Rounds ups from opening WorldSBK/SSP/SSP300 races at Magny-Cours

2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Nine – Magny-Cours

WorldSBK Race One

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) won a dramatic Race 1 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours and closed the gap in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship standings to Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). Bautista suffered technical problems in the early stages of the race before fighting back to the top ten.

The race was reduced to 20 laps after a technical problem when riders took their positions on the grid following the warm-up lap, with the start delayed by a few minutes and a lap lost from the original race distance. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) got the holeshot and instantly looked to pull out a gap on his rivals, but Razgatlioglu overtook him on Lap 2 at Turn 13 by outbraking his Ducati.

A lap later, Bautista dropped down the order to 24th and last after a technical issue on the exit of Turn 5 although the #1 was able to get his V4 R moving again. While Bautista was making a comeback to finish in tenth, Razgatlioglu and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fought at the front of the field. The #54 was leading until Lap 5 when the Ducati rider made an aggressive move at Turn 11 to claim the lead.

On Lap 12, Razgatlioglu made a move at Turn 5 on the #21 to briefly move into the lead but the Italian was able to respond on the exit of the Adelaide hairpin and on the way to Turn 6 to re-take the lead. Two laps later and it was a familiar story but the 2021 Champion remained closer through the 180-degree hairpin, allowing him to make a move into Turn 11 with Rinaldi running wide through the chicane; as Razgatlioglu looked to take the racing line, Rinaldi was re-joining with the pair almost making contact but both continuing.

With Razgatlioglu remaining ahead, he was able to pull away from Rinaldi in second to claim his sixth win of the season and his 38th overall, while Rinaldi secured podium six of 2023 and his 20th in WorldSBK.

Behind them, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) secured third after making gains before an early-race fight with teammate Alex Lowes, who initially passed the six-time Champion at Turn 5 for third, before falling behind the Ulsterman. It was Rea’s 257th WorldSBK podium.

Polesitter Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) initially dropped down the order over the first few laps but his tenacity and taking advantage of misfortune for others meant he was able to claim fourth for his best result since switching to BMW. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) continued his strong form with fifth after a late-race battle with compatriot Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), with the #9 coming through on the Yamaha rider at Turn 11 on Lap 18 for what was sixth but turned into fifth when Lowes dropped down the order in the final few laps. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was seventh with Lowes in eighth. The #22 had been behind Rea until the final laps, but he lost time when running across the Turn 11-12 chicane and losing four seconds on Lap 19, which dropped him down the order.

German rider Phillip Oettl (Team GoEleven) took his first top-ten finish since Race 2 at Donington Park by claiming ninth place, finishing 0.627s ahead of Bautista who was able to secure tenth and limit the damage in the Championship fight. With Razgatlioglu’s win, the gap between them is now 55 points. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took 11th after he was unable to withstand Bautista’s late charge, with the two-time WorldSSP Champion only 1.671s down on the reigning Champion.

Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) led home a train of four riders all fighting for the lower end of the points-paying positions, finishing just three tenths clear of Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW). The Frenchman had celebrated his home round with a stunning second row performance in Superpole but fell down the order to 13th at the end of the 20-lap race. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) was 14th, less than two seconds behind Baz, while Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) completed the points scorers.

Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was 16th and 5.5 seconds away from the points, but he was four seconds ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in 17th as his difficult weekend continues. It was Bassani’s first non-score since the Tissot Superpole Race in Barcelona. Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) was 18th ahead of Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 19th. Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) was 20th with Estonia’s Hannes Soomer (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team) was 21st. Soomer had to serve a Long Lap Penalty for cutting the Turn 6-7 chicane and not losing sufficient time.

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Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) crashed at Turn 3 on Lap 8 as he looked to give his team a strong home result, but the Italian brought his bike into the pits following the crash to retire. Isaac Vinales (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) retired from the race when he brought his bike into the box, as did Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) on Lap 17.

