WorldSBK swings back into action this weekend in France

2022 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round Seven – Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France

The 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship returns to racing this weekend after their summer break with action reconvening at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.  A staple on the calendar, this will be the 20th consecutive season at the iconic French venue.

Returning to Ducati in 2022 has seen Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) revitalise his aspirations and ambitions of becoming World Champion; leading the way by 31 points, Bautista hopes that his hand injury from Donington Park has gone, although at the recent Barcelona test, he stated that it wasn’t 100 per cent.

Giving chase in the standings is six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). He’s been majestic at Magny-Cours over the years, notching up nine wins, more than anyone else.

Jonathan Rea

“Magny Cours is a great place to start this last part of the season. It is one of the most important parts of the year because we will have six rounds in very quick succession. It is important to be very strong, consistent and to stay healthy throughout that period.

“Magny Cours is a good circuit for the team and me, and our Ninja ZX-10RR works well there. I have a lot of happy memories. Being September now, and coming into the autumn in Europe, we have to expect anything in terms of weather.

“We will be prepared either way. After a really solid test a couple of weeks ago in Barcelona I feel like we have a good base to start the weekend. The target is to be on the podium.”

KRT team-mate Alex Lowes always features strongly at Magny-Cours and has been on the podium five times, with four coming since 2019. He’s yet to be a winner at the circuit though; could Lowes be the dark horse?

Alex Lowes

“I’ve had a really good few weeks off to reset and recharge the batteries. We found some improvements with our base setting at the Montmelo test recently and I’m fully motivated to move on now for more podiums during this second part of the championship.

“Magny Cours is always a fun track and one that I’ve had some nice results at in the past. I can’t wait to get back out there on my ZX-10RR and working with all the crew.”

Whilst Jonathan Rea has the stats at Magny-Cours, reigning World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) has the recent form.

A wet 2020 saw Toprak off the podium at the circuit but in 2021, he was back with a bang and two full-race victories. Can he do the triple at his favourite circuit in 2022? He has six wins in the last eight races and is 38 points behind Bautista.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

“Last season, for me it was an incredible weekend in Magny-Cours! I finally made three race wins, but we all know the story about touching the green on the last lap – but the green area is my friend now, I understand better!

“This year, we will try again for three wins because this is my favourite track after Donington Park. I try my best again, I hope for good weather and that we can have some good fighting for the win. We will see, because this year we see all riders are very strong.

“I hope Loka can also come with me on the podium again like last year! After the test in Barcelona my arm injury is not so bad, I feel good – we are ready to race and I will give my best.”

His Pata Yamaha team-mate Andrea Locatelli is also in with a podium chance,

Andrea Locatelli

“After two days of testing in Barcelona we found a good base setup and I have a really good feeling with the bike. Now it will be interesting to be back on track. Magny-Cours was another great track for us last year because we had a podium, so I want to arrive there ready, feeling positive and really strong.

“I want to push for the maximum on the bike because it’s time to try close the gap to the front and we need to stay with our competitors. We hope for good weather but the most important is to push from Friday to understand everything and be ready for the races.”

Team HRC are fresh from a positive test in Barcelona, with Iker Lecuona ready to get back in the chase for a top five overall in the Championship. A new chassis bracing and new swingarm are just some of the items that have been brought in recent rounds, confirmed and trialled further in testing and now ready to further improve results.

For Lecuona, Magny-Cours is yet again a circuit he doesn’t know but after quick learning at Donington Park and Most, expect him to be strong come Saturday’s Race 1.

Iker Lecuona

“I am happy to get back to work! The summer break allowed us to recharge our batteries, though for me it was a mixture of rest and work. First, I had a great experience at the Suzuka 8 Hours, my first ever endurance race, not just in terms of the racing but also sharing the garage and the action with my teammates.

“Then we had a positive test in Catalunya where we not only continued the development work, but I was also able to regain the feeling with my bike, with my position in the saddle and with the tyres, after the Suzuka experience.

“Now we go Magny-Cours, yet another track that is completely new to me this year and of which I know absolutely nothing. I’ve only watched a few videos of past races, but essentially it will be important to learn the layout on day one and then I think the work will proceed as usual.”

For Xavi Vierge, he’s now got his future secured, remaining with Honda for 2023, meaning that he’ll have his mind relaxed and can now focus on a strong end to an injury-hit but impressive rookie season. He too hasn’t been to Magny-Cours, but with Honda enjoying a top six last year, a strong weekend awaits.

Xavi Vierge

“Magny-Cours is another new track for us, but we are getting used to this kind of situation this year, so we have prepared for the weekend just as we always do. We arrive in France with added motivation, for several reasons.

“Over the past weeks we’ve been able to recharge the batteries after the first half of the season and we also benefitted from two very positive days of testing in Catalunya in the middle of the summer break. I particularly enjoyed those two days, because I had a first opportunity to work calmly and methodically on the bike set-up after missing the previous team tests due to injury. So now I’m looking forward to being back on my bike and with my team and feel ready to discover a new track and enjoy the racing.”

BMW also enjoyed a strong test in Barcelona which saw Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) work extensively on electronics and also a new Nissin braking system, whilst it was also the return of Michael van der Mark from injury.

