The Acerbis French Round is in the rear-view mirror, and the weekend of MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, the racing on display at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours merits another look back. Rock solid consistency from some, to promising rookies coming into their own, Magny-Cours had a little of everything.
SOLID WEEKENDS FROM ALEX LOWES AND SURRA
Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) continues his hunt for his first podium this season since the season-opening round Down Under, but in that pursuit, he put up strong results in France. Starting off strong with P6 in the Tissot Superpole session, he landed back-to-back P5 finishes in Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race. He rode in the top five again over the first ten laps of Race 2, however, he crashed at Turn 5 of Lap 11, falling to last place, improving to a P13 finish after a penalty to Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) a late overtake on Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC). Now just five places behind him in the Championship standings, Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) is up to P9 in his rookie WorldSBK campaign after tying his second best Superpole result of P5, and earning his joint-best Superpole Race result of P4. The rookie’s next step will be to improve his tyre management skills, and if he can manage to improve on that, he may be able to land his first WorldSBK podium in 2026’s final three rounds.
PEROLARI PLACES WELL AT HOME WITH A SURPRISE SHOWING FROM NAVARRO
Corentin Perolari (Honda Racing World Supersport) kept his strong form from Donington Park running, matching his best result from the UK with another P11, his third best result of the season so far, as well as matching his best Superpole result of this season, leading the third row in Race 1 from P7. Perhaps the biggest surprise from Magny-Cours however was former Moto2 rider Jorge Navarro (PTR Triumph Factory Racing), who gelled instantly with the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS as he rode as a replacement for the injured Oli Bayliss. The Spaniard took P6 in WorldSSP’s Superpole session, following that up with a P7 debut result in 2026. While his Race 2 ended early with an unfortunate Lap 3 crash from P1 at Turn 13, he led a total of two laps that race, surprising onlookers with his speed despite having jumped atop the bike for the first time this season at Magny-Cours.
FLEERACKERS AND OSUNA BACK IN THE FIGHT AT THE FRONT
World Sportbike’s Belgian rider Ferre Fleerackers (Track & Trades Wixx Racing) made a long-awaited return to the top six in France. Race 1 saw him climb up from a P13 grid start to finish in sixth place, at the head of the second group of riders nearly two tenths clear of riders like Carter Thompson (Team BrCorse). He and his Suzuki GSX-8R enjoyed a tremendous start to the WorldSPB season, taking back-to-back podiums in the first two rounds including a Round 2 win in Race 2 at Assen, however from that point until now, he had not managed to get back to the top six spots. With just two rounds remaining, he will hope to end this season strong with the same form he started with. Bursting into the top five for the first time this season, Pepe Osuna (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team) earned the strongest results of his season, improving on his P11 and P9 at Misano, for a P10 and P5 at Magny-Cours. He competed last season in World Supersport 300, where he showed a similar bump in form late in the season, he may be a name to keep an eye on for improved results over the final two rounds.
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