FIM WORLD SUPERBIKE: REA HOLDS OFF BAZ
Thrilling action up and down the grid was the order of the day during Race 1 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship with wet conditions greeting the 21 riders for the opening race of the Pirelli French Round at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed his 10th victory of the 2020 season.
The drama started at Turn 1 as both Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and teammate Eugene Laverty retired from the race on the opening lap; Laverty was taken out by a falling Sykes after the British rider was hit by Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team).
The incident left Rea, Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) and Gerloff battling for victory after Gerloff fell back following a mistake at Turn 5. Gerloff recovered to third place but a crash at the Turn 6-7 Nürburgring chicane forced him to retire; the American star taken to the medical centre for a check-up. It meant Rea and Baz duelled it out for victory with Rea coming out on top by around three seconds while Baz secured his first podium at Magny-Cours. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) finished in third place as he secured his first podium since the Australian Round; Lowes securing his third podium of the season.
Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) followed up his victory at Catalunya with fourth at Magny-Cours as he continued to his strong end to the season as the Welshman finished ahead of the battling trio of Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team), Leon Haslam (Team HRC) and Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati). Redding finished in fifth place ahead of Razgatlioglu in sixth after Haslam passed Razgatlioglu into Turn 12 before crashing straight after; Haslam retiring from the race.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) finished in seventh place ahead of Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) equalling his best result of the 2020 season with eighth place. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) finished ninth after the Dutchman crashed on Lap 15 at Turn 13 while battling in the top four positions, ahead of Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) in tenth.
Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) finished the 21-lap race in 11th place with Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) finishing just ahead of French rider Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) finishing in 13th place as he scored more points. Valentin Debise (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR) scored his first ever WorldSBK points with 14th place and Xavier Pinsach (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) claiming points in his first WorldSBK race.
Samuele Cavalieri (Barni Racing Team) finished the race in 16th; equalling his best result of his races in the 2020 season with Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing HONDA Team) rounded out the classification in 17th place, with Haslam, Gerloff, Sykes and Laverty all retiring from the race.
P1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK):
“I felt pretty good out there straight from the get-go, but to be fair Loris and Garrett and Alex were in the group and the pace was incredible. Doing 48, 48, 49, 48. Every time I saw my dashboard, I thought I’d be able to get a gap but they were right there. It was a really fun race, Loris pushed me right to the end. He made a small mistake, I think, with five or six laps to go.”
P2 Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha):
“I’m so happy. It was a crazy race. I know I had fantastic pace all weekend, but I took a gamble in Superpole, I went for the intermediate tyre. I just missed out on the right lap by a few seconds, so I was a bit annoyed at that. I had a great race, great pace and tried to be as close as possible. The pace he was putting was crazy, every lap he improved the time and for 12 or 13 laps we were going faster and faster. I had a moment on the kerb going into the last chicane, I lost a second, and then I just tried to manage the gap with Alex and then staying close to Jonny in case he made a mistake. He doesn’t make many mistakes so hats off to him because it’s not easy to put this kind of pace when you’re playing for a Championship. We have some fans here and it’s my first podium at Magny-Cours so I’m happy for them and we try again tomorrow.”
P3 Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK):
“I felt good in the wet all weekend. The start was a bit hectic, Gerloff got a bit too aggressive on the inside and I was lucky to miss that altercation. After that, I felt quite good. I got onto the back of the group and then from about half the race I struggled with the front. It’s been a long time since I was on the podium, so I had to manage the second part of the race. I’m happy to be back up here!”
#FRAWorldSBK at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours - Race 1.
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2. Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +3.342s
3. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +9.707s
4. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +14.045s
5. Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) +16.427s
6. Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +16.976s
Championship Standings after Race 1, Round 71. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (315 points)2. Scott Redding (GBR) Ducati (250 points) 3. Chaz Davies (GBR) Ducati (201 points)#FRAWorldSBK at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours - Superpole.1. Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’48.644s2. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.142s3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.184s4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki racing Team WorldSBK) +0.233s5. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) +0.375s6. Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) +0.710s SUPERSPORT: Locatelli and Mahias battle it out for WorldSSP Race 1 Soaking wet conditions provided dramatic action up and down the FIM Supersport World Championship grid as the rain fell in France with Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) and Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) duelled it out in a race-long battle for victory in the Pirelli French Round at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.
