WorldSBK/SSP/SSP300 Saturday wrap from Magny-Cours

2022 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Seven – Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France

WorldSBK Superpole Qualifying

The Superpole sessions in Magny-Cours were some of the most heated ever with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) both doing the best lap at 1’36.124, the Northern Irishman on his sixth lap and the Turkish rider on his seventh lap.

In these cases, the regulations state that pole position goes to the rider who did the second-best time, so the top time is discarded entirely. With a time of 1’36.168, Rea got the better of Razgatlioglu, so he took pole position.

Rounding out the front row behind them was Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), whereas Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had to settle for the second row with fourth place.

At the rear, all the riders used the SCQ qualifying solution, whereas at the front, Rea, Razgatlioglu, and Bautista opted for the new soft SC1 B0570 and Redding preferred the more familiar SC1 A0674.

WorldSBK Superpole Qualifying Results

WorldSBK Race One

The opening race at Magny-Cours marked a fifth consecutive win for Álvaro Bautista and Ducati.

Jonathan Rea crashed toward the end of the second lap from second place, with Toprak Razgatlioglu suffering the same fate on the following lap whilst leading the race.

Both managed to rejoin the race but were unable to be competitive. The Turkish rider finished 11th and Rea crossed the line last, an entire lap behind the race winner.

With the two main contenders out of the mix, from the seventh lap on, Bautista took the lead and remained there all the way to the chequered flag.

The only rider to give him a run for his money was Scott Redding on his BMW, finishing on the second step of the podium.

It was a creditable third place for Italian rider Axel Bassani on his private Ducati managed by team Motocorsa Racing, his second podium in the World Championship for factory derivative bikes.

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Alex Lowes was involved in a fight with Garrett Gerloff and eventually finished ahead of him in fourth place, passing his American rival on lap 17 of 21 and then closed on the final podium position for a time.

It had looked like Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) would challenge for a podium but as the race progressed, with Gerloff running Pirelli’s new development soft front tyre, he dropped back with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claiming fourth spot ahead of Gerloff in fifth.

Rinaldi was able to recover after a trip through the gravel, battling back from the lower end of the points-scoring places to take sixth place.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) took advantage of both Team HRC machines losing pace in the closing stages of the race to finish in seventh place, with Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) in eighth place.

Iker Lecuona (Team HRC), one of a handful of riders to use Pirelli’s new soft front tyre, finished in ninth with French rider Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) rounding out the top ten.

WorldSBK Race One Results

WorldSBK Rider Quotes

Alvaro Bautista – P1

“It is an important result on a circuit that is not easy for us. We took a good choice in terms of tires, even though I made a small mistake at the start. Luckily, I didn’t lose much ground. In the first few laps I mainly tried to get confident with the tires and after Toprak and Johnny crashed I tried to take my time to pass Redding. The lead (56 points) in the standings? I prefer to stay focused on the track than on the Championship. Tomorrow is going to be another important day”.

Alex Lowes – P4

“It was disappointing really because I thought my pace was better. I was struggling at the start to pass the guys. My bike was turning well and really good in some parts of the track. But I couldn’t really pass and then get away, getting stuck behind people. I did OK but I think tomorrow I can do a bit better. In Superpole I was annoyed because I did four laps the same but I needed a few tenths to get on the front row. I wanted to be there because my pace has been strong all weekend. I didn’t quite make it but I have been consistent all weekend in all conditions and physically I feel great. That’s good compared to the last races.”

Garrett Gerloff – P5

“It’s nice to be top five in the Superpole and in Race 1, we’re going in the right direction. Everything seems like it’s working well and I’m glad we were able to stay on two wheels, we had a couple of big moments but that’s racing! We started to catch Bassani with eight laps to go, but unfortunately we had difficulty with the tyres. It was still a good battle with Lowes. We’ll try to push for more tomorrow.”

Michael Rinaldi – P6

“It was a solid race. I started well and from the first laps, I felt I had a good feeling with my bike. The race pace was strong and after fighting with Bassani and Lowes my plan was to pass Baz who then crashed. The feeling was really good and I thought I had the potential to try and catch Redding too,  but I made a mistake in Turn 1 and I went off the track. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take advantage of this big opportunity, also in light of the crashes of Toprak and Johnny, but we know for sure we were fast”.

Andrea Locatelli – P7

“So in the end, we finished Race 1 in P7 and I am not so happy because it was really difficult and I don’t yet understand why. It was difficult to start from P12 on the grid but also it was really strange the feeling with the rear tyre. I don’t know what we can do for tomorrow, but for sure we are working to try to improve for the Superpole Race: try to start more in front and then push for another good race for Race 2. We will try to understand what we can do looking at everything from the dry running today and we will see tomorrow. This is not my position and there is a bigger gap to the front, so we need to come back stronger tomorrow.”

Iker Lecuona – P9

“Today was a tough but constructive day for us. This morning we finally had 30 minutes of dry track time to learn the layout. We also made a little step with the setup but not enough to give me a totally good feeling with the bike. In qualifying, being able to lap in 1’36” was good but the standings were so close that a relatively small gap of seven tenths meant that we had to start from the fifth row. And I still wasn’t feeling comfortable on the bike. So we decided to change the setup before the race and take something of a gamble with the front tyre, which we knew wouldn’t be able to last race distance without suffering a significant drop. The drop arrived, but until then I was able to ride very fast, the bike feeling like “my” bike again, which allowed me to make up many positions. Then, in the second half of the race, I basically just focused on finishing the race as well as possible, saving a lot of potential crashes, especially through the right-hand corners. Anyway, I want to thank my team for all their great work and for putting me in a condition to be fast and enjoy riding my bike. So we can be happy with another top ten, while preparing to use today’s experience to put together a better day tomorrow.”

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P11

“We had a very strong start in the race today, but on the third lap we had the big mistake – since the start, at every corner with the front brake the feeling was a bit inconsistent. Turn 13, I try same braking as normal but I feel too much braking for this lever position and I almost crash. I go wide and try to come back on the track but then finally crash because the last part outside the track has really deep stones. But, I try my best to recover the best position for the points and finish the race 11th. We know we are strong, but strange crash today so for this I am disappointed. Tomorrow I hope we improve the consistency of the braking and we are fighting again for the win.”

Xavi Vierge – P13

“All in all, we can consider today a positive day. After qualifying we made a good change to the bike and I felt much better, but we then opted for a front tyre that was very, very strong during the first half of the race but that significant lost its grip in the second half. We are doing a good job with the team anyway and we learned a lot today. Tomorrow we will have two more chances to do a lot better.”

Jonathan Rea – P24

“Today was frustrating because it was the smallest of margins in the crash. I got caught out by the brake disc sensor, underneath the air duct for the front brake calipers, which just touched the kerb at the entrance to the chicane. At full lean angle this was just enough to pick up the front. The bike was pretty bent when I crashed and I could not get the handlebar into position to be comfortable. I pitted, as I was so far behind, just to get more comfortable. That was enough to let us do 20 laps to understand the bike set-up, the drop of the tyre, positives and negatives. So I am pretty satisfied that I did not give up and quit when it would have been easier to throw the towel in. I am very grateful to my mechanics who encouraged me on my pitboard every lap. We got no points but we got some data. Superpole was cool. I did not know why it went to me at first but because I did the second best lap time, I got it. It was a nice way to start the day.”

WorldSBK Championship Points

WorldSSP600 Race One

Despite being shortened by a red flag, the FIM Supersport World Championship had plenty of action in Race 1 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours as Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) fended off his rivals to take victory and close the gap to just five points in the Championship standings. Baldassarri was under considerable pressure during the 12-lap race but was able to resist it.

There were many changes of position in the early stages of the race, but a technical issue for polesitter Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) allowed Baldassarri to take the lead of the race, where he faced considerable pressure from Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team). The Dutch rider attempted to pass Baldassarri into Turn 5 on numerous occasions but was unable to pass, with Baldassarri claiming his fourth WorldSSP victory and his third straight win, while it was also Yamaha’s 130th win and Italy’s 40th.

Baldassarri claimed victory as he was leading when the red flag was shown on Lap 13 of 19, just passing the two-thirds distance meaning the race was not restarted but full points were awarded, with van Straalen in second and Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in third place.

With Baldassarri first and Aegerter third, the gap between the two is now just five points. It also means Yamaha have now recorded a podium lockout for the 25th time in WorldSSP, and only the second time this season, while Baldassarri and Aegerter have shared a podium ten times; half the record set by Jules Cluzel and Kenan Sofuoglu.

The red flag was shown following a Turn 5 incident between Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Kyle Smith (VFT Racing), with Sofuoglu taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. Sofuoglu will be transported to Nevers Hospital for further assessment, after being diagnosed with pelvis, right thigh, right elbow and chest injuries.

Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was able to fight towards the front of the field in the early stages of the race but dropped down to fourth before the end of the race, finishing less than a second clear of team-mate Yari Montella. Montella was able to battle back through the field to claim fifth place, ahead of Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in sixth place.

Both Oncu and Montella were fighting in the lead group in the early stages but found themselves dropping back, but were still able to take a double top-five finish for the team.

Wildcard Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) was another who fought back to claim seventh place, finishing ahead of Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) in eighth, with Huertas recording his eighth top-ten finish of his rookie campaign ahead of Oli Bayliss (BARNI Spark Racing Team) in ninth, which promoted the young Aussie up to 14th in the championship chase.

Oli Bayliss – P9

“I’m quite pleased with today, the team gave me a great bike for Superpole and I qualified eighth. Unfortunately, I struggled a lot with rear grip right from the first lap of the race, but the final result isn’t at all bad. We still have some room to improve, and we’ll try to exploit that tomorrow.”

Unfortunately countryman Ben Currie (Motozoo Racing by Puccetti) had retired on lap ten after a crash at turn 13.

French rider Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) rounded out the top ten, ahead of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) with the Italian rookie losing ground at the start of the race and.

Bulega led fellow Italian rider and Ducati stablemate Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP= in 12th place, with Leonardo Taccini (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in 14th place; his fourth points-scoring finish in the last five races.

Estonian rider Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph) was the highest-placed Triumph rider in the field with 15th place, as he finished ahead of teammate Stefano Manzi in 16th.

Unai Orradre (MS Racing Yamaha WorldSSP) was the first retirement of the race when he brought his bike into the pits on Lap 2. He was joined just before the halfway stage by polesitter Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) with the Italian having a technical issue while leading the race on Lap 7.

WorldSSP600 Race One Results

WorldSSP600 Championship Points

WorldSSP300 Race One

All 13 laps were full of drama as Vannucci claimed his second victory of his WorldSSP300 career, becoming the first Italian rider to win more than once race, all coming in his rookie season.

Vannucci was in the second group early on but, when drama struck the lead runners, he was able to move up the order. From there, he battled with Garcia, Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team), Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) and Inigo Iglesias (SMW Racing) to come through for the win.

Garcia had crossed the line in first place but was demoted one place for going on the green on the run to the line, demoting the 2017 Champion once place behind Vannucci at the end of the race. However, he does close the gap to Diaz in the Championship standings with Diaz claiming third place with Diaz now on nine podiums in WorldSSP300; eight of them have come this season, meaning he now is tied for the all-time podium record in the Championship. He is also on a run of five consecutive podiums, tying the record with Alfonso Coppola and Manuel Gonzalez.

Vannucci, Garcia and Diaz made it the first all-Yamaha podium since Magny-Cours in 2017.

Lehmann claimed fourth spot but missed out on a podium by just two tenths, with the German completing yet another stunning comeback having lost ground over the opening few laps of the race.

Both Iglesias and Di Sora had to serve penalties during the race, with Iglesias penalised one Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding in Free Practice 2, while Di Sora had a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start, but both were able to finish in fifth and sixth respectively.

Ton Kawakami (AD78 Team Brasil by MS Racing) was another who was penalised, this time with a back of the grid start, due to irresponsible riding but he battled his way back up the order to claim seventh spot ahead of Jose Luis Perez Gonzales (Accolade Smrz Racing) in eighth place. It was also a strong race for Kawakami’s teammate, Humberto Maier, with the Brazilian finishing in ninth ahead of Gabriele Mastroluca (ProGP Racing).

Wildcard rider Petr Svoboda (Accolade Smrz Racing) took 11th place ahead of Troy Alberto (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) in 12th after another strong result for the rider from the Philippines.

In 13th was Daniel Mogeda (Team#109 Kawasaki) as he took home points, ahead of Mate Szamado (MTM Kawasaki); Szamado becoming the first Hungarian rider to score points in WorldSSP300. Alessandro Zanca (Kawasaki GP Project) rounded out the points with 15th place.

Harry Khouri (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) retired from the race on lap seven.

On Lap 9 of 13, there was a pile-up at Turn 5 which involved Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse), Dirk Geiger (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki), Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki) and Hugo De Cancellis (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300), all in the lead group, with Gennai and De Cancellis retiring. Steeman was able to continue alongside Geiger. The incident is being investigated by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards.

WorldSSP300 Race One Results

WorldSSP300 Championship Points

Magny-Cours WorldSBK Schedule
Times in AEST

2022 WorldSBK Calendar