WorldSBK 2019
Round 11 – Magny Cours
The Pirelli French Round produced one of the races of the WorldSBK season so far as five different riders led at various stages, before Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crashed out of the lead three laps from home. The Dutchman’s demise looked as though it would hand victory to Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), before a stunning final lap saw Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) take the spoils, after starting from the sixth row.
Behind the leading trio, Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) had established himself in an excellent fourth with Tom Sykes settling in fifth after an all-action start.
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was holding sixth but the Briton was coming under increasing pressure from Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) as the Spaniard chased valuable championship points. Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was also in the thick of the action but a highside at the final chicane eliminated him five laps from home.
With clear track in front, Jonathan Rea began his relentless chase of Michael van der Mark, wiping out his advantage heading into the closing stages. With three laps remaining, the leading pair were together but van der Mark’s hopes of a second victory of 2019 were extinguished when the front end of his Yamaha folded into the Adelaide hairpin.
Rea seemed on course for a 12th victory of the season, beginning the final lap one-second clear of Razgatlioglu but a stunning final lap from the Turkish rider brought him right into the tail of the Ulsterman entering the last sector. Under braking for Turn 15, Toprak dived up the inside with Rea keen to avoid a costly collision, opting to settle for second.
The fight for the final podium spot also went down to the wire with Tom Sykes rallying in the latter stages to overhaul Loris Baz, securing BMW’s fourth podium of the season. Baz held on to fourth while Alvaro Bautista recovered up to fifth in the end.
Alex Lowes faded to finish a distant sixth while Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) marked his return from injury with a sensational ride to seventh, Honda’s best result of the 2019 season so far. Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) finished eighth, his best result since Misano, with Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) and Sandro Cortese completing the top ten.
In the end, van der Mark remounted to finish 13th to secure three points which may prove valuable in the ever-tightening race for third in the championship standings. At the top, Jonathan Rea has extended his advantage to 100 points over Alvaro Bautista, and thus is quite likely to clinch his fifth World Superbike Championship crown on Sunday.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) – P1
“I am so happy! The last lap was so stressful for me because I knew I was faster. I tried to pass Johnny, but the front was sliding a lot. I pushed hard and tried to keep the bike straight, and I made it. It is my first victory, and I extremely pleased with this! I am crying! It has been my dream for this season, and I achieve that. Now we see what will happen next race. I don’t know how tomorrow will be. I hope it won’t be raining! Thanks to all my team because today that have done an incredible job”.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) – P2
“I was expecting a fight because with these conditions no ones had the chance to work on the bike setup, so today was the same for everybody. I was a little bit worried in the beginning because the conditions were not perfect and in the first ten laps, I felt like we were racing like kids, but it was a lot of fun! When the race settled down, Van Der Mark kept a good rhythm, he went away and slowly I could catch him. I put my head down in the last laps, but I made a big mistake in the last lap and gave a big opportunity to Toprak to come and make that move. I am a little bit frustrated but happy with the result because the podium is a good result. I want to congratulate Toprak because he deserves this win, but we will try to change the order tomorrow”.
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) – P3
“I enjoyed riding today. I did a good start, and I settled in nicely. With the team with a made a small change to the bike between the last race and now that allowed me to ride with a little bit margin, so I really enjoyed riding my bike today. In the beginning, I swept positions with a few guys who were trying to get a better position, and we were able to fight. The chassis and the tyres stayed consistent throughout the race, sure we still to find some things in some area, but overall a podium is promising here giving that we are only tenth months now into the program. We are thrilled with our efforts, and hopefully, we can keep up the pace for tomorrow”.
