Magny-Cours, Superpole: Four Kawasakis ahead of Triumph and Yamaha

The round at Magny-Cours is the third-last of the new 2026 Sportbike World Championship. The championship leader is Spaniard David Salvador (Kawasaki), who has already signed a deal to move up to the 2027 Supersport World Championship. Salvador holds a 34- and 35-point lead over his team-mates Antonio Torres and Xavi Artigas.

Once again, Phillip Tonn will not be on the grid; having already missed the races at Most, Aragón and Misano due to a hand injury, Kove Racing Team 109 has signed local hero Huge De Cancellis as his replacement.

Also absent is Jeffrey Buis (Suzuki), who dislocated his shoulder in a crash through no fault of his own whilst making a guest appearance at the Euro Moto round in Assen. This is likely to have put an end to the World Championship fourth-placed rider’s already slim title hopes. The Dutchman’s Suzuki GSX-8R will be ridden by Marc Vich.

Guest rider Amaury Mizera brings an additional Yamaha to the starting grid.

In the morning’s free practice, Fenton Seabright (Triumph) set a clear fastest time of 1:45.761 minutes, almost 0.5 seconds ahead of the runner-up. However, the top 11 were all within a single second of each other. Triumph, Kawasaki, Aprilia, Yamaha and Suzuki all had riders in the top 15 – Kove and Honda did not.

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Magny-Cours: Der Samstag

FIM Superbike World Championship

05.09.2026 - 09:35

The Superpole, which took place at 2.10 pm, was held in summer-like conditions. After five minutes, Seabright once again set the first notable lap time of 1:46.697. On his second flying lap, the Englishman improved by 0.6 seconds and led by 0.7 seconds ahead of Alvaro Fuertes (Kawasaki) and Artigas.

After ten minutes, the top 15 were all within a single second of each other, with the sportbike riders struggling to break the 1:45 barrier. It was only when the first riders set out in pursuit of faster times with ten minutes remaining that Loris Veneman (Kawasaki) moved into first place with a time of 1:45.789 min. A minute later, Salvador set the fastest lap of the weekend so far with a time of 1:45.549 minutes.

In the final five minutes, sector bests kept popping up, but traffic on the track and yellow flags following crashes prevented some riders from making a fast attempt. Most crashes ended without serious injury; only Bruno Ieraci (Triumph) was taken to the medical centre for a check-up.

In the end, Salvador’s time remained unchallenged. Following Most, Aragón and Misano, this is already the Spaniard’s fourth pole position in a row! With Veneman and Artigas in second and third places, the entire front row of the grid is dominated by Kawasaki.

The second row consists of Artigas, Triumph rider Seabright and Yamaha’s star rider Carter Thompson.

Matteo Vannucci secured the best Aprilia result in tenth position. Ferre Fleerackers posted the best Suzuki qualifying result in 13th place.

Other positions: Benat Fernandez (Kove) 13th, Tayo Aksu (Honda) 23rd.