Two races are left to ride in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s Acerbis French Round, and to get limbered up before Sunday’s pair of races, the field took to the track to Warm Up. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) set the quickest time of the session, followed on the timesheets by Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team).
Bulega is looking to complete what would be his career-first hat trick at the French venue, and his 1’35.506s time is an excellent start on Sunday. In P2, his factory Ducati teammate is shooting for another Sunday upset like what was seen at Donington Park, and in that pursuit, his +0.154s margin to the front isn’t half bad. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) took a podium away from Race 1, and by the looks, the Brit is looking to pick up where he left off as his time rang in just over two tenths behind Bulega.
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) took P4 in the morning’s session, clocking in just over three and a half tenths behind the #14, including a small crash with a minute left in the session. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was the top rider not atop Ducati machinery, missing out on P4 by just a hundredth with his P5 -earning time of 1’36.053s. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) was next on the order as the youngster took P6 on Sunday morning ¡, six and a half tenths off from the #22.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) took P7 in the morning’s Warm Up session, almost eight tenths back from P1. IN P9, Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) set a time of 1’36.322s, landing him in P8. The top ten places were rounded off by Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) with a 1’36.848s time, and Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) just a tenth behind the Aussie. Their efforts made it four manufacturers in the top ten.
The top six from the WorldSBK Warm Up session: Full results here!
- Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 1’35.506s
- Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.154s
- Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.233s
- Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.357s
- Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.547s
- Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) +0.652s
Stay tuned for the title showdown to come! Watch it all, Live and OnDemand from Magny-Cours with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 70% off!