Magny-Cours, Race 2: Kawasaki victory ahead of Yamaha and Triumph

To avoid clashing with the Formula 1 race at Monza, the schedule for the Superbike World Championship at Magny-Cours on Sunday has been adjusted. The second race in the sportsbike category has therefore been moved to the end of the production-based world championship event.

In the new entry-level series, the starting grid for the second race is not based solely on the Superpole. For the first nine positions, the fastest race lap from Saturday is used; from the tenth starting position onwards, the qualifying results apply. As a result, Race 1 winner Fenton Seabright (Triumph) moved up from fifth on the grid to pole position. Superpole winner David Salvador (Kawasaki) dropped one place and was second on the grid. The front row was completed by the up-and-coming Carter Tompson (Yamaha).

The race, which started at 3.15 pm, was over eleven laps. With sunshine and a temperature of 28 degrees Celsius, the weather was typical of high summer. Seabright won the sprint to the first corner, followed by Marco Gaggi (Yamaha) and Xavi Artigas (Kawasaki). However, the slipstream on the approach to the Adelaide hairpin completely changed the order: coming out of the first lap, Pepe Osuna (Kawasaki) led ahead of Salvador, Thompson and Matteo Vanucci (Aprilia).

Salvador, Thompson and Osuna managed to open up a small gap. With the fastest lap of 1:45.978 minutes, Seabright worked his way forward as the first pursuer of the top three. On the third lap, the Triumph rider had caught up with the leading group again with a time of 1:45.549.

Led by Salvador, a quartet had broken away at the front after five of eleven laps. The chasing pack was led by Vannucci (5th), although the Aprilia rider only had to contend with Artigas and Álvaro Fuertes (Kawasaki). Kove rider Benat Fernandez was on the verge of the points in 16th place.

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In the second half of the race, Artigas embarked on a run of fast laps. With a time of 1:45.373, the Spaniard was at times 0.7 seconds faster than the leaders. In the wake of the Kawasaki rider, Fuertes and Vannucci also closed the gap to the top four.

With two laps to go, Artigas had worked his way through the pack and took the lead for the first time. The 23-year-old kept up a high pace that only Salvador, Thompson and Seabright could match. It was a close call: Artigas took the win 0.1 seconds ahead of Thompson, with Seabright finishing third. World Championship leader David Salvador limited the damage by finishing fourth.

Vannucci was the best-placed Aprilia rider, finishing in 7th place. For Suzuki, Ferre Fleeracker achieved the best result in 13th place. Fernandez lost the battle for the final World Championship point by a single second – the Kove rider finished 17th. Tayo Aksu, riding the only Honda, finished 25th.