The World Superbike Championship title fight has been reignited. Toprak Razgatlioglu won the first race at Magny-Cours this afternoon, while Álvaro Bautista finished only tenth after experiencing technical issues with his bike.
Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) had a good start, overtaking pole-sitter Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) to take the lead. Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) moved up to second on the opening lap but then made the overtake to claim the lead on the second lap. Meanwhile, Bautista suffered technical problems that dropped him down the order, and at one point, he was last in the race.
In the following laps, the battle for the lead was between Razgatlioglu and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati). The Turkish rider eventually secured the lead on the 14th lap.
Razgatlioglu then distanced himself from his rival to cross the finish line with a 2.656s gap. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) finished third, a position he held for much of the race.
Gerloff and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team/Ducati) battled for victory among the independent riders, which was won by the American. After his early problems, Bautista managed to recover to tenth place, minimizing his losses in the championship.
Results: