WorldSBK: The French Round opened with damp patches around the 4.411km Magny-Cours circuit .
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) set the pace on the opening day with the Italian rider setting a lap time faster than the official Superpole Lap Record. The Italian rider, second in the championship standings, was keen to prove his speed today. He set the pace in Sector 1 but his speed in the final sector turned heads where he was over two tenths of a second faster than anyone else.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was keen to banish the memories of his crash twelve months ago. The Turkish rider led the way in Free Practice 1 before setting the fourth fastest time in the afternoon where he focused on race pace in Free Practice 2. The championship leader completed a 16-lap stint to understand the requirements for Saturday’s opening race of the weekend.
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) continued his strong form recently with the second fastest time. The Englishman was four tenths of a second slower than Bulega as he completed 39 laps on the day.
The Pata Maxus Yamaha duo of Andrea Locatelli and Jonathan Rea ended the day third and seventh fastest.
Xavi Vierge was eighth fastest for Honda but started the weekend with the fourth fastest time in Free Practice 1. The Spaniard suffered an early afternoon crash but did well to recover later in the session. He’ll be joined within the Honda HRC garage this weekend by Moto2 race winner Sergio Garcia.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“I feel quite good. We improved a lot from this morning but it’s still not enough. We can improve on used tyres but I set a good lap time with new tyres. With used tyres it’s harder to manage the bike and sometimes I have a lot of movement at the rear. We need to find more grip but if we can improve that I can make another step. Of course, it’s always important to try to beat your rivals, and I know Toprak is very strong here. He was fast last year and was again today. I’ll keep working to improve and be stronger for the rest of the weekend.”
P2 – Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team)
“Today was really good. In that session we tried a longer run at the beginning, around 15 laps, and we had a few small issues but overall it was a positive day. Considering I haven’t ridden much here, last year was a disaster with the strange weather, today felt like day one for me. The rhythm and pace are much stronger than anything I’ve done here before. I feel we’re not far away, especially in the last sector where I can still improve a couple of tenths. We’re in the podium fight and close to factory lap times. It’s nice to come to a different track and be in the mix straight away.”
P3 – Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha)
“We started from a good base this morning and in the afternoon we tried to improve a little bit. The feeling was good and we worked in a good direction. The rhythm was good and I’m happy to be in the top three. The target is to keep working to improve for tomorrow, because it’s important to start as close to the front as possible. I’m aiming for the front row so we’ll try for that and then aim to make our race. Overall, it’s been a good start and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
P4 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
“We improved the feeling lap by lap. After the crash last year it wasn’t easy to be fast immediately this morning but now I feel much better and stronger, especially in the last sector. I did a 16-lap race simulation and stayed in the low 1’36’s which is very strong. I pushed harder on a couple of laps but overall the pace was consistent. After the run, I explained corner by corner to my team where I still feel problems, especially with the engine braking. There wasn’t enough time to work on it today because in the last minutes I was focused on race pace and not on a single fast lap. For me the target is clear; I want three wins this weekend.”
Combined Results after FP2
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’35.428s
2. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.400s
3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +0.414s
4. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.432s
5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.675s
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.744s
For more info checkout our dedicated WorldSBK (World Superbike) News page superbike-news.co.uk/category/world-superbikes/
Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com
©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of WorldSBK.com
[content-egg module=Amazon template=grid]
* Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission (at no cost to you) if you click on the link and make a purchase. Any money made goes straight back into the website and magazine. Your support is appreciated!
