & Figures

By Jesus Rodriguez on  From ronincycleparts.com
• Matteo Baiocco ran in three different classes in Magny Cours: in Supersport in 2004 and 2005, then in Superstock 1000 from 2006 to 2008, where he was second in the 2006 race behind Claudio Corti and Alex Polita. Last year in Superbike he was twelfth and fourteenth;• Max Biaggi never won in Magny Cours, but he has obtained good results since he has always finished inside the top-6, with three podiums, two of them last year. Max was able to climb through the field after a first lap off-track...Read Full Story
Linked from http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2007/6/6373.html
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Magny-Cours is just one of seven circuits to have hosted the French Grand Prix since it joined the Formula One calendar back in 1950. As speculation continues in the media over the future of the event, we look back at the race’s long and glorious history…

The French event's original home was the ultra-fast Reims track, which had also staged Grands Prix in the pre-war era. The triangular-shaped circuit was fashioned from public roads and produced average speeds of well over 160 km/h, even in 1950. The inaugural championship race was won by Juan Manuel Fangio for Alfa Romeo, a feat he repeated the following year.

In 1952 Rouen-les-Essarts, another street circuit, held its first French Grand Prix, with Alberto Ascari unstoppable in his Ferrari. The Italian not only took pole position, he also led from flag to finish and claimed the fastest lap of the race.

For the following three events the race returned to Reims, with British driver Mike Hawthorn breaking Fangio's stranglehold on the circuit in 1953 after a close battle between the two, which saw them trade the lead countless times. Fangio took his revenge with victory in '54, there was no French race in 1955, and another Brit, Peter Collins, took the honours in 1956.

Between 1957 and 1964 the race moved between the two venues, Reims staging the Grand Prix five times and Rouen three. Among the names added to the winners' list were Tony Brooks, Dan Gurney and Jim Clark. Perhaps most notable though was 1961 victor Giancarlo Baghetti, who remains the only man to have won on his world championship debut.

Set in the scenic Auvergne mountains, Clermont-Ferrand hosted its first of four French Grands Prix in 1965. Jim Clark led from start to finish and when the race returned in 1969 fellow Scot Jackie Stewart did the same. Jochen Rindt was victorious the following year, while it was Stewart again for the circuit's final world championship appearance in 1972.

The spiritual home of French motorsport has always been Le Mans, venue for the famous 24-hour sportscar race. However, the Formula One world championship has visited the famous circuit just once, in 1967. The Le Mans-Bugatti track, as it was known, used only the start line and the pits of the traditional layout, with the rest of the lap comprising a purpose-built infield section. Jack Brabham took an easy win, but the circuit proved unpopular with drivers and spectators alike and never staged another Grand Prix.

Paul Ricard joined the Formula One racing calendar in 1971. Unlike its predecessors, it was a purpose-built circuit, boasting good facilities, though not a particularly inspiring track design. Jackie Stewart was its first winner, while Ronnie Peterson, Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Mario Andretti and Alan Jones all took victories in the decade that followed.

During that time, the race switched between Paul Ricard and the Dijon-Prenois circuit, which debuted in 1974. Peterson took the inaugural win, but the sub-one minute lap time meant traffic was a problem. The track was duly extended for 1977, with Andretti victorious after John Watson's leading Brabham started to splutter on the final lap.

The 1979 race at Dijon was an all-French affair. Jean-Pierre Jabouille became the first Frenchman to win a world championship round on home soil and it was the maiden victory for national team Renault (and incidentally for a turbocharged car). However, the race will forever be remembered for the epic battle for second between Rene Arnoux in the other Renault and the Ferrari of Gilles Villeneuve. The latter finished ahead, but only after two of the most frantic closing laps in Formula One racing history.

When the race returned to Dijon in 1981, it was again a Frenchman who took the chequered flag as Alain Prost scored his maiden Formula One victory, again with home team Renault. It was to be one of six French Grand Prix wins for Prost, including three on the trot at Paul Ricard between 1988 and 1990.

Dijon hosted the Swiss Grand Prix in 1982 with Keke Rosberg taking his maiden Formula One win. The venue then staged its final French Grand Prix in 1984, when Niki Lauda got the better of Patrick Tambay's Renault to clinch victory.

For the following six seasons, Paul Ricard held the monopoly on the French Grand Prix. Nelson Piquet won for Brabham in 1985, before major changes were made to the track for the 1986 race following the death of Elio de Angelis in testing. Nigel Mansell was victorious for Williams that year and he did it again in 1987. Prost then dominated the final three Grands Prix at Dijon.

The race switched to its current home of Magny-Cours in 1991 as part of a project backed by President Francoise Mitterrand to bring much-needed income to the rural area. The rebuilt club circuit boasted an ultra-smooth surface and excellent facilities, even if drivers felt the track itself was a little unexciting.

Nigel Mansell was the first winner, the Williams driver emerging victorious after a tense battle with the Ferrari of Alain Prost. He was on top of the podium again for Williams in '92, while Prost made it three in a row for the British team in '93.

The 1994 event brought Michael Schumacher his first French Grand Prix win. It also witnessed the return of Mansell to Formula One racing after his success in the American CART series. He qualified on the front row for Williams, but ultimately retired from the race.

Schumacher then won three of the next four French Grands Prix, for Benetton in 1995 and for Ferrari in 1997 and 1998. Damon Hill was the man to interrupt his run, but only after the German had retired on the formation lap of the 1996 event with a blown engine.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen scored his first Jordan win at Magny-Cours in 1999, beating the McLaren of Mika Hakkinen and the Stewart of Rubens Barrichello into second and third respectively. Meanwhile, in 2000 David Coulthard was victorious for McLaren after successfully hunting down and passing Schumacher's Ferrari.

