Championship leader Alvaro Bautista was forced to retire from Race 2 after an early clash with Rea.
P1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
Razgatlioglu won Race 2 after battling with Rinaldi and Bassani.
He moved up in the Championship standings, and his gap to Bautista is now just 30 points.
"Today we were very strong. We won in the Superpole Race and, for me, Race 2 was very important. We normally take very big points from Race 2. I’m very happy today. This is my favourite track and we won again. Normally, my dream for this weekend is three wins but Saturday for me was bad luck. On Saturday, my big problem was the brake but today we changed all the kit and I’m feeling much better. Also, we improved the bike a little bit and I keep fighting for the win. I’m not thinking about the Championship. I don’t know how many points; I’m looking race by race and fighting for the win. Today, I am very happy. Alvaro had a crash. This is racing. This weekend was a strange weekend for all the riders!”
P2 – Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Rinaldi was the lead Ducati rider and took second place to claim his best result of 2022.
He moved into fourth place in the Championship, one point ahead of Locatelli.
“It’s been difficult to get the results that we have showed we can get. This podium means a lot to me. It was also a really nice race, because I fought really hard with Jonny, with Axel and with Toprak so I enjoyed it. The last part of the race, maybe in the middle part, I was pushing too much and didn’t save the tyre for the last laps. I tried to stay with Toprak and fight in the last laps, but my tyre was almost finished. I couldn’t push too much. I need to be happy with second place. It’s good to be back on the podium.”
P3 – Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing)
Bassani claimed third position for his second podium at the 2022 French Round; the first time he has taken more than one podium in a single round.
He stands in sixth place in the Championship standings and is the top Independent rider.
“I tried to stay in front all the race. It was the first time for me in front of the race. It was difficult but I tried. And now I understood some things. I want to continue like this. Two podium places in one weekend is incredible. It’s the first time I’m achieving it in my career and also for my team. Now we are very consistent, and I want to continue this way. I want to repeat these results in Barcelona.”
P4 – Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Lowes took his third fourth place finish of the French Round finishing six seconds ahead of Rea.
“We had three fourth positions and that’s really a bit disappointed that we couldn’t make on of them into a podium. I’ve felt good this weekend. I’ve felt good with the bike in wet and dry conditions. We found an improvement with the rear of the bike at the Montmelo test and this has been good for me. It allows me to have a bit more confidence coming off the corner. Today, once the temperature rose up a little bit, I felt good on the bike. Axel did a great job, gave me no opportunity to pass him. It’s nice to see the young guys coming up and doing well. But I feel as fast and motivated as ever. I feel like I’m riding well and I’m looking forward to start kicking on for the second part of the season.”
P5 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Following his Long Lap Penalty after the clash with Bautista, Rea was only able to make up a couple of places to finish fifth.
Rea’s winless streak now spans 12 races, his longest since a run of 33 without a win in 2012 and 2013.
He now stands in third place in the Championship, 47 points behind Bautista.
“Firstly, I’m really sorry Bautista went down. There was some contact there. I’ve been to see him already and offered him my apologies and gave my point of view. I listened to him so, for me, I’ve turned the page now. I arrived at Turn 13 with zero bad intentions. I only had to make a pass; I knew that Toprak would be the guy with the pace. I tried to make a good last sector before the long back straight. I went down to the inside, he committed to the apex so, of course, there was contact. For me, it wasn’t an over the line manoeuvre. I made my apex. I didn’t blow my own corner. Of course, I’m sorry he lost points; I don’t want to ride in this way. I got the penalty. I didn’t know whether to expect something or not and I had to take it.”
P6 – Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
Redding took sixth place having lost fifth position to Rea when he ran wide at the 180 Degree corner.
Redding is on a run of ten races inside the top ten
“Sixth place, today it was not the result I wanted. I always say I need to be minimum fourth. I struggled a little bit in acceleration areas at this track. When you are racing against the top guys, in the same class, it’s hard to override in areas so you then start to come into problems, like destroying the front tyre, which I then went on to do. Then my pace started to slow down a little bit more and I had to manage the race a bit different. I’m kind of happy because the situation that we’re in, where we came, I would have liked a bit more but that was everything I had.”
To note:
On Lap 2 at Turn 13, when Jonathan Rea made contact with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati); the Ducati rider going through the gravel and retiring from the race. Rea was deemed to be at fault for the clash and was given a Long Lap Penalty which he served on Lap 7, re-joining the race in seventh after losing a few positions.
Discussing the incident from his point of view, Bautista said: “The manoeuvre was out of the limits, for me. This wasn’t a mistake from Jonathan, he intentionally came to me. I think it’s unacceptable, these kinds of things, coming from any rider but especially coming from a great Champion like him. This kind of action, he showed he’s very fast, very brave, he’s a Champion. He won in the past, he wins, he stayed at the front, but he showed a Champion cannot do this kind of action. For me, it’s unacceptable. It’s nice for the Championship but, for me, it’s strange for me that if the stewards consider that it was a bad manoeuvre from Jonathan and they gave him a Long Lap Penalty, I think, it’s not enough. I get out of the race and he finished in fifth place; I think it’s not fair.”