WorldSBK Race One Results

WorldSBK Rider Quotes

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – P1

“I’m really happy because after five weeks, again we win! I’m really happy to come back to Magny-Cours, because it is my favourite track and we win like last year – and also, like last year we are fighting with Michael! Thanks to my team, because good job this weekend – every session we improve my R1 but we need something small again to improve tomorrow. In general, I am happy! After 10 laps, my feeling was better against the Ducati because Michael’s tyre start to drop and I could see it was not easy for him to ride – but I always train for this! We keep fighting and the feeling on the brakes with the Yamaha is very strong, especially on this circuit. I hope tomorrow we have two more good races, and I hope we are winning again. Today, I dedicate the Race 1 win to Mirko Giansanti and the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team after the sad news of his passing.”

Michael Rinaldi – P2

“I am very happy with this race. I really gave my best, I tried to stay in front of Toprak until the end but in the last laps, he had a better pace. I am also happy because I see this as a way to thank the team for what we have done together over the years. My promise is that I will continue to defend these colours with all my strength until the end of the season”.

Jonathan Rea – P3

“In Superpole I got held up while using my second qualifying tyre in the last sector. The start was OK, but I almost crashed at Turn Five on the first lap. My knee is painful now because I dug my knee in so hard that the leathers sort of pulled around my knee. That created a kind a burn on the skin. I was lucky to stay on. Then I made some more mistakes, pushing the front when trying to catch up. When I went through on Alex and the BMWs I was then able to try and go with Michael and Toprak. I gained some tenths, but I was not really catching them. Then in the last part of the race they were able to keep the rhythm and I dropped into the 1’38s. I was struggling to turn the bike as soon as the grip was reduced and I couldn’t load the front. So there are some areas we need to improve for tomorrow.”

Danilo Petrucci – P5

”A very difficult race. In this heat, the temperature of the front tyre increased a lot and this really caused me problems during the second half of the race. I was trying to pass Locatelli, but he was strong on the brakes and in terms of traction. But if we can be fifth on such a tough day, then we can be happy.”

Andrea Locatelli – P6

“We were just a bit unlucky this morning in the Superpole, we were in P7 and then the organisation gave me three positions penalty, so this for sure did not help us in the first part of the race. Honestly, I was riding well and we learnt a lot in these hot conditions for tomorrow. The first race after a long time was not bad! To go with a good group and maybe fighting with Johnny would be a good target for tomorrow. I want to improve to be back with the top group and I think tomorrow we can make another step and maybe even fight for the podium. The R1 is working well, we see that we can be fast in all sessions – this is a good point, but we just need something to be more in front to be fighting for a good position. Tonight we will work and understand where we can improve.”

Alex Lowes – P8

“I was disappointed in Superpole when I put the SCQ tyre in the rear. I just struggled with the bike pushing into corners. I am disappointed not to do better in qualifying. But, it was the best lap I have done here, so the game is just moving on. I think I could have done a better job but I got held up on my best lap and maybe I could have been a tenth or two quicker and got on the second row. I felt good on the bike in the race, even starting from the third row, and I passed a few guys. I felt quite confident with the front of the bike, even though it was a hot race. I was sticking with Johnny, then made a little mistake and he got away. I was keeping the gap the same but then, with a couple of laps to go, we had an issue on the bike that slowed us down. I was able to bring it home. When it was so close to the end the job was more or less done to take a good fourth place – so it was just a shame that we couldn’t keep the position. The bike has been ultra-reliable since I joined Kawasaki, so a small issue today was unlucky. We have tomorrow to go again and keep building it up.”

Alvaro Bautista – P10

“It’s a real shame because the feeling with the bike has been very positive since the morning. I got a good start but suddenly I felt that I couldn’t get the maximum power. Then I realized that the engine shut down but when I stopped I read on the dashboard that I could restart. I got back to the track and the bike was working as well as it could. So instead of going back to the pits I stayed on the track. I must say I also had a lot of fun. It’s a shame, I repeat, but these things can happen. We will try again tomorrow.”

Dominique Aegerter – P11

“In the morning we made a good step, even though unfortunately the qualifying position wasn’t what we hoped for. In Race 1 I felt we had very good pace, and I was starting to catch those in front. Unfortunately, we just missed out on a Top 10, but we’ll be working hard to make further improvements tomorrow. I’m happy with the feeling of my arm and I could ride strongly each lap, that gives me confidence for the remaining races.”

