WorldSBK Magny-Cours R1 Results | Big win for Bautista as Rea, Razgatlioglu fall

Alvaro Bautista has taken a major stride towards the 2022 WorldSBK Championship after fully capitalising on tumbles for both Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu to reel off a seventh win of the season at Magny-Cours.

The Spaniard - starting the weekend with a 31 point lead over Rea - looked to be on the back foot relative to his title rivals coming into the first race after qualifying fourth, but errors from both in separate incidents on the second-third lap paved the way for Bautista to grab a big win.

With the French venue kicking off the second-half of the 2022 season following the long summer break, all eyes were on whether Rea and Razgatlioglu - who traded paint at Magny-Cours in a famous showdown during last year’s title tussle - could get the gap down to the steadfastly consistent Bautista out front.

Having set exactly the same time in qualifying, it was Razgatlioglu that’d get the better start over pole man Rea, the Yamaha man slotting into the lead from Scott Redding, who consolidated his front row start to get between the rivals.

A wide moment for Razgatlioglu at 180 allowed Redding into the lead midway round the opening lap, but the run down to Adelaide and on to Nurburgring would shuffle the deck again, with Razgatlioglu emerging in front from Rea and the BMW rider.

However, just as the riders took the flip-flop chicane at Lycee at the end of lap two and into lap three, Rea’s Kawasaki clipped the kerb and slithered down onto the grass at the exit. Despite getting going again, he’d finish a lap down and out of the points.

Releasing Razgatlioglu into a large lead, it seemed the Turk would be well on course for a seventh win in nine races only for his race to unravel at Chateau d’Eau further round the lap. Prompted by a major moment on the Yamaha as he hit the brakes, though Razgatlioglu would save the potential high-side, he couldn’t stop the R1 from skidding into the gravel trap before folding.

Dropping well down on the field, undeterred Razgatlioglu remounted to launch a major fight back up the order, eventually catching the pack to move from 23rd to 11th by the chequered flag for five precious points.

Back at the front, Redding found himself back in the lead and with a great opportunity to secure a surprise first win in BMW colours.

However, Bautista - having recovered from a poor start - was soon lurking behind the M 1000 RR, the ex-MotoGP rider resisting the urge to out-brake Redding into Adelaide and instead focusing on getting the better exit on the run to Nurburgring.

Getting the move done on lap seven, Bautista - despite initial close company from Redding - would control the pace thereafter, steadily extending his advantage out to more than four seconds by the chequered flag.

With Rea failing to score, it means the gap between the two riders has swelled to 56 points, while Razgatlioglu - despite the low return in terms of digits - has at least closed the gap to the Kawasaki rider in second to two points.

With two of the big hitters out, the fight for the final podium position was a lucrative prize for some of the lesser fancied riders with home hero Loris Baz looking best placed early on after hauling his way up the order during the early laps.

However, his hopes of making it a double podium for BMW - and a maiden rostrum for the satellite Bonovo Racing team - came unstuck on lap 12 when he low-sided off at Chateau d’Eau.

That lifted Michael Ruben Rinaldi up to third place, having moments earlier aggressively pushed his way past the man who could replace him in the factory Ducati team next year, Axel Bassani.

However, the Italian’s race would be ruined when he ran wide at Turn 1 with eight laps to go, dropping him down the order and promoting Bassani up to third position, the Italian securing a brilliant second podium in WorldSBK - his first in dry conditions - for the Motocorsa Ducati squad.

Alex Lowes yo-yo’d through the order over the course of the race, but a late pass on Garrett Gerloff would see him cross the line in fourth place, while fifth easily marks the best finish of the season for his American rival.

After dropping to tenth after his off, Rinaldi recovered to sixth place, ahead of countryman Andrea Locatelli, the Italian saving a decent result in the high attrition having struggled for pace this weekend.

Philipp Oettl was a strong eighth on the Go Eleven Ducati, ahead of top Honda rider Iker Lecuona and Lucas Mahias, the best placed Frenchman in tenth.

With Razgatlioglu’s fight back taking him to 11th, that pushed Michael van der Mark - returning to action following a long spell out through injury - into 12th, with Xavi Vierge, another recovery rider in Baz and Luca Bernardi picking up the final points’ paying positions.

2022 WorldSBK Championship | Magny-Cours, France | Race 1 RESULTS