Alvaro Bautista concludes a solid weekend in terms of both results and performance, completing the day’s races in sixth and seventh place and proving competitive throughout all sessions. Haslam leaves France with some regret, unable to translate the good speed demonstrated in qualifying and the early laps of the races into results. Leon takes ninth in the sprint race and a DNF in Race 2 today.

Team HRC has wrapped up round eight of the Superbike World Championship at the Magny-Cours circuit in France. First up this morning was the 10-lap Tissot Superpole race. Like yesterday, Haslam lined up sixth on the grid and got away well, moving straight into fifth. Bautista made a very rapid start despite being at a disadvantage from fourteenth on the grid, the Spaniard already up into ninth by the end of lap one. Caught by two riders during the first half of the race, Leon was in seventh at the mid-race point, his team-mate just a couple of tenths behind him in eighth place. Bautista was able to pass Haslam on lap eight, to finish the race in seventh place, while the Englishman was ninth across the line.

The results of the Superpole race meant that both riders secured new grid positions for the last of the weekend’s races, Bautista lining up in seventh place and Haslam ninth for a race that took place in dry and sunny conditions. The duo were ninth (Leon) and tenth (Alvaro) by the end of lap one. Unfortunately, Leon’s race came to a premature end already on lap four, after he crashed at turn six. Setting his fastest lap of the race on lap ten, Alvaro gained ground through the central phase of the race, passing both Van der Mark and Rinaldi to move up into sixth place, a position he held to the line to secure more important championship points.

In the championship standings, Bautista lies tenth with 115 points, Haslam thirteenth with a tally of 78. Team HRC will now prepare for the next Superbike World Championship round, which will take place over the weekend of 17-19 September at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit in Spain.

Alvaro Bautista 19

SPRC P7 RC2 P6

“I’m generally happy with our weekend here at Magny-Cours. Today we made some modifications to the bike’s setup, especially the electronics, nothing huge but we saw a little improvement, which gave me more confidence. I felt a bit better with the bike and so in the Superpole race, where I normally struggle more, I was able to be competitive and make a good comeback from fourteenth on the grid in just ten laps. And my seventh-place finish allowed me to move forward two rows on the grid for race 2. In the afternoon’s higher temperatures, the track conditions were more tricky, more slippery. But the feeling was still better than it sometimes has been in similar conditions. I made a good start but then I chose the wrong line at the first braking point and lost some positions. I recovered again and was able to maintain a consistent pace, finishing sixth, which is the most I think we could do at the moment. Now we head to tracks that I really like, so we will keep working and see what we can do there!”

Leon Haslam 91

SPRC P9 RC2 DNF

My expectations after qualifying were a bit higher to be honest. We had some problems in the first two races, but in the final Superbike race I felt we made a good improvement with the bike. Unfortunately we finished the weekend with a fast crash but the changes and progression we made with the setting meant that I was more comfortable. So I’m disappointed that it ended like this, but I felt I was more comfortable than I had been all weekend, particularly in terms of front feeling and braking. So, having made that step, we can now look forward to the next round at Barcelona, a track at which we completed a very productive test a few weeks ago.”

WorldSBK 2021
Race Round 08   France

Results Tissot Superpole Race REVISED

Sunny
Humidity
69%
Track Temp
32°C
Air Temp
24°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Rea Jonathan 1 GBR 12 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 16'07.436
2 Razgatlioglu Toprak 54 TUR 9 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 0.148
3 Lowes Alex 22 GBR 7 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 5.634
4 Locatelli Andrea 55 ITA 6 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 6.995
5 Redding Scott 45 GBR 5 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 7.384
6 van der Mark Michael 60 NDL 4 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 8.119
7 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA 3 Team HRC Honda 9.515
8 Davies Chaz 7 GBR 2 Team GOELEVEN Ducati 9.888
9 Haslam Leon 91 GBR 1 Team HRC Honda 11.325
10 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA 0 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 11.683
11 Bassani Alex 47 ITA 0 Motocorsa Racing Ducati 11.979
12 Sykes Tom 66 GBR 0 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 12.231
13 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA 0 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 12.502
14 Mahias Lucas 44 FRA 0 Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 21.597
15 Rabat Tito 53 SPA 0 Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 22.318
16 Nozane Kohta 3 JPN 0 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 25.630
17 Ponsson Christophe 23 FRA 0 Alstare Yamaha Yamaha 26.090
18 Folger Jonas 94 GER 0 Bonovo MGM Racing BMW 27.204
19 Mercado Leandro 36 ARG 0 MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 30.022
20 Cresson Loris 84 BEL 0 TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki 33.524
21 Vinales Isaac 32 SPA DNF ORELAC Racing VERDNATURA Kawasaki 9 Laps
WorldSBK 2021
Race Round 08   France

Results Race 2

Sunny
Humidity
48%
Track Temp
42°C
Air Temp
28°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Razgatlioglu Toprak 54 TUR 25 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 34'09.849
2 Rea Jonathan 1 GBR 20 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 2.908
3 Redding Scott 45 GBR 16 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 8.406
4 Locatelli Andrea 55 ITA 13 PATA YAMAHA with BRIXX WorldSBK Yamaha 10.329
5 Davies Chaz 7 GBR 11 Team GOELEVEN Ducati 10.734
6 Bautista Alvaro 19 SPA 10 Team HRC Honda 11.467
7 Rinaldi Michael Ruben 21 ITA 9 ARUBA Racing - Ducati Ducati 13.901
8 van der Mark Michael 60 NDL 8 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 15.640
9 Gerloff Garrett 31 USA 7 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 16.254
10 Sykes Tom 66 GBR 6 BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team BMW 20.911
11 Bassani Alex 47 ITA 5 Motocorsa Racing Ducati 39.410
12 Ponsson Christophe 23 FRA 4 Alstare Yamaha Yamaha 39.410
13 Mahias Lucas 44 FRA 3 Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 43.057
14 Nozane Kohta 3 JPN 2 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Yamaha 44.106
15 Rabat Tito 53 SPA 1 Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki 48.202
16 Folger Jonas 94 GER 0 Bonovo MGM Racing BMW 49.557
17 Mercado Leandro 36 ARG 0 MIE Racing HONDA Team Honda 51.981
18 Cresson Loris 84 BEL 0 TPR Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki 1'07.692
19 Haslam Leon 91 GBR 0 Team HRC Honda 17 Laps
20 Lowes Alex 22 GBR 0 Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK Kawasaki 20 Laps
Location Information

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours Technopole – 58470 Magny-Cours – France Magny Cours

POLE POSITION RIGHT
LENGTH 4.411 Km
CORNERS 17
RIGHT CORNERS 9
LEFT CORNERS 8

Records

Pole Record 1'35.453 (166,360 Km/h) G.Gerloff (BMW M1000 RR 2023)
Race Record 1'36.084 (165,268 Km/h) A.Bautista (SPRC) (Ducati V4R 2023)
All Time Record 1'35.453 (166,360 Km/h) G.Gerloff (BMW M1000 RR 2023)
2023 Race 1 Winner T.Razgatlioglu (Yamaha YZF R1)
2023 Superpole Race Winner T.Razgatlioglu (Yamaha YZF R1)
2023 Race 2 Winner A.Bautista ((Ducati V4R)