Xavi Vierge – P12

“I’m very happy to be passed fit today after a big crash like the one I had yesterday, and a big thanks to the doctors at the track and to Medical Director Monica (Lazzarotti) who followed and supported me during all the medical check procedures. I am of course experiencing some pain all over my body, but nothing that couldn’t be managed – we are used to these situations after all. It definitely didn’t affect our results today, which are in line with our current level, so all in all I think we were able to achieve the best possible outcome, also considering the grid penalty. That was deserved by the way, because I made a mistake on my last lap and cut the chicane. I did check to see if another rider was coming and braked before re-joining the track but didn’t spot Alvaro between corner 11 and 12. Anyway, as I said, I don’t think we could have done any better than this even if we’d started one row further forward so we must just continue working hard to try and improve. We might have made a little step forward compared to last year, but the other riders have made a bigger one. With the addition of even more fast riders, the level is currently very high, and we need a change of pace to be able to fight up front. As for tomorrow, we’ll keep focusing on the task in hand and on doing our best with what we have right now.”

Iker Lecuona – P14

“I’m at a bit of a loss for words at the moment because it’s not easy to accept we are struggling to fight just to reach the points zone. This is of course not what we want as a rider, a team and as a factory. This morning we improved on our best time of yesterday by more than a second, it’s true, but the guys ahead did the same so the gap to the front didn’t really change. During the race I tried to fight and made a few passes, but I also had to make a couple of big saves, almost losing the front on several occasions. So at the moment I’m feeling very frustrated, to be honest. We need to collect our thoughts and focus on a plan to try and do better for tomorrow and in general for the future.”

Remy Gardner – P15

“It was a tough day, unfortunately we couldn’t convert our strong pace into results. We tried to change something but the results we achieved weren’t what we were looking for. However, we still managed to gain valuable data for tomorrow’s races, so we’re confident that we can have a good Sunday.”

World Superbike Championship Points

WorldSBK Superpole

Getting straight down to business with the first riders out being Gerloff and home-hero teammate Loris Baz, the track was laced without activity and stories throughout right from the off.

Whilst Gerloff went quicker than he had done at any point during the weekend, it was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who fired in a mighty 1’35.970, ahead of Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) who found big gains, whilst Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was also right there.

After the first stint, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had also popped up onto the front row provisionally. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who had a first lap cancelled for yellow flags due to a crash for Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), made it up to P4, whereas title rival Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) was only eighth.

With five minutes left on the clock, Garrett Gerloff was flying and the American was a mighty three tenths up on Rea’s time, who set a new lap record at Magny-Cours with a 1’35.453. Half a second quicker than anyone else, Rea was his nearest competitor but he had traffic in the shape of his teammate on one of his flying laps, as well as a plethora of other riders. Elsewhere, a crash for Scott Redding at Turn 8 wasn’t what he needed. Up at the front, reigning World Champion Bautista was up into P2, ahead of Razgatlioglu in P3.

As the chequered flag came out, Gerloff’s mighty lap time wasn’t able to be beaten neither matched, and he took a career-first pole position, the first American pole in WorldSBK since John Hopkins aboard a Suzuki at in 2011 at Silverstone. With good pace right the way through the weekend, especially when temperatures come up, the Texan is right in podium contention. Bautista secured second and it was his teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi who made it two Ducatis on the front row.

WorldSBK Superpole Results

WorldSSP Race One

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) resisted Stefano Manzi’s (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) late-race pressure to claim Race 1 victory in the FIM Supersport World Championship at the Circuit de Nevers Mangy-Cours as he pulled out another five points over his title. The pair finished ahead of Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) whose strong pace at the Pirelli French Round translated into his first WorldSSP podium which he got to celebrate in front of his home fans.

Championship leader Bulega got off to a flying start as the lights went out and the #11 instantly pulled out a gap over his rivals to more than two seconds by the end of Lap 5 as he looked to extend his Championship leader over title rival Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha). Despite the 2024 factory Ducati rider’s early pace, Manzi pulled off his usual tactic of closing in on Bulega as the race progressed, with the gap down to 1.5 second at the end of Lap 7.

Manzi, who took advantage of Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) running wide at Turn 3 on Lap 2 to move into second, kept closing the gap on his rival as he lapped around a tenth quicker than the Championship leader. While Manzi was closing in on Bulega, home hero Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) was going with them as he went in search of a maiden WorldSSP podium with the #94 remaining within around a second of Manzi until just after the halfway stage of the 19-lap race.

