Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) claimed top spot for Friday’s action at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, finishing four tenths clear of nearest rival Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team). Title rival Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had looked like he would end the day in P1 but lost three places as FP2 came to a close at the French Round.

BULEGA ON TOP: #11 leads Sam Lowes in the combined classification

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) put in a late lap to steal top spot away from title rival Razgatlioglu on the opening day of action in France. ‘Bulegas’ set a 1’35.428s, quicker than the existing pole lap record, as he finished exactly four tenths clear of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in second place, while Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) finished in fifth as he looks to strengthen his grip on third in the World Championship standings. One of his rivals, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), was ninth with a 1’36.512s, just over a second behind teammate Bulega, while rookie Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) was 12^th. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) was 15^th on Friday after setting a 1’36.940s but he didn’t have the Friday he would’ve wanted. Lots of setup changes on the front end of his Panigale V4R machine meant he didn’t get a long run in, before a crash at Turn 13 towards the end of FP2. Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) was 18^th with Tarran Mackenzie (MGM BONOVO Action) 19^th.

RAZGATLIOGLU IN FOURTH: ‘El Turco’ tops FP1 but falls to P4 in FP2

It had looked like Razgatlioglu would top both sessions on Friday but he fell down to fourth in the closing stages, and he was unable to improve on his 1’35.680s as he finished P4; 0.432s down on Bulega’s time. Teammate Michael van der Mark narrowly missed out on a spot in the top ten as he finished in 11^th with a 1’36.633s.

YAMAHA IN THE TOP THREE: Locatelli claims third, Rea seventh

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) led Yamaha’s charge on the opening day of the action for the French Round, claiming third place with a time of 1’35.842s, just 0.014s away from P2 and just over four tenths from P1. Teammate Jonathan Rea put himself inside the top seven with a 1’36.196s, while three riders on the Yamaha R1 were inside the top ten. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) secured P10 with a 1’36.542s. Dominique Aegerter was just two tenths away from his teammate but found himself down in 14^th place, two places ahead of Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team). The Turkish rider’s teammate, Michael Rinaldi, was 20^th.

BIMOTA SHOW POTENTIAL: Alex Lowes in the top six

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) ensured four manufacturers were in the top six as he finished in sixth with a 1’36.172s, 0.744s down on the pace set by Bulega. Teammate Axel Bassani will hope he can move up the order on Saturday after finishing down in 17^th place with a 1’37.041s, around nine tenths down on the #22.

STRONG DAY FOR VIERGE: top four in FP1, eighth in FP2 despite crash

Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) had a mixed Friday, after claiming P4 in FP1 but crashing in the early stages of Free Practice 2. He was able to return to the track after the crash to claim eighth overall. His teammate for this weekend, Sergio Garcia, had an electrical issue in FP1 which disrupted his running as he got up to speed on the CBR1000RR-R machine. Honda introduced a concession from France, running with a 0.5kg/h fuel flow rate compared to the prescribed rate. Tito Rabat (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) finished in 21^st, one place ahead of Garcia, while the #53’s teammate, Zaqhwan Zaidi (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team), completed the WorldSBK field.

GERLOFF AIMING TO MOVE FORWARD: 13^th on Day 1 for the Texan

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) has often enjoyed strong performances at Magny-Cours and he showed decent speed on Friday. He was inside the top ten throughout the majority of both sessions although he dropped down to 13^th at the end of FP2 after posting a 1’36.713s-

The top six from Friday at Magny-Cours, full results here:

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

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