Locatelli started the race from a season-low fourth place on the grid but quickly made it up to the front of the field as he took the lead on the opening lap, with Mahias just behind. Locatelli and Mahias were able to pull out a gap to the riders behind as they duelled it out for victory across the 18-lap race, with Locatelli taking the race win ahead of Mahias; the Italian securing his 11th win of the season. Locatelli’s victory means Yamaha have now secured the 2020 Manufacturers’ Title for WorldSSP.
Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing) was able to take his first podium of the season, and career, despite starting the race in 16th place and take the first podium for Estonia in WorldSSP. The Estonian battled his way through the field and joined the battle for third place early in the race, finishing ahead of Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Kevin Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Team) and Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team).
De Rosa, Manfredi and Öncü were separated by just under a tenth when a Red Flag was shown on the final lap after Glenn van Straalen (MPM Routz Racing Team) crashed, with the trio unable to take their fight to the line; with Manfredi being the highest placed WorldSSP Challenge rider in the race.
Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) finished in seventh place, just half a second behind Öncü, but 16 seconds clear of Federico Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) as he scored his best result of his career. Hungarian rider Peter Sebestyen (OXXO Yamaha Team Toth) was in ninth place with Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) completing the top ten.
Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) finished the race in 11th place with South African rider Steven Odendaal (EAB Ten Kate Racing) in 12th. Spanish rider Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) was in 13th place with Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Axel Bassani (Soradis Yamaha Motoxracing) completing the points finishes.
Kyle Smith (GMT94 Yamaha) had been in the podium fight but suffered two crashes as he showed rapid pace throughout the race; he first crashed on Lap 6 at Turn 15 and was able to re-mount. He then was able to fight his way back into podium contention but crashed at Turn 1 on Lap 12 as he caught the train and retired from the race.
Galang Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) crashed out of the race on Lap 5 while Karel Hanika (WRP Wepol Racing), making a wildcard appearance in WorldSSP, crashed out of the race on Lap 8; with both Pratama and Hanika retiring from the race. Stephane Frossard (Moto Team Jura Vitesse) pulled into the pit lane in the early stages of the race while Hikari Okubo (Dynavolt Honda) also retired from the race.
P1 Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
“It’s amazing. It’s been a really difficult weekend for me because it’s a new track for me and also I have not run a lot in the rain. The feeling with the bike, the work with the guys is so good, and we did a really good job today. For sure, we are ready for tomorrow. I am happy because now I have also won in the rain, this is good.”
P2 Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
“This was not an easy race. I don’t know why but the conditions were a little bit different compared to the other sessions. I don’t know whether this was the temperature of the water on the track, but the bike was completely different; the grip on the rear was not nice especially in the middle of the corner. I think, in the beginning, I had the rhythm to overtake and push at the front, but I prefer overall because I didn’t have the rhythm to ride alone. Finally, in the last laps, I lost a bit of the rear and Locatelli. I’m happy because I’m fast in all conditions, but the problem is so is Andrea! Tomorrow, I’ll try a different setting and try to understand this little problem of the rear from today.”
P3 Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing)
“It’s unbelievable! I cannot believe it. The beginning of the race was really difficult because I started from 16th and in the first laps I could not see anything, there was a lot of water. We did a really good yesterday morning; the bike is unbelievable. It’s been a long wait but it’s a really, really good feeling to be here.”
