Leon Camier handed his MV Agusta team their best-ever World Superbike result with a fifth place in the wet opening encounter at Magny-Cours after a software upgrade allowed him to get more from the traction control.

The former BSB champion rode an almost fault-free race to beat Chaz Davies in the final laps but a gear selection issue saw him fall back to 15th in the dry second race. Camier was supposed to receive a new chassis and fuel tank for the French round but neither materialized.

“We made some big steps with the traction control and it was really pleasing to be able to give MV their best ever results in World Superbikes. We still need to do some work with the electronics but it was a useful upgrade,” said Camier, speaking to bikesportnews.com from his Andorran gin palace.