Marc Bongers – BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director

“After the long summer break, we are all looking forward to the second half of the season. Before the break, we showed a clear improvement in form, not only with Scott Redding’s podiums in the Superpole race at Donington Park and the first main race at Most, but with the results and performance as a whole. We now want to continue this trend.

“At the test in Barcelona, we were able to make important findings with our teams and riders, in order to improve the overall package of the BMW M 1000 RR. We are also very pleased that Michael van der Mark is fit again after his injury and is able to make his comeback. It was important to give him the time to heal completely, and we are confident that he will soon return to his old strength.

“We are now excited about the race weekend at Magny-Cours. In recent years, we have been very competitive at this varied circuit, the layout of which has a bit of everything. We are working hard to ensure that is the case again this year.”

Leading the Independents, it’s Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), with the Italian continuing his quest for a factory seat, just 19 points behind Rinaldi.

Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) is in 11th place overall and aiming to have a home round to be proud of, whilst he’s ten points clear of Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team).

Garrett Gerloff

“First of all, it’s nice to be back! I cannot wait to be back on track, I feel recharged after the break. I hope the weather stays clear, but we’re ready for every condition. We didn’t have an easy time in the first half of the season, but it’s time to turn the tables starting at Magny-Cours.”

WorldSBK Championship Points

WorldSSP600

Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) comes into the French Round as the Championship leader, and he heads into the second half of the season after a thrilling title decider in MotoE at Misano too. Aegerter was kept busy during the summer break by his MotoE title fight, with the Swiss rider claiming the World Cup title after a thrilling title decider at Misano, and then testing the Suzuki MotoGP bike, but his focus now will solely be on WorldSSP.

With a 14-point gap to Aegerter, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) heads into the French Round after taking a huge 50 points out of Aegerter’s Championship lead following his double at the Autodrom Most.

There is an incredible battle inside the top five brewing as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team), Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) are all fighting for a top-three finish in the standings.

Bulega is currently leading the pack with a 39-point advantage but will race at Magny-Cours for the first time, while it will also be Ducati’s first time at the track since 2006. Bulega comes into the French Round with four podiums in his last six races, but still in search of his first win in the Championship. Can the Italian rookie cause an upset in France?

The MV Agusta Reparto Corse squad enjoyed their best round of the season at the Autodrom Most with Niki Tuuli, returning from injury and surgery, claiming sixth and tenth and Turkish rookie Bahattin Sofuoglu taking fifth and seventh, his two best results in his maiden WorldSSP campaign.

Oli Bayliss will be looking to move up the championship points standings in this latter half of the season, the Australian rookie heads to Magny-Cours 17th on the points table, but only 28-points away from breaking into the top ten.

Countryman Ben Currie missed the start of the season through injury and will be looking to show his true potential.

It’ll be a busy weekend for the GMT94 Yamaha squad as Jules Cluzel makes his return from injury, subject to medical clearance, with the Frenchman continuing his training after sustaining an injury at Donington Park. He will be joined by teammate Andy Verdoia, but there will be two additional GMT94 Yamaha machines on the grid with two wildcard riders.

This week Jules Cluzel also announced his pending retirement at the end of this season.  He has a great record to look back on with 24 race wins, 62 podiums, countless battles but without a WorldSSP Championship under his belt. 

WorldSSP600 Championship Points

WorldSSP300

The FIM Supersport 300 World Championship returns to action at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours for the Pirelli French Round, marking the beginning of the end of the 2022 campaign.

The title fight continues to rage on as Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team) and Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing) look to fight it out for the Championship, starting with a potentially crucial battle in France.

Diaz currently holds the advantage in the Championship battle with a 24-point advantage over Garcia, with 150 points available in the final three rounds at Magny-Cours, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

Garcia holds a 15-point advantage over the chasing pack behind him, with three riders separated by 11 points behind. Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki) sits third in the Championship on 122 points and heads into the French Round with two podiums in the last three races, including a win at the Autodrom Most.

Directly behind him, separated by only five points, is Samuel Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo) who has four top-four finishes in six races, including three podiums, with a home win the aim this weekend.

Could either Steeman or Di Sora get themselves into the Championship fight with just a handful of races to go?

Yuta Okaya (MTM Kawasaki) is another who will hope he can climb up the order at Magny-Cours and, with three top-six finishes in five races at Magny-Cours, will be looking for another strong result in France.

The 2022 season so far has been a story of epic comebacks to fight back for podiums and wins, meaning it has been an unpredictable campaign for every rider on the grid.

Hugo de Cancellis (Prodina Racing WorldSSP300) lies fifth in the standings and is one of six riders to have won in ten races so far, winning from 19th on the grid, whilst Lennox Lehmann (Freudenberg KTM – Paligo Racing) is sixth in the Championship with three podiums to his name, but started 17th, 24th and 25th on his way to his three rostrum visits.

Harry Khouri is eager to add to his championship tally and move further up the championship points table.

WorldSSP300 Championship Points

Magny-Cours WorldSBK Schedule
Times in AEST

2022 WorldSBK Calendar