As the final third started, the gap dropped under a second between Bulega and Manzi as the pair dropped Debise to leave the fight for victory between the two Italians. At the end of Lap 17, the gap was down to just three tenths, but the Championship leader extended the lead again on the final lap to more than half-a-second to claim victory and extend his lead to 51 points; giving the #11 two race wins worth of advantage over his rival. With the duo pulling away from Debise, the Frenchman was able to take a comfortable but emotional maiden podium in front of his home fan.

Bulega’s victory was his tenth of the season, tying him with Dominique Aegerter’s total from his first title-winning campaign in 2021 while he was only two behind Andrea Locatelli’s 12 wins in 2020. It was Manzi’s 16th podium since his switch to WorldSSP while Debise became the 104th rider to stand on the World Supersport rostrum and the 12th French rider.

Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki), fresh from his Kawasaki WorldSBK test, took fourth as he finished three seconds away from the podium, but he also had a similar advantage over Niki Tuuli (PTR Triumph) in fifth as four different manufacturers finished in the top five in Race 1. Tuuli’s P5 came off the back off an incredible move on Montella after he went around the outside of the #55 at Turn 5 at around the halfway stage of the race. After a strong start, Italian rider Montella had to fend off a late challenge from Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in seventh with just two tenths separating them.

There was a big scrap for the lower end of the top ten positions with Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) securing P8, eight seconds clear of Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) in ninth and tenth respectively. On the final lap, the #54 fell behind the WorldSSP-newcomer but he was able to re-pass the 2019 Moto3™ World Champion. Despite losing out on P9, Dalla Porta scored his first points since his switch from Moto2™ to WorldSSP.

Home hero Andy Verdoia (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) was 11th and just half-a-second away from the top ten, and he was clear of compatriot Johan Gimbert (GMT94 Yamaha). Gimbert, competing as a wildcard this weekend, scored his first points in WorldSSP with 12th although he was 11 seconds down on Verdoia. Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo MIE AIR Racing) was 13th and the lead WorldSSP Challenge rider, as well as the only one to score points, and he extended his lead in the Challenge standings. He was just two tenths clear of Simon Jespersen (VFT Racing WEBIKE Yamaha) in 14th as he took two points on his return to the Championship, while John McPhee (Vince64 by Puccetti Racing) took 15th.

Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was 16th after battling back from last after a lap one spill. He went down at Turn 5 and dropped to the back of the field but slowly worked his way up the order to claim 16th, 2.5 seconds away from the points. He was directly ahead of Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) who finished 17th in his first WorldSSP race since April on his return from injury.

Tom Edwards (Yart-Yamaha WorldSSP Team) was 21st after he had to serve a Long Lap Penalty for a Turn 6 shortcut and not losing sufficient time, with Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph) having the same penalty for the same offence and finishing 22nd. Luke Power (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) was 28th and the last classified rider after he had a Lap 2 crash at Turn 15 but re-joined the race.

Jorge Navarro’s (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) race came to an early end when he crashed out on Lap 3 at Turn 7 while running in the top ten. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) was in the points when he was ordered to stop with a technical issue with this Yamaha machine, making him the second retirement. Wildcard Matthieu Gregorio (Moto Ain) brought his bike into the pits towards the end of the race to retire.

WorldSSP Race One Results

World Supersport Championship Points

WorldSSP Qualifying Results

WorldSSP300 Race One

Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki) took his second FIM Supersport 300 World Championship win of the season in a hard-fought battle at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours as the Championship battle got even closer. The results of Race 1 at the Pirelli French Round mean just five points separate the top three, and 21 separate the top five, heading into Sunday’s Race 2 after a dramatic and action-packed start to the weekend.

As always in WorldSSP300, the action was fierce, hard-fought and unpredictable as Buis claimed his second win of the season with the 2020 Champion taking advantage of squabbling behind him in the final few laps to pull out a gap of almost two seconds over his rivals. The #6 made his move for the lead on Lap 11 at Turn 5 and, despite getting sideways under braking often, was able to pull away from his rivals to claim victory at Magny-Cours, his second win at the French venue after he took victory in Race 1 in 2020.