Pos | Rider | Bike | Gap |
1 | T. Razgatlioglu | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 0.000 |
2 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 0.240 |
3 | T. Sykes | BMW S1000 RR | 6.839 |
4 | L. Baz | Yamaha YZF R1 | 8.497 |
5 | A. Bautista | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 9.368 |
6 | A. Lowes | Yamaha YZF R1 | 15.129 |
7 | L. Camier | Honda CBR1000RR | 25.067 |
8 | M. Melandri | Yamaha YZF R1 | 26.869 |
9 | E. Laverty | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 32.091 |
10 | S. Cortese | Yamaha YZF R1 | 32.823 |
11 | J. Torres | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 35.409 |
12 | L. Mercado | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 41.945 |
13 | M. Van Der Mark | Yamaha YZF R1 | 46.640 |
14 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m03.136 |
15 | A. Delbianco | Honda CBR1000RR | 1m07.315 |
16 | M. Reiterberger | BMW S1000 RR | 1m07.369 |
17 | S. Barrier | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m08.300 |
18 | R. Kiyonari | Honda CBR1000RR | 1m11.449 |
Not Classified | |||
DNF | L. Haslam | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 5 Laps |
Pos | No. Rider | Bike | Gap |
1 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m53.955 |
2 | M. Van Der Mark | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.014 |
3 | L. Haslam | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +0.257 |
4 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +0.608 |
5 | L. Baz | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.715 |
6 | T. Sykes | BMW S1000 RR | +1.200 |
7 | A. Lowes | Yamaha YZF R1 | +1.472 |
8 | E. Laverty | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +1.505 |
9 | R. Kiyonari | Honda CBR1000RR | +1.883 |
10 | L. Camier | Honda CBR1000RR | +2.022 |
11 | C. Davies | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +2.316 |
12 | A. Delbianco | Honda CBR1000RR | +2.372 |
13 | M. Melandri | Yamaha YZF R1 | +2.558 |
14 | A. Bautista | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +2.579 |
15 | S. Barrier | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +2.757 |
16 | T. Razgatlioglu | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +3.136 |
17 | S. Cortese | Yamaha YZF R1 | +3.165 |
18 | L. Mercado | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +3.418 |
19 | M. Reiterberger | BMW S1000 RR | +4.339 |
20 | J. Torres | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +4.973 |
World Supersport 600
After showing a preview of his potential on Friday afternoon, Kyle Smith (Team Pedercini Racing) proved to be in a class of his own in the wet, claiming his first ever pole position in WorldSSP. The championship battle looks set to play out from the second row after a fascinating Tissot Superpole session at Magny-Cours.
With conditions still wet following rain earlier this morning, the opportunity was presented for Kyle Smith who showed such strong pace in the wet yesterday. The Briton set an astonishing early benchmark, opening up a lead approaching two seconds over Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). For Smith though, his progress was halted by a fall at the Adelaide hairpin halfway through the session.
Mahias wouldn’t be threatening top spot though as the 2017 champion came unstuck at exactly the same corner as Smith, losing the rear end of his Kawasaki exiting turn five. With the lap times constantly improving, the Frenchman was soon relegated from the front row by Jules Cluzel (GMT94 YAMAHA) and Ayrton Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing), although the Italian rider saw his session ended early by a crash at Estoril corner.
In the end, Smith was able to re-join the action after his early fall and quickly showed that the mishap hadn’t dented his confidence. As the chequered flag waved, Smith improved still further to open up a 0.810s advantage over Jules Cluzel who will go in search of a second consecutive home victory as he bids to keep his slim title hopes alive. Despite his late fall, Ayrton Badovini held on for his first front row start since Magny-Cours 2016.
The championship challengers went head-to-head in the dying seconds with Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) securing a narrow advantage over his team-mate Randy Krummenacher, despite missing out on the front row for the first time this season. Caricasulo will line up fourth, just ahead of Lucas Mahias with Krummenacher rounding out the second row in sixth.
The Kawasaki-Yamaha pattern continues onto the third row with Hikari Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in seventh, who maintains his 100% record of qualifying inside the top nine this year. Friday pacesetter Corentin Perolari (GMT94 YAMAHA) will start eighth for his home round ahead of Isaac Vinales (Kallio Racing) while Peter Sebestyen (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) ensured that Honda were represented inside the top ten.
Elsewhere, Guilaume Pot (Team MHP Racing-Patrick Pons) suffered a crash at Estoril corner, causing him to miss out on the 107% cut-off time, while Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing) was the last rider inside the target time in 21st as he makes his return to WorldSSP from injury.
Kyle Smith (Team Pedercini Racing) – P1
“Qualifying is normally not my forte, and I usually prefer the race. But then the rain has come, and it became a little bit easier for me. I struggle a lot more in the dry, but we have been working hard on the bike all season, and it seems that we have found a bit of direction. The rain helped us today, and I managed to be on the front row on pole position. Now let’s see what will happen for the race tomorrow”.
