Starting from the second row of the grid in wet conditions at the 4.411km French circuit, van der Mark, who was crowned 2014 World Supersport champion after the previous round at Jerez in Spain, settled into third place behind early race leader Kenan Sofuoglu and Jules Cluzel.

However, while running a relatively lonely race, the 21-year-old Dutch ace lost the front of his Honda CBR600RR on the seventh of the scheduled 17 laps. Van der Mark picked up his machine and rejoined the race in seventh place, fighting his way back to second after Sofuoglu himself crashed out of the lead.

Van der Mark’s Pata Honda team-mate, Lorenzo Zanetti, had fought his way up to fourth place from 10th on the grid and was challenging for the final podium place when the red flags came out on lap 13, signalling a premature end to the race.

It would have been Zanetti’s second podium of the season but the 27-year-old Italian retains fourth place in the championship, 17 points from third with the final race due to take place at Doha in Qatar on 2 November.

Michael van der Mark - 2nd 

First of all I want to thank my team because I gave them a lot of work to do after I crashed in the warm-up this morning. They did a great job and gave me a bike that I was able to be really fast on immediately. Unfortunately I had a small crash at the hairpin which cost me a few places but when I picked up the bike I was able to go fast again straight away so I could get by the guys in front of me. I feel sorry for Kenan because he really deserved the win today but I’m happy to finish second.

Leon Haslam took his first podium for the Pata Honda team - his 29th in total - in the second of today’s two wet eleventh round World Superbike championship races at Magny-Cours in France.

The 31-year-old British rider, who finished sixth in the first 19-lap race at the 4.411km French circuit, made some positive changes to his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade for race two, in which he engaged in a prolonged battle with reigning world champion Tom Sykes.

Having caught Sykes with seven laps to go, Haslam tried everything to get by, eventually riding around the outside of his rival at turn seven with two laps remaining to take a fantastic podium for him and his team.

It was the team’s second podium of the day after Jonathan Rea finished third in race one. Having taken an early lead, Rea found it difficult to apply his CBR’s power to the slippery Magny-Cours circuit and the 27-year-old dropped behind eventual race winner Sylvain Guintoli and second-placed Marco Melandri.

Rea stormed into the lead again in the early laps of race two and had settled into a comfortable rhythm before becoming one of no fewer than 13 riders caught out by the treacherous Magny-Cours surface and crashing out unhurt at turn seven.

The World Superbike championship now breaks for four weeks before the final round of the series at the Losail circuit in Qatar on 2 November.

AFTER DOMINATING AT JEREZ, SYLVAIN GUINTOLI AND MARCO MELANDRI'S APRILIA RACING TEAM IS READY FOR BATTLE ON FRENCH SOIL. THE CHAMPIONSHIP IS STILL UP FOR GRABS.

Magny-Cours, 1 October 2014 - World Superbike is back on the track with the penultimate round of the 2014 calendar on the French Magny-Cours track. Despite the long break, for the Aprilia Racing Team memories of Jerez are still fresh in their minds, a round where the RSV4s completely dominated, ridden by Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli who brought home a double one-two (first and second place in both races). This is a result which, besides once again confirming the Italian superbike's extraordinary competitiveness, “upset” the championship standings to create all the right conditions for a thrilling season finale.

With 100 points still up for grabs, the 31 point gap that separates Sylvain Guintoli from the top spot is keeping the French rider's hopes alive. On his home track, Sylvain will also be able to count on the support of his fans who will be flocking to the circuit to see his attempt at a comeback. Sylvain's feeling on the French track is good, as his first factory derivative win demonstrated, earned right here at Magny-Cours in 2012.

Another great protagonist of the season finale is Marco Melandri, dominator at Jerez and progressively more competitive in the second half of the championship season. For the Italian rider, still mathematically in the running for the title, despite a significant disadvantage, his stated goal is to battle one race at a time. Without calculations but with the firm intention of taking home the best possible results.

Sylvain Guintoli: “After the solid week end in Jerez, I can't wait to get back on track in Magny Cours to try to close the Championship gap. It won't be easy but I still have a chance so I 'll take all risks and try my best to beat Tom. The French public support will be a big advantage and I have been training like an animal! I am ready”.

Marco Melandri: “Magny-Cours is a track that I like a lot and it looks like the weather will be excellent. I'm arriving here in good condition. I want to reaffirm the levels that I demonstrated in Jerez. I'm sure the competition will be heated, but I have taken advantage of this month to recharge my batteries and I'm ready for battle on the track”.

From 1st October 2014, the paper tax disc will no longer need to be displayed on a vehicle.

If you have a tax disc with any months left to run after this date, then it can be removed from the vehicle and destroyed. 

What this means to you

To drive or keep a vehicle on the road you will still need to get vehicle tax and DVLA will still send you a V11 or V85/1 renewal reminder when your vehicle tax is due to expire. This applies to all types of vehicles including those that are exempt from payment of vehicle tax or have a nil rate of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).

In brief you still have to pay, however you will not get a piece of paper to prove you’ve done it.

See more here

On the 1st October, the paper tax disc will be axed after 93 years on our windscreens and in a holder/tube on our motorbikes to be replaced with an electronic system and never again will the words 'It's in the post officer' have any meaning!

Further reading - Shake-up will see discs abolished and drivers can pay monthly

At the 37th Le Mans 24 Hours Endurance World Championship final this weekend – Michelin’s team, the N°94 Yamaha (GMT 94/Michelin) came second to clinch the 2014 EWC title.

SERT, the only official team not to suffer a fall this weekend, picked up its 11th win at the Le Mans 24 Hours, its first since 2008. The N°1 Suzuki team completed 810 laps to beat the N°94 Yamaha by just two laps.

The N°94 Yamaha was hit by another bike under braking for the first corner of lap one and was forced to pit for repairs before re-joining, practically in last position, three laps adrift. However, the team’s three riders bounced back to produce a polished performance. By midnight on Saturday they were on the podium and they then eased into second place during the early hours of Sunday.

GMT 94 dealt perfectly with the mixed conditions that greeted teams at sunrise, and made some judicious tyre choices for the Michelin-equipped R1 to close the gap to the leader from five to two laps. After that, David Checa, Kenny Foray and Mathieu Gines kept a cool head to collect second overall and make sure of GMT 94’s second world title.

“Our tyres proved competitive in changeable conditions and we succeeded in ensuring that the Yamaha was always on the right rubber at the right moment. Congratulations to everyone at GMT 94 and thanks for helping us to claim our 15th world title in endurance racing. We are delighted to have played a part in the team’s second place this afternoon” said Piero Taramasso, manager of Michelin Motorsport’s two-wheel programmes.