The summer break in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship came to a shuddering halt at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, as the bikes roared back into action. The Acerbis French Round was a dramatic affair up and down the grid, with plenty of highs and lows to dig through after the weekend…
BULEGA ON TOP THROUGHOUT
Championship leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) was unbeatable in France. He topped every session, claimed pole and won every race despite early pressure from teammate Iker Lecuona in Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race. The #11 will have to wait for his coronation but it could be on home soil in Italy – what a place for him to win the title…
MONTELLA TAKES TWO ROSTRUMS
It looked like Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) had the pace advantage over Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) in France, but the #5 was able to salvage two rostrums and outscore his rival in the battle for bronze. Montella was promoted to P3 in the Superpole Race when Lowes crashed on the final lap, and he repeated that position in Race 2 after an early-race battle with Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing).
SURRA BACK ON FORM
Italian rookie Surra missed the Donington Park races through a left shoulder injury, but he was declared fit for Magny-Cours. Sixth in Tissot Superpole showed his one-lap pace wasn’t going to be an issue on his return, but he dropped to eighth in Race 1. Come Sunday’s action, Surra finished fourth in the Superpole Race – his joint-best WorldSBK result – and fifth in Race 2, his best result in a feature-length race. A good start in the final race propelled him into an early podium position, before Montella and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) came through.
DIXON’S FIRST POINTS OF THE YEAR
It’s been a troubled campaign for Jake Dixon (Honda HRC). A wrist injury sustained in Phillip Island testing ruled him out until Aragon, he completed one race there, missed Misano and returned for Donington. Another seven weeks have clearly helped though, as the #96 took his first points in WorldSBK this season and was competitive in every session. He bagged a top-ten Superpole result, scored 11th in Race 1 and was fighting for P9 in the Superpole Race before a mistake at Turn 15. A crash in Race 2 was a blot on his copybook, but nonetheless, a strong weekend for the Brit who will hope to kick on at Cremona.
COSTLY CRASHES IN THE FRONT GROUP
Both Lowes and Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) had excellent pace in France, but weren’t able to maximise their results. The #14 crashed on the last lap from third in the Superpole Race, costing him a podium, and putting him tenth on the Race 2 grid. He wasn’t able to make progress in the final race of the weekend, finishing 11th to round out his weekend. Bridewell too showed good pace, taking seventh in Superpole, but a yellow flag infringement meant he started Race 1 from the back of the grid. He was making progress before he fell at Turn 14, bringing out the red flags but he was okay. In the Superpole Race, he finished seventh, before another crash in Race 2 – this time at Turn 3 – brought out the red flags again; he was declared unfit following this crash.
BMW’S FRENCH DISASTER
BMW would have hoped for more in France, given it’s a circuit they’ve had success at before and not just in the hands of Toprak Razgatlioglu. Michael van der Mark has won there in 2025, Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) took a pole and a podium in 2023 and 2024 there on the M 1000 RR machine, but this weekend was difficult for the German brand. Two P12 finishes – for Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in the Superpole Race and for teammate Danilo Petrucci in Race 2 – were the highlights from a challenging French Round.
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