World Supersport 600 Qualifying Results
Pos | Rider | Rider | Gap |
1 | K. Smith | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 1m56.287 |
2 | J. Cluzel | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.810 |
3 | A. Badovini | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +2.153 |
4 | F. Caricasulo | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.391 |
5 | L. Mahias | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +2.558 |
6 | R. Krummenacher | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.738 |
7 | H. Okubo | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +3.156 |
8 | C. Perolari | Yamaha YZF R6 | +4.239 |
9 | I. Vinales | Yamaha YZF R6 | +4.328 |
10 | P. Sebestyen | Honda CBR600RR | +4.334 |
11 | G. Van Straalen | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +4.497 |
12 | J. Danilo | Honda CBR600RR | +4.754 |
13 | R. De Rosa | MV Agusta F3 675 | +4.805 |
14 | G. Ruiu | Yamaha YZF R6 | +4.826 |
15 | R. Hartog | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +4.998 |
16 | H. Soomer | Honda CBR600RR | +5.621 |
17 | M. Bau | Yamaha YZF R6 | +6.354 |
18 | J. Van Sikkelerus | Honda CBR600RR | +6.449 |
19 | N. Calero | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +6.504 |
20 | F. Fuligni | MV Agusta F3 675 | +7.070 |
21 | T. Gradinger | Yamaha YZF R6 | +7.087 |
Not Qualified | |||
DNF | L. Cresson | Yamaha YZF R6 | +8.571 |
DNF | D. Valle | Yamaha YZF R6 | +9.933 |
DNF | G. Pot | Yamaha YZF R6 | +10.343 |
DNF | X. Navand | Yamaha YZF R6 | +11.482 |
DNF | G. Sconza | Honda CBR600RR | +12.344 |
DNF | C. Stange | Honda CBR600RR | / |
World Supersport 300
Early rain and a drying track changed the complexion of Tissot Superpole in the WorldSSP300 class. With the championship potentially up for grabs at the Pirelli French Round, Scott Deroue (Kawasaki MOTOPORT) took a much-needed pole position ahead of Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) with points leader Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) set for a tough battle tomorrow from the fifth row.
Group A have arguably enjoyed the best of the conditions so far this weekend, with the riders involved benefiting from some dry track time in FP3, something that couldn’t be said for those in Group B. However, with conditions steadily improving during Tissot Superpole, running later looked to be beneficial.
Ana Carrasco showed her pace, and experience, on a damp track surface in Group A to lead the way early on. The reigning champion was knocked off the top by Filippo Rovelli (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) four minutes from the end but Carrasco responded to finish fastest in her group, eight tenths clear of Galang Hendra Pratama (Semakin Di Depan Biblion Motoxracing).
It quickly became clear that conditions were much more favourable in Group B with Mika Perez (Carl Cox- RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki) beating Carrasco’s earlier benchmark on just his third timed lap. Unfortunately for the 2018 championship runner-up, a crash at turn 9 ended his session three minutes early and with times tumbling so rapidly, Perez only just held onto an automatic starting spot in 30th overall.
In the end, Scott Deroue proved too strong for his rivals in Group B, holding off a late challenge from Andy Verdoia (BCD Yamaha MS Racing) to claim his first pole position since Magny Cours last year, giving the best possible chance of extending the WorldSSP300 title race to the final round in Qatar.
With the lap times in Group B proving over 1% faster than Group A, the grid will be determined by alternating the fastest riders in each group. As a result, Deroue will have Ana Carrasco starting alongside in second with Andy Verdoia completing the front row. Galang Hendra Pratama (Semakin Di Depan Biblion Motoxracing) starts fourth ahead of Jeffrey Buis who ensured two Dutch riders will start inside the top five tomorrow. After finishing third in Group A, Filippo Rovelli will line up sixth on the grid.
Much of the focus in Group B was on Manuel Gonzalez, especially once it became clear that a top 15 place was needed to secure automatic qualification for tomorrow’s race. With less than a minute remaining, the championship leader languished down in 13th, leaving him dangerously close to the lottery of the Last Chance Race, but a last gasp improvement saw him climb to eighth, enough for 15th on the grid.
Pole Position – Scott Deroue (Kawasaki MOTOPORT)
“Yesterday we did a good performance with the wet, but today was different. I usually like when there are these mixed conditions as in the past I had to ride a lot with wet tyres on dry asphalt, so I am quite used to it. During the final minutes, we were all very close out on the track, but in the final one, I pushed hard I was able to make the pole. I am pleased with this!”
