WorldSBK Round Eight | Bulega brilliant at Magny-Cours

WorldSBK Round Eight | Bulega brilliant at Magny-Cours. Bouncing back from a Race 1 DNF, Nicolo Bulega made it a perfect Sunday, with Danilo Petrucci on the podium again and Garrett Gerloff achieving his first top three result on the BMW. Report: Ed Stratmann/WorldSBK

Friday
WorldSBK

BMW showed strong pace on Friday with all four M 1000 RRs in the mix, despite a crash for Razgatlioglu in the afternoon session. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was the fastest rider on Friday at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours by more than a tenth in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. The Dutchman posted a 1’36.010s in Free Practice 2 to claim top spot on the opening day of the Motul French Round, while teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu was third despite a FP2 crash before he’d set a timed lap.

Read our WorldSBK 2024 Round Seven Report here…

In contrast to FP1, Razgatlioglu was one of the last riders to hit the track in FP2 although he was on track after just a few minutes of green flag running; however, he returned to the pits after just an out lap. He was posting red sectors – the fastest of the session – on his first flying lap before he crashed at Turns 14-15, which brought out the red flags. The #54 was taken to the medical centre for a check-up, where he was diagnosed with a back contusion. He was then transported to hospital for further assessments. In a post on social media, Razgatlioglu said: “I’m fine now, they’re doing the final checks at the hospital. Thanks everyone, see you soon.”

Van der Mark took up the mantle of lead BMW rider on Friday as he set a 1’36.010s to claim P1 by 0.149s. It had looked like Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) would be Razgatlioglu’s nearest challenger from the German manufacturer but van der Mark’s late lap demoted the American. However, Gerloff was still able to secure third in FP2 and fourth overall with a 1’36.390s while it was also a strong day for teammate Scott Redding.

The #45 was 11th overall after setting a 1’36.984s, around a second down on van der Mark’s pace. Bulega was demoted to second on Friday as he posted a 1’36.159s in FP2, after it looked like he would claim top spot with just a few minutes remaining. He was just 0.149s away from the Dutchman ahead.

WorldSSP

The competition was red hot in the Tissot Superpole session in the FIM Supersport World Championship, with a new Superpole lap record by Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) giving him pole. Following an early red flag, Huertas was already on lap record pace (1’39.793s), with just over 30 minutes of the restarted session remaining, before the Ducati rider then improved to 1’39.705s for P1 in the final five minutes.

With Huertas’ move to Moto2™ for 2025 now confirmed, the standings leader made it a fifth pole position this season, with the second best lap time set by Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) coming late in the session. A light crash for Mahias at Turn 5 earlier in Superpole did not hinder his efforts severely and the French rider made it P2 with a strong 1’39.854s time. Completing the front row was Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) who also produced his best effort in the final seconds of the session, trailing pole man Huertas by 0.171s

Italian trio Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) and Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) were all on row two, having lapped respectively 0.181s, 0.185s and 0.505s down on Huertas. Title contenders Montella and Manzi were therefore well positioned to keep the pressure on Huertas in Race 1, as Caricasulo was also primed to continue his good recent top six form.

Saturday
WorldSK

WorldSBK Race 1

In the pouring rain at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, it was Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who scored the win in Race 1 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, making it another BMW success story despite the absence of his teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu. Van der Mark is a highly accomplished wet weather rider and he mastered the difficult conditions at the Motul French Round for the victory, with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) celebrating as he crossed the line second, 8.288s behind the Dutchman, having started 17th on the grid.

More than 24 seconds after rain-master Van der Mark had taken the chequered flag, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) crossed the line in third, with only 12 riders finishing the race as the heavy rain poured down at Magny-Cours. The race had started in mixed conditions with many of the riders on slick tyres and only a few electing to start on intermediates, with the survivors all switching to full wet setups, the majority pitting in on laps 3 to 5 as the heavens opened and the racing surface became drenched.

Simultaneous crashes for Championship contender Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) on the chicane at the end of the first lap brought the race to an early end for both riders. Rea was transported to hospital with a fracture of the right thumb and a deep wound, whilst Bulega sustained right shoulder and collarbone contusions, with both needing to be assessed further before Warm Up on Sunday morning. Rea’s Pata Prometeon Yamaha teammate Andrea Locatelli then crashed on Turn 5 of lap 3, though the Italian was able to remount and continue his race, eventually finishing in eighth.

Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) had pitted on lap 4 and then crashed from a top ten position on wet tyres on lap 9 at Turn 5, but he was able to pick his BMW M 1000 RR up to bring it home in fourth place, ahead of Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) in fifth.

“It feels unreal. It’s been a tough couple of years. I think this year’s been going better and better, and my goal was to be on the podium. To win here is fantastic,” explained van der Mark.

WorldSBK Race 1 Results

Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +8.288s
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +24.285s
Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) +34.037s
Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) +42.108s

WorldSSP Race 1

Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) took a fine win in the rescheduled and shortened 12-lap Race 1 early on Sunday, flying across the finish line 2.938s ahead of second placed Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing). Riding brilliantly in mixed conditions on slick tyres at the Motul French Round, the result was Tuuli’s first win with Ducati and his first victory since winning in Indonesia 2022. It was also his third win with a different manufacturer, making him the first rider to achieve such a feat in the class.

