Gordon Ritchie | September 6, 2024
WorldSBK Race Two
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took a clear win in the final 21-lap race of the Magny-Cours weekend by hitting the front early and securing his second race win of the day – and the third of his season.
With not only championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) out of another race, but his team-mate and rival Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) too, Bulega possibly had an easier run than he would have in any previous round. But his winning execution was imperious all the same.
Nicolo Bulega and Alex Lowes get close at Magny-Cours.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) secured a triple crown of podium finishes at Magny-Cours, with second place in race Two being his best one of the three.
Lone WorldSBK American rider Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) would take third place after some early skirmishes, in a race with a spread out feeling at the front in the final laps only. This was his first podium for BMW, the first in WorldSBK for the outgoing Bonovo Action BMW squad and the seventh podium of his WorldSBK career. His last podium was in 2022, in Catalunya, on a Yamaha.
An amazing Race Two for Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) saw him make a great start but pull off track between T6 and T7 on lap one, thinking a noise from his machine was some form of terminal trouble. After checking his bike over for leaks or other issues, he got going again and somehow cut through the field to finish fourth.
His last target for a successful overtake was Saturday race winner Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who would come home one place and four seconds ahead of Aussie battler Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha).
The recent improvements on the Honda saw Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) seventh, with Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) a penalised eighth.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) was ninth and a penalised Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) tenth.
Axel Bassani was running third on his KRT machine for some time but first a long lap penalty for a track shortcut and then fading tyre grip saw him finish 11th, despite this being his best race of the year by some distance.
In the championship fight, Toprak has an unchanged 365 points, Bulega is just 55 points behind with 310, Bautista is third with 243 and Lowes fourth with 235. Cremona – a new track for WorldSBK – will host the next round in two weeks’ time.
2024 French WorldSBK Results—Race Two
| 1 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
|
| 2 |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
+2.841 |
| 3 |
Garrett Gerloff |
(Bonovo Action BMW) |
+4.300s |
| 4 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) |
+6.576s |
| 5 |
Michael van der Mark |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
+7.521s |
WorldSSP Race Two
A dry second Sunday WorldSSP race – but for the merest spots on the riders’ visors at one stage – led to a more conventional contest that went all 19 laps, as planned.
Having set the fastest lap in Race One Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) took the early lead but he would not keep it, as he was initially passed by two riders, then swamped by a few as Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) came past and the Turkish rider ran wide.
Yari Montella
Manzi would take a podium place, and it would even lead for a time and finish up a superb second against this year’s dominant Ducati models – but he could not quite stop Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) from securing the win.
Third place was taken by championship leader Adrian Huertas (Aruba Racing Ducati) who lost his chance of a late challenge after running wide at the hairpin, letting the leading two escape just enough. Huertas was still only 1.3 seconds back at the flag.
A controlled but aggressive ride from Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph) gave him his best career result in WorldSSP, as he held off Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Ducati) and took fourth position.
Sixth place was the property of Glenn van Straalen (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha).
Corentin Perolari (CBO Racing Honda France) was seventh after a wildcard ride, with the morning Race One winner Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Ducati) eighth.
Öncü was finally ninth, with Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) the top MV rider in tenth place.
In the championship, Montella trimmed Huertas’ lead, with the Spanish rider on 289 points, Montella on 275 and Manzi on 239.
2024 French WorldSSP Results—Race Two
| 1 |
Yari Montella |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
|
| 2 |
Stefano Manzi |
(Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) |
+0.171s |
| 3 |
Adrián Huertas |
(Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) |
+1.380s |
| 4 |
Tom Booth-Amos |
(PTR Triumph) |
+12.230s |
| 5 |
Jorge Navarro |
(Orelac Racing VerdNatura) |
+12.626s |
WorldSBK Superpole Race
An over-ambitious pass from eventual second placed rider Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) near the end of the ten-lap Tissot Superpole Race saw him lose enough ground on eventual winner Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to miss out on the chance to pass on the final lap.
Nicolo Bulega
After falling in Race One on Saturday, and hurting his shoulder, Bulega overcame any doubts about his fitness with an impressive win – only his second of the year despite him being second in the championship for some time.
Lowes was also on the redemptive trail after his Race One fall on Saturday, making second in the sprint race a strong result despite his small error to let Bulega find a gap of 0.115 seconds at the flag. Bulega was highly demonstrative in his celebrations over the line as he cut the championship lead of the injured Toprak Razgatlioglu, after his Saturday disappointment.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) won the battle for third place with Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW), with both over 3.5 seconds back on the win.
An encouraging race for the official Honda duo saw Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) fifth and Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) seventh, with Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) sandwiched between them in sixth.