Behind him, the fight for the podium was decided right at the line. Veteran Kevin Sabatucci (Team Flembbo – PI Performances) claimed his third podium and his first since 2019 when he won at Donington Park. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) had been strong all weekend and the young Dutchman converted it into a maiden World Championship podium as he finished 0.278s behind Sabatucci.

Buis’ win was his ninth in WorldSSP300 as he extended his lead at the top of the all-time win list while it was also his 17th podium as he closes in on compatriot Scott Deroue’s record of 17. It was a milestone podium for Kawasaki with the Japanese manufacturer now on 150 in the Championship. Sabatucci’s rostrum was Italy’s 30th and he also equalled the record for longest timespan between podiums. His five-year, three-month, 27-day wait is the same as Marc Garcia’s wait when he claimed a podium last year. Coincidentally, both spans spanned from Imola to Magny-Cours, with Sabatucci’s starting in 2018 and ending this year while Garcia’s was between 2017 and 2022. Veneman became the 50th rider to stand on the podium in WorldSSP300. In the Championship standings, the top five are separated by only 21 points.

Dirk Geiger (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) had been fighting for the lead throughout the 13-lap battle but dropped down to fourth in the closing stages as he finished less than a tenth behind Sabatucci; the battle for second went right to the line. Jose Luis Perez Gonzalez (Accolade Smrz Racing BGR) was fifth as he gained places in the final few laps to maintain his consistent form of eight top-five finishes in 11 races. Daniel Mogeda (Kawasaki GP Project) rounded out the top six.

Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) crossed the line in sixth place but was demoted one place for irresponsible riding at Turn 16 on the final lap, dropping him to P7. The #91 had been one of the fastest riders all race but he lost ground in the final few laps before being classified in seventh. Britain’s Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) had a dramatic end to the race. He finished in eighth after a crash with Jose Manuel Osuna Saez (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team) at Turn 13, with the Spaniard finishing in 24th. Ruben Bijman (Arco Motor University Team) finished in ninth with Devis Bergamini (ProGP Racing completing the top ten.

German star Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) took 11th after missing out on a place in the top ten by just 0.033s, with Marc Garcia (China Racing Team) in the points after overcoming a five-place grid penalty. Petr Svoboda (Fusport – RT Motorsport by SKM – Kawasaki) was 13th ahead of Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) and Mattia Martella (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) as the two Italian riders rounded out the points-scoring positions. Galang Hendra Pratama (Sublime Racing by MS Racing) was 16th but had crossed the line in the points. The Indonesian rider was given a three-second penalty for shortcutting the Turn 6-7 chicane and not losing sufficient time.

Samuel Di Sora’s (ProDina Kawasaki Racing) search for home glory ended on Lap 2 at Turn 5 when he crashed out after contact with Margo Gaggi (Team BrCorse), with the Italian able to re-join the race and finishing in 25th. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM Stewards. Enzo Valentin (Yamaha MS Racing/AD78 Latin America Team) retired on Lap 7 when he had a technical issue with his Yamaha machine. Teammate Maier retired from the race while Julio Garcia (Team Flembbo – PI Performances) crashed out on the exit of the final chicane on the last lap. The incident involving him was placed under investigation by the FIM Stewards and Garcia was taken to the medical centre for a check-up. Garcia was later declared fit.

WorldSSP300 Race One Results

WorldSSP300 Qualifying Results

WorldSSP300 Championship Points

WorldSBK Magny-Cours Schedule
(AEST)

2023 FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar
Date	Circuit	WSBK	WSSP600	WSSP300
24-26 Feb	Phillip Island	X	X
3-5 Mar	Mandalika	X	X
21-23 Apr	Assen	X	X	X
5-7 May	Catalunya	X	X	X
2-4 Jun	Misano	X	X	X
30 Jun-02 Jul	Donington Park	X	X
14-16 Jul	Imola	X	X	X
28-30 Jul	Autodrom Most	X	X	X
8-10 Sep	Magny-Cours	X	X	X
22-24 Sep	Aragón	X	X	X
29-Sep-01 Oct	Algarve	X	X	X
13-15 Oct	San Juan Villicum	X	X