WorldSBK Results Race 2
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.024s
3. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +4.742s
4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +5.084s
5. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +10.679s
6. Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +11.955s
Championship standings (after Race 2 - Round 7)
1. Alvaro Bautista (ESP) Ducati (332 points)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) Yamaha (302 points)
3. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (285 points)
WorldSBK Results Tissot Superpole Race
1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.891s
3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.040s
Aegerter takes Race 2 win after Baldassarri crash from lead battle
Aegerter was victorious at Magny-Cours, Cluzel takes last home podium
P1 – Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)
Aegerter won Race 2 having fought his way up the field having dropped down in the opening laps.
He extends his lead in the Championship standings to 19 points over Baldassarri.
He claimed his 20th WorldSSP win, becoming the only rider to have two seasons of double-digit wins in the Championship’s history.
“It was a hard race. For sure, my qualifying position with the fifth place was not optimal to start the race. Yesterday, my first laps were not so good but today it was a bit better but some riders pushed a bit wide, so I went back to eighth position. My goal was to be back at the front as soon as possible but they had a great pace. Then I saw a nearly three second gap. I was able to recover it. When I caught them, I was able to take the lead. Win this race is important for me after yesterday’s. I extend a little bit more the Championship points and this is the most important.”
P2 – Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha)
Cluzel, who has announced his retirement at the end of the season, claimed third place in his final home round.
It’s his first podium since the end of the 2021 season.
“It’s a dream. I’m living to have moments like that. Memories for all my life. This kind of podium is like a victory. It’s amazing moments that I will remember. I announced a few days ago my retirement and I just want to prove that I’m still fast. I retire because I decide. Now my next target is to win a race before the end of the season.”
P3 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team)
Bulega completed Race 2 top three to claim his eighth podium of the season.
“It was a very difficult race, but all weekend I was struggling a little bit with the bike. I didn’t have the feeling with the bike. But at the end, we get a podium and we have to be happy with that. We were lucky in the last lap with Baldassarri’s crash. But at the end it’s a podium and we have to take it. I’m happy thanks to the team. We’re still working very hard for the race and I hope to be more competitive in Barcelona.”
Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) put two French riders in the top four as he gained a mammoth 11 positions during the race, finishing in fourth place and equalling his best WorldSSP result to date. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was fighting for the victory with Aegerter until he crashed trying the cutback on Aegerter. He lost the front of his machine and crashed; before re-mounting to take fifth place. Baldassarri finished half-a-second career of Turkish star Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in sixth, with Oncu fighting all race for a place in the top ten.
To note:
Kyle Smith (VFT Racing) was given a double Long Lap Penalty after a collision with Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in Race 1 on Saturday. During Race 2, the British rider was given a ride through penalty for not taking his Long Lap Penalties.
WorldSSP Results Race 2
1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)
2. Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) +4.507s
3. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +7.789s
4. Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) +11.646s
5. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +18.179s
6. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +18.698s
Championship standings (after Race 2 - Round 7)
1. Dominique Aegerter (SUI) Yamaha (286 points)
2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA) Yamaha (267 points)
3. Nicolo Bulega (ITA) Ducati (168 points)
Steeman claimed the win to recover third place in the standings, Diaz’s second place means he extend his Championship lead
P1 – Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki)
Steeman was able to comeback from 19th place after a double Long-Lap penalty to take the win at Magny-Cours.
He moved up in the Championship standings, claiming the third place back from Di Sora.
“The race was amazing. I started to slow the pack a little bit down because I was at the front. I was trying to keep the pack a little bit together. And then I did my first Long Lap and I wasn’t too far away. Then I did the second one and then I pushed like crazy to close the gap. I overtook the riders in front one by one. I gave my maximum to push for a gap. I’m really happy for the team. The Championship is still on for us.”
P2 – Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team)
In the last stage of the race, Diaz managed to close the gap to Steeman, but was unable to catch up enough to make a move and took second place.
His sixth consecutive podium place means he extended his Championship lead to 40 points over Garcia.
He now holds the record for podiums in a season (nine) and the longest podium streak in WorldSSP300 history (six).
“The last lap was crazy but I’m happy to be on the podium. For us, it’s good for the Championship. I need to be on the podium at all races and continue to work hard. We only have two rounds to finish the Championship.”
P3 – Dirk Geiger (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki)
Geiger was third to claim his first ever WorldSSP300 podium.
He became the 41st different rider to stand on a WorldSSP300 podium.
“I’ve been waiting the whole season for this podium. And finally I get it. I’m really happy. My team did an amazing job this weekend and over the season. I really like this track and I hope this season we can get more podium.”
To note:
Hugo De Cancellis (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) was the highest-placed French rider with fourth place, finishing just over half-a-second away from Steeman out in front. Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) had been fighting at the front and converted that into fifth place, a tenth behind De Cancellis, while he was seven tenths clear of Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) in sixth place.
WorldSSP300 Results Race 2
1. Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki)
2. Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team) +0.342s
3. Dirk Geiger (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) +0.429s
4. Hugo De Cancellis (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) +0.587s
5. Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse) +0.703s
6. Kevin Sabatucci (Kawasaki GP Project) +1.414s
Championship standings (after Race 2 - Round 6)
1. Alvaro Diaz (ESP) Yamaha (197 points)
2. Marc Garcia (ESP) Yamaha (157 points)
3. Victor Steeman (NED) Kawasaki (147 points)
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