Race One winner Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was up front again but dropped to eighth, with the top ten rounded out by Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha) and Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team)
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) crashed out as he tried to pass Tarran Mackenzie (MIE Racing Honda Team) and was taken away from medical checks.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) was ruled out of Sunday’s action after his fall behind Bulega on Saturday, which out a troublesome hole in his right thumb that needed an overnight surgery to repair.
2024 French WorldSBK Results—Superpole Race
| 1 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
|
| 2 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) |
+0.115s |
| 3 |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
+3.677 |
| 4 |
Scott Redding |
(Bonovo Action BMW) |
+3.903s |
| 5 |
Xavi Vierge |
(Team HRC) |
+5.710s |
WorldSSP Race One
After Race One was shortened to 12-laps and moved to a Sunday morning starting time after Saturday’s heavy rain, the track surface was still slick as the green light flipped on.
A new winner in 2024, Niki Tuuli.
Big tyre decisions would finally determine many of the results, and provide a new winner in 2024, Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Ducati).
He overtook those riders who had chosen wet tyre options as the race dried out and ended up winning by almost three seconds from Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing MV Agusta) and a small chasing pack.
Glenn van Straalen (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was third and championship leader Adrian Huertas (Aruba Racing Ducati) fourth.
A season best of fifth for Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) saw him place fourth. He set the fastest race lap as he almost closed down the podium fighters, and that gave him a pole position start in Race Two.
After championship contender Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) tried too hard to pass Huertas, and caused a collision that nearly saw them both off, he had to take a long lap penalty. In a short 12-lap race this saw him finish sixth.
The top WorldSSP Challenge rider proved to be Aussie rider Tom Edwards (D34G Racing Ducati) in seventh, with Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Ducati) eighth. The top ten was rounded out by Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph) and early race leader Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha). Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing Ducati) was a strong 11th.
2024 French WorldSSP Results—Race One
| 1 |
Niki Tuuli |
(EAB Racing Team) |
|
| 2 |
Federico Caricasulo |
(Motozoo ME AIR Racing) |
+2.938s |
| 3 |
Glenn van Straalen |
(Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) |
+3.248s |
| 4 |
Adrian Huertas |
(Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) |
+3.390s |
| 5 |
Can Oncu |
(Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) |
+4.121s |
WorldSBK Race One
With his team-mate out of hospital but unable to ride, official BMW rider Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) followed up with his fastest rider performance in the dry on Friday with a race winning performance in the wet in Race One.
Michael van der Mark in Race 1 at the French WorldSBK.
Toprak Razgatlioglu watched his team-mate Van Der Mark qualify fifth and then outsmart all others to win his first race since 2021 in Portimao Race Two.
Several horrible leg and pelvic injuries have held back VDM’s push but the appearance of Toprak Razgatlioglu in the BMW pitbox has also pushed on the entire project to the point of BMW continuing its winning streak to 14-in-a-row, just not with Razgatlioglu on top this time.
Second – from an astonishing 17th on the grid – was Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), while Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) ended up third but over 24 seconds behind VDM’s winning pace.
Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) ws not the only one to crash in the race but he was one of the few to be able to make it to the end of the race in a good position. His fourth place was more good news for BMW after the bad news about Razgatlioglu missing this round entirely.
Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven Ducati) placed fifth, Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) sixth and his penalised team-mate (too quick out of pitlane after his tyre change) Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) was seventh.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) crashed but finished eighth, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) was ninth and replacement rider for the injured Dominique Aegerter, Alessandro Delbianco (GYTR GRT Yamaha) was tenth.
Only 12 riders finished from a field of 22.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) crashed out on lap one, at the final chicane – with Rea injuring his thumb and Bulega hurting his shoulder. Both will be reviewed before Sunday’s races.
Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) crashed out of the lead on his intermediate tyres, while Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) crashed out having passed VDM for the lead in the later stages.
Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha) crashed out, as did Tarran Mackenzie (MIE Racing Honda Team) and Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing. WorldSBK Team).
Two more WorldSBK races remain on Sunday – but also two WorldSSP races as the middleweight category did not get a race on Saturday, due to water flooding and pooling on the track after the WorldSBK race had been completed.
2024 French WorldSBK Results—Race One
| 1 |
Michael van der Mark |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
|
| 2 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+8.288s |
| 3 |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
+24.285s |
| 4 |
Scott Redding |
(Bonovo Action BMW) |
+34.037s |
| 5 |
Andrea Iannone |
(Team GoEleven) |
+42.108s |
WorldSBK Qualifying
A fully wet Superpole qualifying session at Magny-Cours saw some top riders fall in the treacherous conditions. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) scored his second career pole position, and his first for Kawasaki, with a 1’51.946, which kept him 0.772 seconds clear of second place rider, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).
Alex Lowes scored his second career pole position, and his first for Kawasaki.