Caricasulo also made his own piece of personal history with his first rostrum result of 2024, having now featured on the podium with four different manufacturers in WorldSSP. Completing the podium behind the front two was Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), making it three different manufacturers in the top three as he finished 3.248s off Tuuli and just over a tenth of a second over fourth placed Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team).

Title rivals Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Huertas clashed on lap 8, with Huertas again lucky to stay upright after his huge moment in Warm Up on Saturday. Montella was given a Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding for his part in that incident and he finished the race in sixth place, just over nine seconds down on Tuuli and five seconds adrift of fifth placed Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). Oncu set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, to put him at the head of the grid for Race 2.

Behind sixth-placed Montella, Tom Edwards (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team), Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph) and Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) completed the top ten.

WorldSSP Race 1 Results

Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team)
Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) +2.938s
Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +3.248s
Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +3.390s
Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +4.121s

Sunday
Superpole Race

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made up for the disappointment of his MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Race 1 crash at the Motul French Round, storming to a fantastic Tissot Superpole Race win at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours on Sunday morning.

The 2023 WorldSSP Champion took the lead on the opening lap from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and kept the English rider at bay in an exciting finale to secure his first win since his stunning rookie victory in the opening race of the season in Australia.

Lowes made a great start on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR, but was overtaken by Bulega at Turn 5, with those two pulling clear to ultimately contest the victory. An early crash for Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ended his race at Turn 7 on the opening lap with the WorldSBK Champion taken to the medical centre for a check-up. Bautista was subsequently declared unfit for Race 2 due to a fracture of the eighth rib on his left side.

On the penultimate lap, Lowes had put himself in a position to challenge Bulega for the lead before a small error from the Kawasaki rider gave the Ducati star the initiative and the Italian would not look back from there. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) crashed out at Turn 5 on lap 5 following a battle with fellow Italian Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), as Petrucci pushed on to secure a strong third place, after starting in tenth on the grid.

Petrucci’s podium finish was a repeat of his Race 1 result, as was the fourth place for Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW). Indeed, it was the fourth time in 2024 that Redding had ended a race in fourth. The experienced Briton was able to get the better of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC), who ended up fifth in a feisty mid-pack scuffle, with Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) sixth and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) seventh.

Superpole Race Results

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.115s
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +3.677s
Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) +3.903s
Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) +5.710s

WorldSBK Race 2

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was peerless in Race 2, leading from start to finish to complete a perfect day. Reacting to his Saturday afternoon crash in style, Bulega followed up on a fantastic Tissot Superpole Race win with a 2.3s victory over second placed Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), who took his third podium of the weekend.

Petrucci chased hard throughout the race and was Bulega’s nearest challenger, though in truth the factory Ducati rider was never under significant threat from his compatriot, having built a 2.5s lead by the end of lap 4, a gap that remained stable until the chequered flag. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) made it up into third in front of Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) on lap 10 and the American did not look back from there as he charged on for his first BMW podium.

Starting in second on the grid, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) ran wide at Turn 8 on lap 1 – dropping to the back of the race. Lowes then fought back brilliantly, making his way through the pack, eventually getting on front of his former Yamaha teammate Van der Mark for fourth with four laps to go. Race 1 winner Van der Mark notched another solid top five result, 7.5s down on Bulega, whilst just over four seconds behind the Dutchman, Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) came home sixth.

“It’s incredible. I needed a day like this after Saturday because that was a very bad day for us. I was fast all weekend from the beginning, but it was very difficult to put it all together especially with the strange weather conditions. I felt that I had the speed, but it was difficult to put it all together. Today, finally, I put it all together and won the Superpole Race and Race 2,” said a jubilant Bulega.

WorldSBK Race 2 Results

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +2.841
Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) +4.300s
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +6.576s
Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +7.521s

Championship Points

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 365 points
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 310
Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 243
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 235
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 190

WorldSSP Race 2

In Race 2 of the FIM Supersport World Championship, Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) took a classy win, holding off a late charge from Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) to secure maximum points. An eventful weekend at the Motul French Round for Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) saw him finish the race in third place and still in the championship lead, though now by a reduced advantage of 14 points over Montella.

Montella made a great start by getting up into P2 from sixth place on the grid on the opening lap, determined to claw back as many points as possible after a costly sanction which had seen him finish Race 1 sixth after a long lap penalty. White flags were briefly shown as the riders began lap 2 with light rain falling at Magny-Cours, though Montella was not perturbed and took over in the lead on lap 3. Huertas had dropped back at the start but fought his way up to fifth by the end of lap 2, before joining the fight at the front. By lap 5 Montella was leading by 2.5s, with Huertas by then up into second.

On lap 14, Manzi took over the lead from Montella, with Huertas close by in third. Montella got back in front with three laps to go, as Huertas ran wide at Turn 5 on the last lap and therefore had to settle for third. In the lead Montella had to keep it absolutely full gas to hold on for a vital win over Manzi, with the Yamaha rider setting the fastest lap of the race. His 1’40.027 was also a new race lap record.

Whilst Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph) may have finished the race over 12 seconds behind winner Montella, it was still a superb performance from the Briton as he notched the best result of his WorldSSP career, with Spaniard Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) just behind him in fifth. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) took sixth place, whilst French wildcard Corentin Perolari (CBO Racing Honda France) will be happy with his seventh place finish.

WorldSSP Race 2 Results