Highs and lows for BMW: van der Mark leads the times while Razgatlioglu crashes
WorldSBK Free Practice Recap
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) suffered a heavy crash at Turn 15 during his first flying lap of the afternoon session. The championship leader, who had topped FP1, was taken to the medical center for evaluation and later transferred to Moulins Hospital for further checks on a back contusion. Currently third on the combined timesheets, Razgatlioglu will need a medical review before participating in Saturday’s sessions.
Michael van der Mark ended the day fastest, setting a 1’36.010 lap time during his final stint, giving the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team a boost after Razgatlioglu’s crash. Nicolo Bulega followed closely in second, with Garrett Gerloff rounding out the top three. Gerloff, riding for Bonovo Action BMW, showed consistent pace, finishing third in both FP1 and FP2. As the lap record holder at Magny-Cours, the Texan appears to be in strong form once again this weekend.
Bulega led much of the afternoon session, once again emerging as the top Ducati rider. His Aruba.it Racing – Ducati teammate, Alvaro Bautista, finished the day in seventh place but experienced a slow-speed crash at Turn 8.
Alex Lowes was the fastest Kawasaki rider, securing fourth place for the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK. His teammate, Axel Bassani, had a solid start to the French Round, ending the afternoon with the eighth-fastest time.
Rider Quotes:
P1 | Michael van der Mark | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:
“Magny-Cours is a track I’ve always enjoyed, but today was even better! From my first lap this morning, the bike felt great, and we didn’t make many changes. I focused on being precise with my riding and finding a good pace. Every weekend, I aim for the podium, and we were close in Portimao. We’ve started this weekend off well, the bike feels fantastic, and I’m feeling confident. We’ll see how the weather and conditions unfold, but my confidence is growing.”
P2 | Nicolo Bulega | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati:
“I feel good because, honestly, my first day on a new track with this bike can be challenging, but today went really well. I felt comfortable on the bike from the first laps, so I’m happy. I’ll try to improve even more tomorrow.”
P3 | Garrett Gerloff | Bonovo Action BMW:
“It feels great to arrive at a track and have everything click without feeling like you’re constantly chasing problems. We have good data from last year when things also went well. From the start, I was just out there doing laps, feeling comfortable. So far, so good this weekend. I just want to have a solid qualifying session and be on the front two rows.”
WorldSBK Combined Results after FP2
1. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’36.010s
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.149s
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +
4. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) +0.380s
5. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.582s
6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.599s
WorldSSP Huertas smashes the lap record to take pole position
Superpole Highlights
An early red flag in the Superpole session was triggered by a crash at Turn 1 involving Khairul Idham Pawi Bin (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda). After the session resumed, Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) quickly made his mark by breaking the lap record on his first stint. He later improved his time further, securing pole position with an impressive 1’39.705 lap.
Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) and Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) both delivered strong performances, qualifying on the front row of the grid for the first time this season with their final laps of the session.
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), currently second in the World Championship, will start from the second row after qualifying fourth. Stefano Manzi (Pata Prometeon Ten Kate Racing) secured fifth place, with the top five riders separated by just two-tenths of a second.
Rider Quotes:
P1 | Adrian Huertas | Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team:
“Today was really good because this morning I focused on race pace, and this afternoon, we managed to break the lap record. It was a great lap in Superpole, but the points are on Saturday and Sunday, so we need to keep pushing. We have to continue working like this. I’ll be racing in another championship next year, so I want to leave WorldSSP on a high note. We’re doing well, but there are many incredible riders out there, and we’re all fighting hard. We just need to stay focused and avoid mistakes.”
WorldSSP Tissot Superpole Results
1. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’39.705s
2. Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.149s
3. Jorge Navarro (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.171s
4. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.181s
5. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +0.185s
6. Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) +0.505s
WorldSSP 300 First career pole for Mahendra
Superpole Highlights
Aldi Mahendra (Team BrCorse) delivered a thrilling performance in the final moments of the Superpole session, clinching his first career pole position with a time of 1’52.513. The Yamaha rider waited until the last seconds to set the pace during an action-packed session.
Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki), who has won the last two races in the class, made a dramatic leap from the seventh row to qualify on the front row with his final lap, showing impressive form throughout the 25-minute session.
Double WorldSSP300 champion Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) also had a strong showing, securing a spot on the front row of the grid for the first time in 2024. The Dutch rider narrowly missed out on pole position by just over one-tenth of a second.
Championship leader Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) will start from the third row. The 17-year-old holds a ten-point lead over Inigo Iglesias (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki), who qualified in fourth position.
Rider Quotes:
P1 | Aldi Satya Mahendra | Team BrCorse:
“I focused on finding the best setup in the morning. This is my first time at Magny-Cours in the WorldSSP300 class, so it’s been challenging to understand the gearing and suspension. During the Superpole session, I just pushed hard! I was able to take pole position, and tomorrow I’ll do my best. I’ll try to break away and go for a solo run. We’ll see how it goes.”
WorldSSP300 Tissot Superpole Results
1. Aldi Mahendra (Team BrCorse) 1’52.513s
2. Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) +0.107s
3. Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki) +0.136s
4. Inigo Iglesias (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) +0.249s
5. Marc Garcia (KOVE Racing Team) +0.261s
6. Julio Garcia (KOVE Racing Team) +0.343s
WorldSBK resumes its action on Saturday with FP3 starting at 9:00 (Local Time), followed by Tissot Superpole at 11:00 and Race 1 at 14:00. Meanwhile, WorldSSP continues with a Warm Up at 9:50, followed by Race 1 at 15:15. WorldSSP300 Warm Up will be at 9:30 followed by Race 1 at 12:45.
Official WorldSBK Press Release
