In the Superbike weekend of Magny-Cours Toprak Razgatlioglu hits two victories, in Race-1 Alvaro Bautista triumphs… but everything happens.
It all happens on the weekend of Superbike at Magny-Cours. Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu set the same time in qualifying but it is the Northern Irishman from Kawasaki who takes pole position, due to the second fastest lap compared to the Turkish Yamaha champion. It was a battle right away, but the first race was conditioned by the double crash of Toprak and Jonathan, all in favor of Alvaro Bautista who seemed to have put a serious risk on World SBK.
Sunday in France opens with Toprak Razgatlioglu who takes a well-deserved revenge in the Superpole race, after the 11th place the day before, making himself the author of a fierce comeback. On Sunday morning the Pata Yamaha rider wins and puts his two direct rivals behind him for the race for the world title. But the surprises do not end there and in Race-2 the situation is reversed once again.
Razgatlioglu overtakes Rea and points Bautista
In the second main race Toprak Razgatlioglu immediately shows himself fierce but on the second lap a contact between Jonathan and Alvaro causes the fall of the Spanish rider of the Aruba.it Racing Ducati team who collects a zero, while Rea must serve a Long Lap Penalty for causing the ‘accident. The Turkish player who is close to -30 points from the leadership still in the hands of wins Alvaro Bautista: “These are important points, unfortunately Alvaro crashed – commented the reigning WorldSBK champion -. This year the championship is really strange, I thank my team for the excellent work, we have improved in every session. I don’t think about the championship, but we think race by race“.
Very good performance of Michael Rinaldi who collects a podium in a key moment for his future, where the renewal of the contract is still being discussed. And in the declarations at the Parc Ferme there is a poison dig for someone … “It was a difficult time for me and this podium matters to me. I want to dedicate this result to the few people who believe in me“.
Strong growth too Axel Bassani of the Motocorsa team, with a Panigale that is certainly not similar to the official V4R. The Kawasakis of Alex Lowes and Jonathan Rea complete the top 10 of Race-2 ahead of Scott Redding, Andrea Locatelli, Garrett Gerloff, Loris Baz and Iker Lecuona.