However, Schumacher was back on the podium in France in 2001 after a processional race that saw him take the lead from brother Ralf in the first round of pit stops. Kimi Raikkonen looked set for a maiden victory in 2002 until he ran wide on oil at the Adelaide hairpin with just four laps to go. The Finn’s misfortune handed victory, and with it a record-equalling fifth world title, to Schumacher on a plate.

It was a Schumacher victory again in 2003, but this time it was younger brother Ralf’s turn to stand atop the podium, for the second time in two races. He led home a dominant Williams one-two, though team mate Juan Pablo Montoya was less than happy with a late change in pit stop strategy which the Colombian felt robbed him of a chance of challenging for victory. He came home 14 seconds behind Ralf after easing off in the closing stages, with Michael Schumacher third, a further 5 seconds down the road.

In 2004, the older Schumacher sibling was back on the top step of the podium, after finishing less than nine seconds ahead of the Renault of pole-sitter Fernando Alonso. Rubens Barrichello in the second Ferrari finished in third. In 2005 Alonso was the leading light, taking his fifth victory of the season.

Last year, however, Schumacher regained his winning form in France, comfortably defeating Alonso on Renault’s home soil. Though the Spaniard took second, mostly down to a clever two-stop strategy, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa came home third to increase the Italian team’s chances in the title fight.

This season the championship battle is proving equally fierce, and the fight for victory on Sunday looks set to be a suitably dramatic send-off, should this weekend really turn out to be the last French Grand Prix held at Magny-Cours.
Linked from http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2007/6/6370.html
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The French Grand Prix has been a fixture on the Formula One calendar for over fifty years, but just how much do you know about its history?

- The French Grand Prix is one of the most historic races on the Formula One racing calendar, having been staged every year bar one (1955) since the inception of the world championship in 1950. Magny-Cours, which hosted its first race in 1991, is one of seven circuits to have held the event.

- The original Magny-Cours track, opened in 1960, was just over a mile in length and by 1969 the track record stood at just 49 seconds. The current circuit is 2.7 miles, or 4.411 kilometres, long.

- Nigel Mansell won the first French Grand Prix to be held at Magny-Cours for Williams, after a fierce battle with the Ferrari of Alain Prost. Williams remain the second most successful squad at the track, having clinched five wins, eight poles and five fastest laps. Ferrari have won the most at the Nevers circuit, with six victories, all courtesy of former driver Michael Schumacher.

- Magny-Cours is one of the toughest circuits on the calendar for brakes. The Adelaide hairpin alone sees drivers subjected to up to 4g as they brake from 300 km/h to 60 km/h. The French circuit also boasts an exceptionally smooth surface, which means the teams can run cars with stiff suspension and a very low ride height.

- In 1961, Ferrari driver Giancarlo Baghetti made history after winning the French Grand Prix on his world championship debut. Baghetti had started the race 12th on the grid. Ralf Schumacher (2001), Damon Hill (1993), Jochen Rindt (1968) and Lorenzo Bandini (1966) all scored the maiden pole position of their Formula One careers at the French Grand Prix.

- Red Bull’s David Coulthard has scored the greatest number of fastest laps at Magny-Cours. Coulthard clocked the best time at the French circuit every year from 1998 to 2002 for former team McLaren.

- This year, Formula One racing’s official tyre supplier, Bridgestone, will take 2,200 soft and medium compound tyres to Magny-Cours.

- Michael Schumacher has had the most success in France with eight wins. Alain Prost is the second most successful driver with six victories. Of the grid’s current crop of drivers only David Coulthard (2000), Ralf Schumacher (2003) and Fernando Alonso (2005) have won the French race.

- Although Rubens Barrichello has been on the French Grand Prix podium four times, he has never won the race. Fellow Brazilian Ayrton Senna was equally unlucky in France, only appearing on the podium three-times during his 11 year career.

- There are nine right-hand corners and eight left-hand corners at Magny-Cours. Drivers will spend 64 percent of the lap at full-throttle and will change gear a total of 37 times.
Linked from http://www.formula1.com/race/circuitdetail/777.html
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In 1960 Jean Bernigaud built a racing circuit on farm land near to Magny Cours in the Upper Loire, France. The original track was just over a mile in length and by 1969 the track record stood at just 49 seconds. Bernigaud expanded the circuit to create two interconnecting tracks with a total length of 3.84 kilometres (2.39 miles). The new track was officially opened in 1971.

Magny Cours was the home of a whole generation of French motor racing stars in the 1970s. A race school was established in 1963 and famous graduates included Francois Cevert, Patrick Depailler, Jean-Pierre Jarier and Jacques Laffite.

The track hosted rounds of the European F3 championship but it was not until former President Francois Mitterand decided to invest in the flagging economy of the area, that Magny Cours was seriously considered for Formula One. A new motorway was built to link the track to the existing autoroutes and a huge industrial park was built to attract France's best racing teams.

The track layout remained the same but the corners were all changed, the track retaining its dual layout but now comprising a length of 4.26 kilometres (2.65 miles). In 1991 the French grand Prix came to Magny Cours and it has remained there ever since.
Situated in central Nievre region, the circuit is half way between Paris and Lyon. The two main airports are Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly, both in Paris, or alternatively the Satolas Airport in Lyon.

From Paris, using the A10 motorway, take the Bourge exit for the N76 to Pierre Le Moultier. Driving from Lyon and its Satolas airport, take the A6 to Paris, leaving at Macon Sud for the N79 and subsequently the D979.
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