#FRAWorldSBK WorldSSP at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours - Race 1
1. Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
2. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
3. Hannes Soomer (Kallio Racing)
4. Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)
5. Kevin Manfredi (Altogoo Racing Team)
6. Can Öncü (Turkish Racing Team)
Championship Standings after Race 1, Round 71. Andrea Locatelli (ITA) Yamaha (288 points)2. Lucas Mahias (FRA) Kawasaki (179 points)3. Jules Cluzel (FRA) Yamaha (146 points)#FRAWorldSBK WorldSSP at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours - Superpole.1. Kyle Smith (GMT94 Yamaha) 1’49.318s2. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.149s3. Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) +0.746s4. Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) +0.963s5. Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +1.259s6. Galang Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) +1.263s SUPERSPORT 300: Buis claims stunning victory in difficult conditions
A shortened Race 1 for the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship did not reduce the drama at the Pirelli French Round as Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) extended his Championship lead to 21 points after a late-race overtake on his teammate Scott Deroue at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours as MTM Kawasaki secured the Teams’ Championship and Kawasaki as Manufacturers’ Champions for 2020.
The race was restarted after a Turn 1 incident on the opening lap of the original race involving Victor Rodriguez Nuñez (EAB Ten Kate Racing) at Turn 1, with the race Red Flagged so he could receive medical help; the Spanish rider taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the incident. The restarted race was reduced to six laps and the rain began to fall during the race.
Buis got a superb start for the race from fourth place and swept into the lead before Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) passed him on the opening lap, with Deroue quickly up to third place from eighth on the grid. Booth-Amos and Buis had pulled out a gap to Deroue but he was able to close it in just a couple of laps.
Buis inherited the lead of the race when Booth-Amos crashed coming out of the final corner with the British rider able to get off the track without assistance. Deroue took the lead from Buis shortly after but Buis stayed with his teammate before making a crucial overtake on Deroue into Turn 13. The duo finished almost nine seconds clear of third-placed Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300), with the Turkish rider claiming his fourth podium of the season.
Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) finished in fourth place with Hugo de Cancellis (Team TRASIMENO) securing a fifth-place finish. Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) was in sixth place as he held off the challenge from Samuel di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) by just over a tenth of a second. Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki MOTORPORT) finished in eighth place with Enzo De La Vega (Machado Came SBK) securing his best result of the season with ninth and Ton Kawakami (Yamaha MS Racing) completing the top ten.
Bruno Ieraci (Kawasaki GP Project) finished in 11th place, just ahead of Felipe Macan (Team Brasil AD 78) as the duo battled it out for a strong points finish. Adrian Huertas (ProGP Racing), Tom Bramich (Carl Cox-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) and Daniel Blin (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300) completing the points.
P1 Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT)
“The rain was so heavy at the end of the race, so I needed to have a plan and at the beginning I thought I needed to stay out front. When Tom crashed, I needed to get past as he was on the track, and on the last lap I overtook Scott and finished first.”
P2 Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT):
“It was quite difficult from eighth. In the first or second corner, someone crashed so there was a gap I had to close. It was really hard, but we did it. Tom crashed and I took over the lead, but then it started raining really hard. It was difficult, it was working out how fast you could go. In the last corner, it was really wet so I did not know where to brake. I braked a little bit later than the lap before, but Jeffrey overtook me. It was a good race, happy with second but not happy he finished first! We have to do something tomorrow.”
P3 Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300):
“My expectation was first or second and the first part of the race was good, but after the middle I had a little bit of a gap to the riders ahead. I tried to push but with the weather conditions it was not possible to push. After, I rode a little bit to save third position and I am happy with it.”
#FRAWorldSBK WorldSSP300 at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours - Race 1
1. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT)
2. Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) +0.121s
3. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300) +8.537s
4. Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) +12.987s
5. Hugo de Cancellis (Team TRASIMENO) +13.574s
6. Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) +17.608s
Championship Standings after Race 1, Round 71. Jeffrey Buis (NED) Kawasaki (183 points)2. Scott Deroue (NED) Kawasaki (162 points)3. Bahattin Sofuoglu (TUR) Yamaha (127 points)#FRAWorldSBK WorldSSP300 at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours - Superpole.1. Tom Booth-Amos (RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) 2’05.312s2. Marc Garcia (2R Racing) +0.082s3. Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MOTOPORT) +0.964s4. Tom Edwards (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) +1.073s5. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Biblion Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSSP300) +1.243s6. Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) +1.777s DORNA World SBK