World Supersport 300 Qualifying Results
Pos | No. Rider | Bike | Gap |
1 | L. Loi | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | 0.000 |
2 | H. De Cancellis | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +1.451 |
3 | K. Sabatucci | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +1.593 |
4 | B. Neila | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +2.299 |
5 | T. Erhard | KTM RC 390 R | +2.446 |
6 | J. Facco | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +5.965 |
7 | A. Quinet | Honda CBR500R | +6.936 |
8 | R. Dore | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +12.024 |
9 | M. Pedeneau | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +12.975 |
10 | T. Moreton | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +17.374 |
11 | M. Hrava | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +17.435 |
12 | A. Longo | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +17.728 |
13 | S. Markarian | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +18.308 |
14 | E. Ceolotto | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +18.632 |
15 | H. Girardet | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +25.744 |
16 | K. Hartmann | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +29.185 |
17 | B. Molina | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +38.903 |
18 | A. Pelikanova | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | +40.061 |
19 | S. Naud | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | 1m02.468 |
20 | G. Carbonnel | Yamaha YZF-R3 | 1m05.141 |
21 | J. Stroud | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | 1m12.261 |
Not CLassified | |||
DNF | D. Delouvy | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | / |
DNF | S. Raineri | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | / |
DNF | K. Aloisi | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | / |
DNF | F. De Bruin | Yamaha YZF-R3 | / |
DNF | M. Carusi | Yamaha YZF-R3 | / |
Pos | Rider | Bike | Class | Superpole |
1 | S. Deroue | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m01.155 |
2 | A. Carrasco | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m06.866 |
3 | A. Verdoïa | Yamaha YZF-R3 | B | 2m01.319 |
4 | G. Hendra Pratama | Yamaha YZF-R3 | A | 2m07.648 |
5 | J. Buis | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m01.617 |
6 | F. Rovelli | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m07.809 |
7 | J. Perez Gonzalez | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m01.750 |
8 | N. Kalinin | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m07.868 |
9 | M. Kappler | KTM RC 390 R | B | 2m02.042 |
10 | T. Kawakami | Yamaha YZF-R3 | A | 2m08.329 |
11 | J. Foray | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m02.093 |
12 | E. De La Vega | Yamaha YZF-R3 | A | 2m08.341 |
13 | B. Ieraci | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m02.202 |
14 | D. Otten | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m08.513 |
15 | M. Gonzalez | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m02.760 |
16 | D. Iozzo | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m09.525 |
17 | B. Sofuoglu | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m03.025 |
18 | U. Orradre | Yamaha YZF-R3 | A | 2m10.065 |
19 | S. Di Sora | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m03.173 |
20 | Y. Okaya | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m10.527 |
21 | V. Steeman | KTM RC 390 R | B | 2m03.311 |
22 | T. Edwards | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m10.549 |
23 | M. Garcia | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m03.402 |
24 | M. Bastianelli | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m10.686 |
25 | B. Sanchez | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m03.595 |
26 | K. Meuffels | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m10.846 |
27 | J. Ioverno | Yamaha YZF-R3 | B | 2m03.678 |
28 | P. Giacomini | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m11.210 |
29 | M. Perez | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m03.888 |
30 | J. Jahnig | KTM RC 390 R | A | 2m11.342 |
31 | J. Facco | Yamaha YZF-R3 | B | 2m04.783 |
32 | K. Aloisi | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m11.569 |
33 | H. De Cancellis | Yamaha YZF-R3 | B | 2m05.079 |
34 | T. Erhard | KTM RC 390 R | A | 2m12.877 |
35 | S. Raineri | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m05.663 |
36 | K. Sabatucci | Yamaha YZF-R3 | A | 2m13.562 |
37 | A. Quinet | Honda CBR500R | B | 2m05.777 |
38 | A. Longo | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m13.798 |
39 | B. Neila | Yamaha YZF-R3 | B | 2m06.268 |
40 | L. Loi | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m13.838 |
41 | E. Ceolotto | Yamaha YZF-R3 | B | 2m06.520 |
42 | B. Molina | Yamaha YZF-R3 | A | 2m13.988 |
43 | R. Dore | Yamaha YZF-R3 | B | 2m06.695 |
44 | K. Hartmann | Yamaha YZF-R3 | A | 2m14.545 |
45 | F. De Bruin | Yamaha YZF-R3 | B | 2m07.094 |
46 | G. Carbonnel | Yamaha YZF-R3 | A | 2m15.033 |
47 | J. Stroud | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m08.442 |
48 | I. Offer | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m16.256 |
49 | A. Pelikanova | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m08.443 |
50 | D. Delouvy | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m17.935 |
51 | M. Pedeneau | Yamaha YZF-R3 | B | 2m08.475 |
52 | M. Hrava | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m22.597 |
53 | H. Girardet | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m09.631 |
54 | T. Moreton | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | A | 2m23.797 |
55 | S. Naud | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m11.628 |
56 | M. Carusi | Yamaha YZF-R3 | A | / |
57 | V. Schwarz | Kawasaki Ninja 400 | B | 2m11.956 |
58 | S. Markarian | Yamaha YZF-R3 | A | / |