An old regular WorldSBK race winner, Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) made a race front row start for Race One by taking third place in Superpole.
Bulega had fallen in the session, but still set a fast enough time for his front row start.
BMW had a remarkably strong performance despite the injured championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) sitting out Superpole in his pitbox.
Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) ended up fourth quickest. Fresh from being fastest man on a dry Friday Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) placed fifth in Superpole.
Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) gave the beleaguered Honda team some cause for cheers with a second row starting position for sixth spot.
Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team) was seventh, Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) eighth, his team-mate Andrea Locatelli ninth and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) rounded out the top ten.
Having been declared fit to ride after his Donington Park concussion injury Tarran Mackenzie (MIE Racing Honda Team) was 11th fastest and another ex-BSB Champion, Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing. WorldSBK Team), 12th. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha) placed 13th, having had a fall in the session, and having one lap cancelled due to a yellow flag in one track sector.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was only 17th of the 18 riders who officially set a qualifying lap. Four riders were unable to meet the 105% cut-off time.
2024 French WorldSBK Results—WorldSBK Qualifying
| 1 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) |
1:51.946s |
| 2 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+0.772s |
| 3 |
Scott Redding |
(Bonovo Action BMW) |
+0.853s |
| 4 |
Garrett Gerloff |
(Bonovo Action BMW) |
+1.081s |
| 5 |
Michael van der Mark |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
+1.533s |
Friday WorldSBK
The proverbial up and down opening day for the official BMW squad saw Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) take the fastest lap of 1’36.010, near the end of a red flagged and thus delayed FP2 session.
The red flag was thrown when current championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) crashed out under braking for the first right hander at the Lycee Complex of corners, near the end of the 4.411km track layout.
He hit the protective barrier, designed to stop bikes and riders going back across the track if they crashed on the fast downhill.
Michael van der Mark upheld BMW honors after Toprak’s massive shunt.
In a horrible looking crash Toprak hit the very last layer of protection – hard – full on his back. It was a huge relief to all when he started moving and was then walked off the track by the marshals.
The restarted session saw some moves in the top ten order after Toprak was taken to the medical centre and then Moulins Hospital for checks. His latest diagnosis was contusions on his back and he will be checked before FP3 on Saturday morning.
VDM’s name would top the final combined times, 0.149 seconds ahead of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and over 0.3 seconds up on the luckless Razgatlioglu, who only set a time in the FP1 session.
Aside from Toprak’s misfortune it was a strong day for the BMW riders, with Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) in fourth place.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was top Kawasaki rider in fifth place, with Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) the best Independent rider in sixth place.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) also crashed in FP2, and only finished seventh.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) was eighth, the improving Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team) ninth and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) tenth. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha) placed 12th.
In his comeback ride after his Donington head knock Tarran Mackenzie (MIE Racing Honda Team) ended day one 22nd on the combined times. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Ducati) was 14th in his comeback weekend.
2024 French WorldSBK Results—Friday
| 1 |
Michael van der Mark |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
1:36.010s |
| 2 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) |
+0.149s |
| 3 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) |
+0.337s |
| 4 |
Garrett Gerloff |
(Bonovo Action BMW) |
+0.380s |
| 5 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) |
+0.582s |
Friday WorldSSP
Friday’s Superpole session in the WorldSSP class was headed by the soon-to-be-exiting talent of Adrian Huertas (Aruba Racing Ducati), with a record-breaking lap time of 1’39.705.
The pace in dry conditions was such that five riders broke the previous track best, including Huertas.
Huertas topped a fast Friday in WorldSSP.
To the surprise of some, but not all, local hero and former World Champion Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) was second quickest, 0.149 seconds behind Huertas – despite crashing and restarting in the short 15-minute session. Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Ducati) continued his strong form since taking up a Ducati ride by finishing up third fastest after the first day.
Championship contender Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) was fourth and Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) fifth.
The top MV Agusta rider was Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing MV Agusta) in sixth position. Local rider Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) placed seventh, with a strong showing from Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph), making him the top Triumph rider, in eighth place overall.
An earlier technical issue for Marcel Schrötter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) possibly held back his Superpole potential as he finished ninth, with Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Ducati) rounding out the top ten. Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was top Kawasaki rider, taking 12th place on the grid for Saturday’s opening WorldSSP race.
2024 French WorldSSP Results—Friday
| 1 |
Adrian Huertas |
(Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) |
1:39.705s |
| 2 |
Lucas Mahias |
(GMT94 Yamaha) |
+0.149s |
| 3 |
Jorge Navarro |
(Orelac Racing VerdNatura) |
+0.171s |
| 4 |
Yari Montella |
(Barni Spark Racing Team) |
+0.181s |
| 5 |
Stefano Manzi |
(Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) |
+0.185s |
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