The Finish Line

The name of Bautista’s teammate is yet to be confirmed for 2023 but both Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Axel Bassani were asked about their future in France…

The Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, Pirelli French Round at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours did not disappoint over the weekend, on all fronts.

There was drama everywhere you looked in Race 1, but it was Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista who came out on top, further extending his lead in the championship.

It was a wet start to the Pirelli French Round with rain falling in both Free Practice session, with the track eventually drying up towards the end of each session. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) proved the mixed conditions were no issue in FP2, posting the fastest time of a 1’49.379 – with Motocorsa rider Axel Bassani a whole second behind in 2nd.

Knowledge proved key for hometown rider and wildcard Valentin Debise, who took charge of Friday’s World Supersport practice. Debise rounded out FP2 with the fastest time of 1’41.776s as the track dried throughout the session, with Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) finishing second by just 0.023s.

The 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship fires back into life after an enjoyable summer break, with the Pirelli French Round kickstarting the second half of a monumental season so far. One of the headlines coming into the seventh round of the season is that Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) is returning to action for the first time since Estoril, having suffered a second leg injury of the season in an FP1 highside.