Bautista gambles on the new Pirelli SCX rear and wins Race 1 of the Pirelli French Round

FOCUS ON SUPERPOLE

WorldSBK

The Superpole sessions today in Magny-Cours were some of the most heated ever with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) both doing the best lap at 1’36.124, the Northern Irishman on his sixth lap and the Turkish rider on his seventh lap. In these cases, the regulations state that pole position goes to the rider who did the second-best time, so the top time is discarded entirely. With a time of 1’36.168, Rea got the better of Razgatlioglu, so he took pole position. Rounding out the front row behind them was Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), whereas Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had to settle for the second row with fourth place. At the rear, all the riders used the SCQ qualifying solution, whereas at the front, Rea, Razgatlioglu, and Bautista opted for the new soft SC1 B0570 and Redding preferred the more familiar SC1 A0674.

WorldSSP

The Italian rider from Ravenna, Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing), made a historic achievement in Magny-Cours, riding his Ducati to pole position in WorldSSP after a 21-year famine. This is the tenth pole position for the Italian, who will be on the grid alongside Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki). The fifth spot on the grid will go to current championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha).

WorldSSP300

After being fastest in the wet during free practice yesterday, Dutchman Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki), the only rider to drop below a time of 1’52’’, took pole position, setting the new track lap record and breaking the previous one, held by 2021 World Champion, Adrian Huertas, by more than 1 second. Completing the front row are Dirk Geiger (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) and Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse).

TYRES IN ACTION IN RACE 1

WorldSBK (asphalt: 32°C / air: 21° C)

Fifth consecutive win for Álvaro Bautista and Ducati. Jonathan Rea crashed toward the end of the second lap from second place, with Toprak Razgatlioglu suffering the same fate on the following lap whilst leading the race. Both managed to rejoin the race but were unable to be competitive. The Turkish rider finished 11^th and Rea crossed the line last, an entire lap behind the race winner. With the two main contenders out of the mix, from the seventh lap on, the Spaniard took the lead and remained there all the way to the chequered flag. The only rider to give him a run for his money was Scott Redding on his BMW, finishing on the second step of the podium. It was a nice third place for Italian rider Axel Bassani on his private Ducati managed by team Motocorsa Racing, his second podium in the World Championship for factory derivative bikes. As for tyre choice in this race, the first 5 riders on the grid used the new rear SCX (B0800 specification) which was chosen by a total of 18 out of the 24 riders in the race. Front tyre choice was much more varied with the new, extremely soft SC1 B0570 used by 8 riders.

WorldSSP (asphalt: 30°C / air: 21° C)

In the first WorldSSP race, unlike what usually occurs, not all the riders used the SCX at the rear. Pole man Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing), Adrián Huertas (MTM Kawasaki), and Glenn Van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) opted for the standard SC0. Choices were unanimous, on the other hand, for the front: standard SC1. For the record, the race was stopped on the 12th lap due to an accident involving Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and victory was awarded to Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros.WorldSSP Yamaha Team) who was in the lead. Second place went to Van Straalen and third to Swiss rider Dominique Aegerter.

For more details on the tyres used in the race by the individual riders in the WorldSBK and WorldSSP classes, please see the sheets attached to this press release.

WorldSSP300 (asphalt: 29°C / air: 20° C)

The 300 class race was unpredictable from start to finish. On the ninth lap, contact between Mirko Gennai (Team BrCorse), Dirk Geiger (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki), Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki), and Hugo De Cancellis (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) put an end to the race for pole man Steeman. Taking home the win was Tuscan rider Matteo Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) who finished on the top step of the WorldSSP300 podium for the second time. Crossing the line behind him was Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing), who was penalised for exceeding track limits during the final lap. Completing the podium was Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team).

GIORGIO BARBIER, MOTORCYCLE RACING DIRECTOR

“Free practice yesterday was not very indicative because of the rain that significantly limited the riders’ chances to test the two new solutions we brought here to Magny-Cours for the WorldSBK category - one front and one rear. Despite this problem, the new rear was used today in Race 1 by the vast majority of the riders and even the front was preferred by 1/3 of the grid. This is a source of great satisfaction for us because, once again, it demonstrates, on one hand, the outstanding work we have done in terms of development. On the other, it shows how immediate the feeling is that our tyres are able to provide the riders who, even after just a few laps, can already see the quality of the product. And it is precisely this characteristic that also makes our tyres popular with semi-professional riders and track-day enthusiasts who choose them every day. Congratulations to all the winners of the day, but also to Axel Bassani for the nice podium finish he achieved and to Brazilian rider Enzo Valentim for having dominated this season in the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU European Cup.”