WorldSBK Magny-Cours: Razgatlioglu bags Superpole race win

Reigning WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu took a hard-fought victory in the Magny-Cours Superpole race.

Tha Yamaha man got a poor start after a wheelying off the line when the lights went out and dropped down to fourth place, but was soon able to battle back as he passed Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad) for third, before overtaking Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) on lap four at the 180 Degree corner.

On lap six, he passed race leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba Ducati) at turn 13 to take the lead and from there he extended his gap to almost two seconds after ten laps. Bautista was able to keep the pressure on with the pair making contact on the penultimate lap, damaging part of Bautista’s fairing with the championship leader removing the wing on the short stretch of track that followed.

Bautista claimed second spot after a last-lap fight with Rea, with Rea making a move at turn 13 and Turn 15, but Bautista cutting underneath the six-time Champion into the chicane to hold on to second place with Rea in third. It means Razgatlioglu claimed his 25th win and 70th podium, while Bautista took his 45th, putting him level with Leon Haslam and Stephane Mertens. Rea claimed his 231st career podium but now finds his winless streak at 11 races, his longest since 2019.

Row two for race two will feature Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Redding after the two British riders had a race-long fight over fourth place, with Lowes coming out on top to take fourth for race two and Redding starting from fifth. Race one podium finisher Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) will complete the second row after taking sixth place in the Superpole Race.

Bassani and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba Ducati) once again battled on track, with Bassani able to