Assen: Series preview

Little respite as Magny-Cours concludes European double header

Just a week after Superleague Formula by Sonangol visited Assen in Holland, the championship makes the short hop into France, destination Magny-Cours, for round three of the 2010 campaign.

While the majority of Europe's domestic football leagues have reached their dramatic conclusions, Superleague Formula's trip south of Paris sees the championship reach only its quarter-way point with just two rounds already completed.

As such, the battle at the top of the standings remains tight despite Tottenham's Craig Dolby extending his lead at Assen. FC Basel's Max Wissel is second but only nine points clear of Olympiacos in sixth and with a maximum 106 points on offer over the two 45 minute races and subsequent Super Final, the title really is still anybody's to win.

That will come as some comfort to Superleague Formula's two French clubs - Bordeaux and Olympique Lyonnais - who have suffered a troubled start to their campaigns despite signs that they are championship contenders.

Lyon's Sebastien Bourdais for instance has recorded three DNF's, none of which were of his own making, but still dominated the second race at Silverstone to record his second series victory. Franck Montagny too has been unlucky so far, enduring a Silverstone weekend to forget before qualifying and running second at Assen before a gearbox gremlin ended his hopes of a strong points haul.

Both men are expected to feature heavily at Magny-Cours where they competed during their time in Formula One. Montagny will also be able to call on existing Superleague Formula data having tested the car there earlier this year.

Franck Montagny, Bordeaux:"It's great to be going back to Magny-Cours. I did my last Formula One race there and I can tell you, I really like the track! I tested the car there recently and the tyre wear on the front left was very heavy. So we're going to see super fast qualifying and a lot of changes for the race because of the degradation so I'm sure there will be a lot of overtaking. We didn't really find the ultimate set up while testing there because it was more about gathering data for the rest of the season. When we got to Silverstone we had absolutely no knowledge so it was more important to find a base to start with."

Sebastien Bourdais, Olympique Lyonnais:"It's a very nice feeling to be back on track at Magny-Cours. I enjoy the track very much, it's varied and there are overtaking opportunities. This is the circuit that represented France's standing in motorsport for nearly 20 years when it hosted the French Grand Prix. It's a place where I'd like to do well of course, as will all my fellow countrymen. All five of us have a chance to put the French colours on top and there will be high competition between us to reach that target."

Should the duo continue their current run of bad luck, there's no shortage of Frenchman ready to step into the breach. France boasts the most number of drivers racing in this season's championship, including Franck Perera, who will again be CJ Motorsport's substitute for the Flamengo hot seat following his second position and Super Final appearance at Assen. Those results, added to Duncan Tappy's performance at Silverstone, have helped the Brazilian club occupy third in the league, just four points shy of second.

AS Roma's Julien Jousse and Galatasaray's Tristan Gommendy complete the highly capable French contingent ready to lay siege to Magny-Cours.

This weekend's event will be contested by 17 football clubs as the car of Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven will not be present for the French races.

-source: sf