Red flags shake up WorldSBK practice at Magny-Cours

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.

WorldSBK Combined Results after FP2
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

P1 | Jonathan Rea | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK
“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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