A dramatic afternoon at Magny-Cours saw red flags disrupt WorldSBK practice.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) maintained his leading position, facing stiff competition from Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW), who secured second and third places, respectively. Toprak Razgatlioglu and teammate Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) delivered a solid performance in the combined standings, with fourth and fifth positions.
Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) settled for sixth place on the combined timesheets, highlighting Ducati’s progress at this traditionally challenging circuit.
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’36.900
2. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.073s
3. Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.081s
4. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +0.160s
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +0.242s
6. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.274s
“It was a positive day. Right from the first lap, I felt really good with my bike. Of course, in the afternoon, the temperature came up, and we tried to do a long run with the rear option tyre. But we had a lot of red flags, which worked in our favor because we were able to go back to this morning’s setup. We changed the front of the bike during that break. I didn’t like it. We were trying to give me more confidence to stop the bike, but in the end, I couldn’t stop; braking on the side of the tire was even worse. The mechanics did a really good job changing everything back. By that stage, the tyre was quite old, but I went out and was consistent, setting my fastest lap at the end of the run.”
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