Bulega storms to victory in Superpole WSBK France as Bautista crashes
Nico Bulega stormed to victory in the Superpole race at the World Superbike French round in Magny-Cours, as the Italian closes to Toprak Razgatlioglu in the World Championship. Meanwhile, Alvaro Bautista crashed out of the race and will start Race 2 from the back of the grid.
Garrett Gerloff would be hit by Andrea Locatelli at Turn 5’s slow right-hander, Locatelli eased on his Yamaha’s brakes, sliding into the side of Gerloff who then lost a few positions in the opening laps. Just one lap later, Locatelli would ease the brake once again at Turn 5, however he would go down after making contact Danilo Petrucci for fifth.
Petrucci would attack Xavi Vierge in the fast chicane of Turns 11 and 12, with Vierge’s Honda being stood up as he cut across the chicane, with Scott Redding able to take advantage of the battle for fourth.
Alex Lowes would also begin attacking Bulega with just a handful of laps remaining, with Michael Van Der Mark holding a train of motorcycles behind him for third place. Petrucci would eventually manage to dive up the inside of Van Der Mark’s BMW at Turn 5, taking third place as Petrucci opened the floodgates, with Van Der Mark then being overtaken by Scott Redding, Xavi Vierge and Garrett Gerloff.
With just two laps remaining, Alex Lowes would attack Nico Bulega, the pair duelling at multiple corners. As they started the final lap, Bulega led the race narrowly, as Lowes attempted to line up a move into the final section of the circuit. However, it would be Nico Bulega who came across the line to take victory in Superpole, therefore putting him on pole position for Race 2.
The championship gap between Toprak Razgatlioglu and Nico Bulega has come down to just 80 points, with many people calling in to question Razgatlioglu’s health, the World Superbike Championship may just have a proper championship battle in 2024.
World Superbikes French Round – Superpole Results and Race 2 Starting Grid
1st Nico Bulega, Ducati
2nd Alex Lowes, Kawasaki
3rd Danilo Petrucci, Ducati
4th Scott Redding, BMW
5th Xavi Vierge, Honda
6th Garrett Gerloff, BMW
7th Iker Lecuona, Honda
8th Michael Van Der Mark, BMW
9th Remy Gardner, Yamaha
10th Axel Bassani, Kawasaki
11th Andrea Iannone, Ducati
12th Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Ducati
13th Alessandro Delbianco, Yamaha
14th Philip Oettl, Yamaha
15th Bradley Ray, Yamaha
16th Sam Lowes, Yamaha
17th Tito Rabat, Kawasaki
18th Tarran Mackenzie, Honda
19th Miguel Ivo Lopez, Honda
DNF Andrea Locatelli, Yamaha
DNF Alvaro Bautista, Ducati
Featured Image: Ducati Corse Media
