Superbikes | Round Magny-Cours, Race1: Razgatlioglu unstoppable

Great spectacle and exciting duels characterized the first race of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) wins thanks to an exceptional pace and over four seconds ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). On the other hand, a difficult Saturday for the other title contender Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who only finished 12th.

Razgatlioglu starts well and responds to Rea as the world champion takes the lead. The Turk returns to the front on the fourth lap and then pulls ahead of his pursuers.
Rea recovers and gets back to within two tenths of Razgatlioglu who, however, pulls ahead and takes his second win in a row while Rea hasn't won for seven races, i.e. since Race 2 in Assen. Razgatlioglu shows a constant pace for all 21 laps which he always covers in 1'37" and also becomes the first Yamaha rider to achieve 18 podiums in a season.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) finishes third and takes home his third podium in WorldSBK after starting well from fifth place and gets the better of a good Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). The rider from Selvino took advantage of Alex Lowes' (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crash at turn 8 with four laps to go. Rinaldi closes the race with a fourth place.

Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) started ninth and finished fifth with a two-second margin over Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC). All five manufacturers are present in the top six places.
Great fight between many riders until the last chicane for seventh place: Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) prevailed, preceding the rookie Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), while Leon Haslam ( Team HRC) closes the top ten.

11th place for Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) who puts Scott Redding behind him: the English rider starts eighth and finishes 12th. With two laps to go he tries to overtake Sykes at turn 13 but crashes before returning to the race. Behind him we find the Frenchman Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport – Yamaha) who does better than Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) and Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura): the Spaniard closes the points zone.

Below are the top ten from WorldSBK Race 1 at Magny-Cours:

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +4.467
3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +10.285
4. Michael Ruben Rinaldi +13.283
5. Michael van der Mark +15.535
6. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) +17.824
7. Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven)
8. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing)
9. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
10. Leon Haslam (Team HRC)

Fast lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu – 1'36.937 (New record lap)